ANTELOPE VALLEY COLLEGE : Partnership Formed With School

Students and faculty at Antelope Valley College have committed themselves to a new program that will send them back to elementary school.

This time, though, the students will be the teachers as they help out at nearby Nancy Cory Elementary School in Lancaster.

The idea is modeled after the federally promoted Adopt-A-School Program, in which the private sector provides financial support to help schools broaden their curricula.

However, there are major differences that educators hope will benefit students and staff members of both institutions.

“Given the fact that both AVC and Nancy Cory School depend on the state for financial support, neither, of course, is able to provide additional funding,” school Principal Howard Sundberg said. “Both, however, share a deep concern for the well-being of our students, and I can’t think of a better common motivation to ensure the success of this program.”

Faced with cutbacks in state funding, school administrators looked to the college for wealth of a different sort--talent and expertise.

“Initially, we came to an understanding with their fine arts division that they could perhaps come to Nancy Cory and to some musical performances,” Sundberg said.

That proposal was so enthusiastically accepted, administrators said, that the program rapidly expanded to include a basketball clinic by the college coaching staff and college-sponsored forays to identify plants in the desert.

Students and staff at the college hope to expand their involvement by organizing Black History Month activities at the 800-student school this year and by establishing a teacher help line that will allow Nancy Cory teachers and college faculty members to discuss educational problems.

“As an old economist and engineer, I’ve always loved these joint ventures that get the most utilization out of our scarce resources,” College President Allan Kurki said. “I think this is one of those wonderful win-win situations.”

“We don’t want this to be a one-way street, where we are the recipient and they are the donor,” Sundberg said. “The college has students that are looking at careers in education. We’re offering them a chance to see what it’s really like.”

Even though Nancy Cory School students performed well on the recent California Assessment Program tests, officials say programs such as this can make a difference.

“We’re looking at long-term benefits, such as inspiring our students to go on with their education and achieve as much as they possibly can,” Sundberg said.

The educators said they hope the program will expand to include college help with a student newspaper and tutoring services.