ALARCON TO POOR: YOU CAN GRADUATE CHEVRON TO FUND EFFORT TO PROVE IT.

Byline: TONY CASTRO Staff Writer

SYLMAR -- What do an A student from Sylmar High School and a D student from Beverly Hills High have in common?

Surprisingly, they enter college at the same rate.

That revelation was cited Wednesday as one of the reasons several dozen San Fernando Valley community groups, educators and businesses have formed a partnership targeting lagging high school graduation rates and college preparation at four local high schools.

``The San Fernando Valley is missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in human capital each year by not graduating our students and by not preparing them for college and career,'' state Sen. Richard Alarcon said at a news conference announcing the formation of the Valley Education Collaborative.

The group is working with a $1 million grant from Chevron, the largest single monetary contribution to literacy programs in Los Angeles' history.

``Our goal isn't to improve the graduation rate to 70 percent or 80 percent. We're setting a goal of 100 percent graduation rate,'' Alarcon said.

``You want to fix crime? Graduate all our kids. You want to fix the economy? Make sure we graduate all our kids. You want to have a strong nation? Make sure every kid graduates high school. You want a nation where we assimilate everyone into a society we call America? Make sure they graduate high school, and we will make that happen.''

Lowest grad rates

The four high schools targeted by the collaborative -- Sylmar, Kennedy, Arleta and Francis Polytechnic -- have some of the lowest graduation rates in the Valley.

At Sylmar and Poly, for instance, only 56 percent of the 2001 entering freshmen were graduated four years later, and fewer than one-fourth completed the minimum course work necessary to qualify for admission to a California four-year university.

Alarcon, a Sun Valley Democrat who helped spearhead the group's formation, said the organization will encourage students not only in the classroom, but also in dealing with life issues that often adversely affect schoolwork in lower-income areas.

Those outside-the-classroom issues -- gangs and drugs, problems at home, lack of health and dental care -- are too often overlooked in the effect they can have in the dropout rates and in preparing for college.

Culture counts

Low household income is one of the reasons that David Melendez, executive director of College Summit, an educational assistance nonprofit, could tell the education collaborative that ``an A student from a poor school enters college at the same rate as a D student from a (higher-income-area) school.''

Melendez said there is a need to develop a ``college-going culture'' at schools in poorer areas.

One way to do so is by assuring each student that going to college is a real possibility, Melendez said, and another way is by driving down the costs of applying for college.

Some 60 groups and businesses, including the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley and the Alliance for a Better Community, are behind the new collaborative effort.

``The voice of the community often gets lost when it comes to education reform,'' said Veronica Melvin, executive director of a Latino advocacy group, Alliance for a Better Community. ``The Valley Education Collaborative allows for the community voice to be heard and used to produce real educational change in schools.

``The collaborative was created to address the growing disconnect between community and schools. By engaging school administrators, teachers, parents, students and other community partners, our collaborative is building a bridge between all of these critical stakeholders.''

Jim Morris, Area 2 superintendent for the Los Angeles Unified School District, welcomed the collaborative effort to help improve student performance, lower the dropout rate and increase college admissions.

``As Senator Alarcon said, it's not just about talking about doing something; it's coming together and taking action,'' Morris said.

Principals from Sylmar High and several other middle and high schools also were at the meeting Wednesday to lend their support.

Still a volunteer

Alarcon, a former teacher who still works as a volunteer teacher at Arleta High School, said it is no coincidence that the new collaborative has undertaken its supportive role at the same time that ``the mayor has stepped forward to challenge each and every one of us in improving our education system.''

But this new group's work, Alarcon said, actually begins even before that.

``Our role is to help educate lower-income communities on how to participate in the educational process,'' he said. ``Where all the debates (in the city currently) are about the school structure of the LAUSD, we know we can focus most of our attention on actual support services for our students.''

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Photo:

State Sen. Richard Alarcon shakes hands with a participant Wednesday at a meeting of the Valley Education Collaborative, formed to cut the dropout rate at Sylmar, Kennedy, Arleta and Francis Polytechnic high schools and increase graduates' college-enrollment rate.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer