Schools, Companies Team Up

Seeking to improve the performance of its lowest-achieving students, the Los Angeles Unified School District has embarked on a $10-million project with five private firms that will offer teacher training and oversee tutoring on 83 campuses.

“The idea here is to provide whatever assistance these children need to improve their literacy,” Supt. Ruben Zacarias said at a news conference Wednesday.

Touted as the largest such venture in the nation, the project will operate at most of the district’s 100 lowest-performing schools, identified as such earlier this year by Zacarias based on test scores. Seventeen of the 100 schools opted to devise their own plans for improving test scores.

At each of the schools participating in the program, selected students will receive extra help through “structured, prescriptive programs,” offered after school, on Saturdays or during the summer.

“Over 20,000 students will benefit from this project directly,” Zacarias said.

With the launching of the project, Los Angeles joins a growing number of districts across the nation that have turned to the private sector for help in addressing the persistent problem of low student achievement. Earlier this year, Compton Unified School District entered into a $5.4-million contract with Sylvan Learning Center. School districts in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago have taken similar steps.

Los Angeles district officials stressed that the firms’ personnel are not replacing district teachers. Rather, they will be training teachers to use “proven methodologies” for raising test scores of the lowest achievers.

The firms include Computer Curriculum Corp., Electronic Book Shelf, Kaplan Learning Services, Sylvan Learning Systems and Voyager Expanded Learning.

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Implementation of the program will vary. The firms have worked with individual campuses devising programs that will address the specific needs of each.

In each case, however, L.A. Unified teachers will work directly with students. Teachers will be paid $32 an hour, said Assistant Supt. John Liechty.

“I had made it very plain that we were not going to have their people come in and teach,” said Bev Cook, secondary vice president of United Teachers-Los Angeles. “All we are doing is using their material. It’s like buying from any educational service.”

David Tokofsky, an early supporter of the idea, said the district has not done enough to ensure that implementation will produce the desired results.

“It is symptomatic of a lack of knowledge of how to move ahead on these things in a focused, vigorous, bang-for-your-buck leadership way,” Tokofsky said. He suggested that the firms should offer a money-back guarantee.

Critics have called the plan an admission of the district’s failure.

“My answer is, we’re not admitting defeat,” Liechty said. “We’re simply saying, ‘We’re taking care of all these [other] needs.’ . . . These are people who specialize in working with these children.”

At Main Street Elementary School, Kaplan Learning has operated a pilot program since last summer. According to Kaplan, the reading skills of participating students have improved substantially.

“We have the luxury of specializing,” said Marti Garlett, Kaplan program director. “We don’t have the list of other things a classroom teacher has to do.”

The Kaplan program at Main Street differs in at least one key aspect from the model presented by district officials. Students attend the program during the regular school day and work with two Kaplan “coaches,” said Assistant Principal Vincent Chavez.

The students who participate are motivated to achieve, he said.

“I really see this helping students to learn more,” Chavez said.

At Manual Arts High School, Kaplan will operate an after-school program focused on helping ninth-grade students make the transition from junior high school.

“We have so much on our plate, this is a support,” said Principal Wendell Greer.

Although there was resentment from some teachers, Greer said he was hopeful that the extra help will benefit students and teachers.

Still not everyone is convinced that the way to improve test scores lies outside the district. Among them is Javier Miranda, principal of Florence Elementary School, where Kaplan ran a pilot program.

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“It’s a good program. But for the cost, we can come up with other options that are at least equally beneficial to the kids,” Miranda said.

At Muir Middle School, funds that would have paid for a private firm will be used to expand the hours of an after-school program, pay for extra campus supervision personnel, and pay for books to be used in the school’s accelerated reading program, run by the school librarian.

“We’re seeing great results with that program, so we wanted to expand [it],” said Principal Dana Perryman.