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Designation Opens the Door to Possible Takeover

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OLYMPIC BOULEVARD—Af-
ter years of substandard aca-
demic performance, Los An-
geles High School, the oldest
high school in the city, faces
an uncertain future.
On May 24th, Los An-
geles Unified School District
(LAUSD) officials named L.A.
High one of eight district wide
low-achieving “focus schools.”
The designation, which
is determined by low student
performance on standard-
ized testing, opened the cam-


pus to possible takeover by
an external group, such as a
charter operator or nonprofit,
beginning with the 2011-2012
school year.

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L.A. High, however, is
filing paperwork to retain
control of the school. An ap-
plication will be drafted by
teachers, administrators and
community members and pre-
sented to school officials by
Dec. 1st.
Closing the campus is not
an option, according to Doug
Waybright, director of second-
ary education in LAUSD Lo-
cal District 3, which includes
L.A. High.
“That’s an option in some
other places in the country,” he
said, “but it really is not a real-
istic option in L.A. because we
just don’t have enough seats.”
L.A. High’s own applica-
tion and any takeover propos-
als will be reviewed by the
LAUSD school board and
by stakeholders in the com-
munity, including parents,
teachers and local residents. A
final decision will be made by
the school board in February
2011.
Waybright said he antici-
pated the internal bid would
eventually be accepted, as few
outside groups would be pre-
pared for the logistical and
financial challenges of manag-
ing a large urban campus.
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“There aren’t many white
knights out there,” he said.
Depending on the school’s
performance on the latest
round of California Standards
Tests, which took place in
May, L.A. High’s status could
change. The test results are ex-
pected in September.
L.A. High Principal Elena
Anthony said the school made
a conscious effort to improve
its scores.
“This year we put a lot of
emphasis on having the stu-
dents understand that this is a
reflection of them and that it
is a gauge of the health of the
school,” she said. “I anticipate
that when the scores come out
[in the fall], we will have a lot
higher return in the areas that
we tested.”
Anthony, who is in her
third year as principal, is
overseeing further changes
that she hopes will improve
academic performance at L.A.
High. This fall, the new Rob-
ert F. Kennedy Community
School will open on the site
of the old Ambassador Hotel
on Wilshire Boulevard, reliev-
ing L.A. High of 400 to 500
students initially, and another
200 to 300 the following year.
The reduction in students will
allow the school to return to
a traditional two-semester
schedule after 16 years of year-
round schooling.
“Having less students to
focus on is going to allow us to
give them a higher quality of
attention,” Anthony said.
September will also see
the introduction of school
uniforms at L.A. High, which
Anthony said would promote
school pride and encourage
students to take their educa-
tion seriously.
“My feeling is that any-
time you put your name on
something, that is saying it
symbolizes you … and I think
www.midcitypress.com
that’s going to show pride in
their school, and I think that
pride is going to be reflected
in a higher degree of student
achievement,” she said.
To further identify areas
for improvement, L.A. High
enlisted an independent com-
pany, InnovateEd, to audit
the school in May. Auditors
conducted focus groups with
teachers, interviewed students
and observed classes in ses-
sion. A summary of the find-
ings said, “L.A. [High School]
has several critical areas of im-
provement as a result of con-
sistently low levels of academic
achievement, a high dropout
Photo: Allison C. Ferraro
rate and low graduation rate.”
The report also said the school
has “a culture of low expecta-
tions for student learning.”
Anthony stressed that a
core group of L.A. High teach-
ers are dedicated and involved
but acknowledged the sizable
challenges the school faces.
“This is the first high
school in Los Angeles,” she
said. “We want it to be the gem
in the crown of the city. And
there’s a lot of work to do.”
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munity School will open
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WELLINGTON SQUARE—The
16-year-old boy who was ar-
rested for fatally shooting a
15-year-old girl in a home on
the 1800 block of Wellington
Road last month found the
murder weapon in the Gamble
family residence, according to
police.
The teen, who was stay-
ing at the home as a guest, ac-
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cording to police, did not alert
anyone he had found the gun
and was unloading and load-
ing it while discussing “Rus-
sian Roulette” shortly before
he shot Alexis Wallace in the
lower back. Wallace was an-
other visitor staying in the
Gamble family home.
“According to his state-
ment, he found [the gun]
within the residence,” said
Det. Mark Holguin of the Los
Angeles Police Dept.’s Wilshire
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MID-CITY—The Olympic
Park Neighborhood Council
swore in its newly elected board
of directors, a mix of new and
returning members, on June
7th at the board’s monthly
meeting.
Los Angeles City Coun-
cilmember Herb Wesson pre-
sided over the installation of the
new board, which then elected
its four executive officers: Pe-
ter Schulberg, president; John
Jake, vice president; Helene
Maidan, secretary; and Pamela
Whittenbury, treasurer.
All four are return-
ing board members, though
Schulberg, Jake and Maidan
are new to their executive po-
sitions.
Three of the 13 current
members are new to the board:
Isaura Rivera-Anagnos, Ro-
dolfo A. Rivera and E. Nero
Smeraldo.
In recent years, the OPNC
has been hindered by quarrel-
ing among board members,
miscommunication with
neighborhood empowerment
officials, attendance troubles
and financial irregularities.
A previous treasurer was sus-
pended by the city for alleg-
Homicide Division. “His
grandfather used to live in the
house and he (the teen) found
it in a secluded spot where no
one knew it was there.”
Shortly after the May
23rd incident, The Los Ange-
les Times reported that hom-
eowner Norma Gamble stated
that the family didn’t own any
guns.
The boy, whose name was
not released because of his age,
was booked and taken to East-
lake Juvenile Hall, where he is
being held without bail. No
court dates has been scheduled
at this time.
According to police, the
boy was staying in the home to
distance himself from drugs,
gangs and violence.
The Gamble family de-
clined to comment for this
story.
edly using the council’s money
for personal purchases.
Schulberg said the new
board represents a fresh start
and a chance to move beyond
past problems.
“I think there was a feel-
ing that we want to put the
past behind us and create a
different future,” he said.
Schulberg, who owns the
gallery Eco-Logical Art on
Pico Boulevard, said some
of the board’s areas of focus
will include beautification,
green initiatives, community
outreach and working with
neighboring councils, such as
the Mid City Neighborhood
Council (MINC) and the
United Neighborhoods Neigh-
borhood Council (UNNC).
He also noted the board’s
role as a neighborhood watch-
dog.
“Part of our job is to make
sure that zoning is enforced
and to make sure that peo-
ple don’t tear down historic
houses and build monstrosi-
ties,” he said. He added, “But
I also like to think we can be
greyhounds. We can lead, we
can run and do cool, creative
things.”
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