$40-Million Reading and Math Project Approved

A $40-million math and reading program that offers students $6,000 scholarships for college was approved by the Los Angeles Board of Education for a targeted area in the San Fernando Valley.

Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams), which was approved late Tuesday night, draws on national reform programs that research has shown to be effective in raising math and reading scores and reducing dropout rates.

It will be phased in starting July 1 and involve about 25,000 students in an area where two-thirds of the elementary students read below grade level.

Educators said they expect to see increases in standardized test scores in the 15 schools, from kindergarten through high school, using Project GRAD. If it succeeds, the program might be expanded to other clusters in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“Essentially, the Project GRAD initiative is a pilot for the district,” said Cheryl Mabey, president and executive director of Project GRAD Los Angeles. “We’ll be watching for results.”

Started in Texas in 1993, Project GRAD offers thousands of dollars in scholarships to students who meet academic requirements and gives teachers scripted lesson plans designed to provide structure, especially for the large percentage of Los Angeles Unified teachers who are new or on emergency credentials.

In Houston, 25 public schools use Project GRAD. Elementary students in one cluster posted an 18% increase in reading scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills over four years.

College scholarships totaling $6,000 per student over four years will be offered to San Fernando High School’s class of 2003. Students must achieve a minimum 2.5 grade-point average and take college preparatory classes and at least two college classes during school breaks.

The Valley program will cost $40 million for four years, funded with contributions from the district, the Ford Foundation, private groups and businesses.

A cornerstone is the reading curriculum, called “Success for All,” already in place at 13 of the 15 San Fernando cluster schools. Each teacher follows a timed script, and students are retested every eight weeks to see if they are ready for the next reading level. If they are, they advance to a new group; if not, they repeat the same level and get additional tutoring.

Other components of Project GRAD include at least 105 hours of teacher training, full-time social workers who can address problems such as truancy, and a math program that brings algebra into elementary grades and uses children’s literature and blocks to teach numerical principles.

Critics of Project GRAD worry that students may be discouraged by over-testing, and that the scripts are too rigid to allow for creativity.