Wednesday, January 19, 2011

SIX LEARNING COMMUNITIES VYING FOR SPOTS IN NEW NORTHEAST L.A. HIGH SCHOOL - School will house students from Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Mount Washington and other NELA neighborhoods

By David Fonseca | Eagle Rock Patch - http://bit.ly/i7RY9x

The new LAUSD school under construction on San Fernando Boulevard The new LAUSD school under construction on San Fernando Boulevard -2050 N San Fernando Rd, Los Angeles, CA  - Credit Ajay Singh

CRHS No. 13 The new LAUSD school under construction on San Fernando Boulevard

 Credit Ajay Singh

Wed, 19 January 2011 | 3:42pm  - Parents will have their first chance on Thursday to hear from six different learning communities hoping to operate within Central Region High School No. 13, a new high school located near the Los Angeles River at San Fernando Road that will enroll students from across Northeast L.A., including Highland Park and Mount Washington.

The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of Irving Middle School at 3010 Estara Ave. in Glassell Park.

The new school is designed to host five mostly autonomous "learning communities," which will share sports and music programs.

Tomorrow evening, the six final applicants vying for spots in the new, state-of-the-art high school will have an opportunity to pitch their learning plans to the public.

The applicants are Alliance Ready Public Schools (Technology and Math and Science High School), The Los Angeles River School, School of Technology Business and Education, Partnerships to Uplift Communities L.A., School of History and Dramatic Arts and ARTLAB Arts and Community Empowerment.

Executive summaries of each learning community's application can be downloaded/viewed here | http://bit.ly/i7RY9x.

Central Regional High School is being populated with five distinct learning communities through Los Angeles Unified School District's Public School Choice Motion, which was by approved the school board in 2009 to give charter schools, partnerships, nonprofits and other independent groups an opportunity to compete to operate within public schools.

As part of the motion, community members are encouraged to have input in the selection of the learning communities allowed to operate within public schools, but only in an advisory mode. The final vote is left up to the LAUSD school board.

Among the applicants competing to operate within Central High School No. 13 are two charter schools that already operate in nearby buildings and four teacher-driven teams from Benjamin Franklin High School and John Marshall High School in Los Feliz, which would operate pilot schools.

Though the precise catchment area of the new high school has yet to be officially determined, the Central Region High School No. 13 was built to help reduce overcrowding at Franklin High School, Eagle Rock High School and John Marshall High School. 

Pat Griffith of the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council said she has also been assured by the Los Angeles Unified School District that students from Mount Washington, Glassell Park and Cypress Park would also be included and that "all children, regardless of race or ethnicity, socio-economic status, proficiency in English or disabilities," would be accepted.

  • What kind of learning communities would you like to see at Central Region High School No. 13? Tell us in the comments.

No comments: