Sun View kids get in the Learning Zone

Andrew Wainer

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Instead of returning to empty homes and turning on

the television after school, more than 150 Sun View elementary school

students are twirling batons, taking art classes, and finishing up

homework at the new Learning Zone after-school program that started this

fall.

Sun View school was chosen for the program -- officially known as the

21st Century Community Learning Center Initiative -- after school

resource specialist Rick Riddell won one of 176 federal grants awarded by

the U.S. Department of Education for 1999.

“I do grant writing as a hobby, and one week while I was flipping through

a list of federal grants I came upon this one,” Riddell said.

Riddell may be nonchalant about his role in winning the grant, but

competition for it was fierce.

More than 2,000 schools nationwide applied for the grant. Sun View is the

first school in the district to implement the program, and there are only

six programs like it in Southern California.

A student dubbed the program, which will employ 14 teachers and four

instructional aides, the “Learning Zone” -- and the name has stuck since.

After-school classes include a hands-on combination science and art unit

taught by children’s book author and anthropologist Gladys De Barcza. For

one project, De Barcza helped students create a miniature beach model

inside of a casserole dish to help them understand Huntington Beach’s

local ecology better.

Other classes include a baton-twirling course taught by former Los

Angeles Rams twirler Debbie Barr.

Students also can use the classes to work through any snarls they may be

having with their regular schoolwork.

The program is not only educational, but it gives the students something

to do after school -- a help for working parents. Riddell said 55% of the

students are alone when they get home after school.

“These programs are the key to cutting down on youth crime,” De Barcza

said. “Many of these kids go home to empty houses, and it easy for them

to get into trouble or become a victim of someone else.”

Sun View was awarded the grant in part because it was identified as an

at-risk school -- the result of low Stanford-9 test scores. In addition,

police activity in the school’s attendance area is four times the norm

for Huntington Beach, Riddell said, the program’s director.

Although the classes are designed to be fun for students, the course

material reinforces state math and reading standards. And a portion of

the class time is spent on homework.

These and other factors make the program a welcome addition for students,

teachers and administrators.

“Parents will not have to fight with their kids about doing their

homework, and they will have more time to spend with their children,”

Riddell said.

Baton-twirling teacher Debbie Barr, who had two children at the school,

also believes in the program.

“I think it is important for kids to have structure in their lives,” she

said as 20 of her students swung silver batons around their waists. “We

want them to have fun, but here they can have fun, be supervised, and

learn something at the same time.”

The students like the program, too. The homework, academic help, and

diverse and interesting programs have won them over.

“I was having trouble with my math because when I go home, no one knows

how to help me with it,” said 10-year-old Christina Merrilo. “I raised my

grades from F’s to B’s after getting help from the program.”

Brianna Sours said she has learned more in the after-school program than

in regular school, mainly because of the individual attention she

receives.

The program is set to expand with Saturday morning programs for students

and nighttime adult English-language and parenting classes.

The school already has guaranteed funding for three years at $180,000 a

year. But with the initial success and popularity the program is showing,

Riddell said he plans to renew the application for the grant.

“Students want to be in a safe place with their peers rather sitting at

home alone,” said Riddell.