ADMINISTRATOR WANTS TO EXPAND AWARD-WINNING SCHOOL.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

Yvonne Chan, the driving force behind the national award-winning Vaughn Street Next Century Learning Center, wants to expand the elementary school into a 12-grade college preparatory to curb a high Latino dropout rate and to respond to the elimination of affirmative action from UC admissions.

The proposed ``College Prep Charter Magnet for Secondary Students'' would target sixth- through 12th-graders interested in international business and foreign languages, Chan said.

The expansion, which needs the approval of the Los Angeles Board of Education, would start with two sixth-grade classes in fall 1999. A new grade would be added each year until the school reaches 12th grade in 2005.

``Latinos are not making it into the UCs,'' Chan said, referring to the nine-campus University of California system whose Board of Regents eliminated racial and gender-based entrance preferences. ``We can really prepare kids for UC and get the group from the northeast corner (of the San Fernando Valley) into UC with or without affirmative action.''

Any expansion plans would need to be approved by teachers, parents and staffers at Vaughn and be included in the school's charter, which is up for renewal for the first time in five years.

An independent evaluation firm is scheduled to conduct a six-month review of the school starting in early December, said Joe Rao, the district's reform coordinator.

Also up for renewal this year are Fenton Avenue Charter School in Lake View Terrace, Accelerated in South Central Los Angeles, Open Charter School in West Los Angeles and the Westwood School.

Los Angeles school board President Julie Korenstein said Vaughn stands a good chance of gaining board support for its expansion.

Korenstein said her only concern is Vaughn's lack of space and its plans to limit the total number of secondary students to 400.

Academic reform leaders predicted that Vaughn, which recently won a national educational award, would receive broad support for its expansion plans.

``It's hard to imagine any obstacles given it's a true leader with true community backing,'' said Mike Roos, chief executive officer of Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now, the district's largest reform effort.

Parents and teachers at Vaughn said they like the idea of the school growing to include secondary grades.

Berta Chavez, who has three girls ranging from 7 to 11 years old, said she also supports the expansion.

``Vaughn Elementary is No. 1 for me,'' said Chavez who is worried about security problems and racial tensions at San Fernando Middle School where her eldest daughter is a student.

Teachers also voiced support for the expansion but some worried that students might be deprived of more varied academic experiences if they remained at Vaughn from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade.

``They would be too sheltered and at the same time, deprived,'' said fourth-grade teacher Diana McDermott, who nonetheless enthusiastically supports the expansion.

Under the plan, the school would enroll about 400 students in grades six through 12 who would be chosen by lottery or by academic merit and interest in the school's curriculum.