AN EYE OF EDUCATION DO CITY PROGRAMS HELP LAUSD?

Byline: Dan Laidman Staff Writer

PACOIMA - The paper plate in Dolcinea Aguilar's tiny hands was full of meaning.

The 9-year-old had adorned it with feathers and gold glittery rings inspired by reading about King Tut, transforming the disk into an expressive mask as part of a city-run summer youth program.

``It's much funner because you don't just do work,'' she said. ``You get to hang out with your friends and play and do art.''

But with a renewed focus on reforming Los Angeles schools, scrutiny is falling on scores of city youth programs such as the one that serves Dolcinea, the Off Track Youth Enrichment program that provides arts and science lessons as well as playtime and a free lunch.

Intended to support the educational goals of the Los Angeles Unified School District, experts say such programs cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars a year while lacking coordination and measurable results.

``The city, in many of these areas, doesn't really know how effective these programs are,'' said Jacquelyn McCroskey, a University of Southern California professor specializing in child welfare issues.

``They're based on good will and real efforts to improve things, but we don't know how effective they are; that's one of the main things that has to change.''

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa recently launched a review of what he estimated are the city's 95 youth programs costing $290 million a year in an effort to assess how the programs can better prepare children for Los Angeles Unified schools, long-plagued with high dropout rates, low test scores and on-campus violence.

A study early this year by the city's Commission for Children, Youth and Their Families pegged the number of programs at 207, costing more than $500 million - or about 16 percent of Los Angeles' total budget for fiscal 2004-05.

Jane Hannaway, director of the Education Policy Center at the Urban Institute, said the city's spending on such programs is pretty typical of large cities, which devote many of their resources either directly or indirectly to youth and families.

Hannaway did not know if other cities have undertaken comprehensive reviews of their education-support programs, but she said there is a debate among experts about the role of such non-school-district services.

``You have this tricky balance,`` she said. ``Between being attractive to kids because you want them there rather than in the street, and providing some substance that will help their educational development.''

In Los Angeles, the list of city youth programs runs the gamut from dog- bite prevention lectures sponsored by the Department of Animal Services to gang-prevention programs run by the police, the City Attorney's Office and other agencies.

There is an at-risk girl's sports league, an effort to plant trees by schools, and a young aviator's program at Los Angeles International Airport.

The roster encompasses educational, recreational, and safety-oriented ventures, as well as programs that are difficult to categorize.

While some services seem far removed from school, education experts involved in the city's review say they help create a safe and stable environment for kids to learn.

But with so many wide-ranging services, the main challenge is coordination.

``You have programs not talking to each other. So you could have communities where you have multiple programs addressing the same target population and the same kinds of issues that have no connection with each other,'' said Terry Ogawa, the executive director of the Commission for Children, Youth and Their Families.

McCroskey said the reform efforts could result in consolidation of services and a redirecting of city funds.

Jennifer Perry, executive director of the Children's Action Network, said she also believes the city should examine the allocation of its resources so that children in the neediest areas get services like adequate parks and open space.

While such shuffling of the city's programs would make great strides, Perry said more needs to be done.

``I think it can help coordinate and enhance,'' she said. ``But no, I don't think it will change what needs to be done at LAUSD.''

Howard Adelman, a UCLA psychology professor and co-director of the Center for Mental Health in Schools, thinks the role of the city's youth programs has evolved because of larger national issues.

The federal No Child Left Behind Act has led districts to focus on raising test scores, he said, leaving room for partners like cities to provide other services.

At the Ritchie Valens Recreation Center in Pacoima, Andrew Karlin of the city's Department of Recreation and Parks said it is a role his agency is happy to fill.

``We complement what they're doing at the school system,'' he said as Dolcinea and her friends put the finishing touches on their paper plate masks, part of a lesson in world cultures. ``So when they go back they're better prepared.''

Staff Writer Rick Orlov contributed to this report.

Dan Laidman, [phone]

dan.laidman(at)dailynews.com!

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Dawson Banna, 7, of Sylmar colors an African mask at the Ritchie Valens Recreation Center in Pacoima.

(2 -- 3) Above, kids make masks at a free day camp at the Ritchie Valens Recreation Center. At right, Cassandra Arce, 5, works with recreation counsel or Myrna Aguilar.

Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News