LEARN Proving Itself to the Doubters : Topanga Elementary School, once skeptical, now leads the way in the reform program

We don’t care how enthusiastically one joins a school reform program. Just jumping onto the bandwagon is no guarantee of harmony or success, much less both. In May, 1994, for example, Topanga Elementary School was having some grave doubts about its participation in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s LEARN program.

LEARN, which stands for Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now, had become a source of frustration, confusion and division for some at the 310-student school. In other words, it is never that easy to shift to local control and school-based management, much less achieve academic success in the process.

“LEARN came along and it was too much for everyone--too much, too soon. Now that we are into it, we have more problems than we ever wanted,” the parent of a fourth-grader said at the time. “We have meetings to plan meetings,” said another parent. And this was at a successful, upper-middle-class school where the parents had the freedom, security and the time to participate in the process.

We say that because some of the early standardized test results from the LEARN schools are mixed at best. Perhaps that should come as no surprise. But, as with any fledgling effort at change, some schools will lead the way. Topanga, with its early LEARN growing pains, has become an excellent example.

On the traditional Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, for example, the average LAUSD campus improved by just one point over the previous year’s result in reading (35 to 36), by just two points in language (40 to 42), and by one point in math (47 to 48).

At Topanga, the improvement was 16 points in reading (68 to 84), 18 points in language (68 to 86), and 22 points in math (64 to 86).

At the other end of the spectrum, Fenton Avenue Elementary in Lake View Terrace was tired of playing catch-up under the old rules. It became an even more independent charter school in an effort to reach respectability in academic achievement for a disadvantaged group of students.

Under LEARN, Fenton seems well on its way. Its students, for example, improved by 10 points in language (22 to 32) and by 17 points in math (24 to 41). In other words, no LAUSD campus gained more ground than Fenton Elementary, and that is a marvelous accomplishment.

It’s not just joining LEARN that results in success. It’s how you join, and Topanga and Fenton Avenue are showing the way.