KIDS THESE DAYS:

One of the great failings of many journalists, commentators and politicians is their failure to acknowledge a good idea or a good act by a person or an organization of which they have been critical.

In the past, I have been highly critical of Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher because of his highly partisan politics. But over time Rohrabacher has moved a few steps toward the light.

Three years ago, Rohrabacher voted against the renewal of the Patriot Act, dubbed Patriot Act 2, because he believed it limited the freedom of all Americans.

“We should not be required to live in peacetime under the extraordinary laws that were passed during times of war and crisis. Emergency powers of investigation should not become the standard once the crisis has passed,” Rohrabacher said.

And just a few days ago, Rohrabacher voted against the $700-billion Wall Street bailout bill, which I am maintaining will do nothing to help the economy. This year, he has also been critical of President Bush.

Perhaps Rohrabacher is like the broken clock that is correct twice a day. Perhaps not. But it seems to me that those who have been critical of him in the past should note when they believe he has cast the right votes.

In keeping with the policy, I am very pleased to report some significant progress within the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

Almost two months ago, the Adequate Yearly Progress Report was issued by the state. Long story short, TeWinkle Middle School, of which I have been particularly critical over the past few years, met its targets for AYP and had double-digit increases in Academic Performance Index scores.

How critical was I, and how much of an improvement is this? Several years ago, my wife and I believed that the school was so bad that we took our kids out and sent them to another district.

Our son returned when he entered high school; our daughter did not.

Much of the credit belongs to Principal Kirk Bauermeister, but he would quickly tell you that the credit also belongs to TeWinkle’s teachers, staff and parents.

Whatever it took, it is worth noting.

Also worth noting are the district’s new websites, which were long overdue for a makeover.

On a school’s new website, parents can easily check homework assignments and grades that are constantly updated.

And although some students may not like this feature, it will help many busy parents.

One of the benefits of these website updates may be the “Hawthorne Effect,” which, simply put, says that when people are being monitored, their productivity rises.

Kids now know that parents are armed and dangerous. And Hawthorne Effect or not, the ability to retrieve this real-time information is something for which the district deserves much credit for establishing.

The new websites also make it very easy to communicate with teachers via e-mail.

If you have a student in the district and you have not checked out the school’s website, I urge you to do so.

There is still much work to be done in the district, particularly on Costa Mesa’s Westside, where grades and scores are still too low.

And I’m not too thrilled about the fact that no one has challenged the school board incumbents running for re-election this year. Times are better, but they are not so good that we can afford to have what in some cases is becoming an office for life.

I did a mental tally of the current school board members, and I believe only one board member has a child attending a district school. If I am wrong, I know we’ll hear soon enough.

But if I am right, that is not a good development. Being a parent should not be a requirement to sit on the board, but we should have at least three parents at any one time.

As the parent of a child in the district, you have your ear to the ground in a way that non-parents will appreciate.

Still, the latest progress is commendable.

STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Send story ideas to dailypilot@latimes.com.