AN LAUSD SUCCESS STORY AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM YIELDS LASTING BENEFITS.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

An after-school enrichment program operating at roughly one-third of the city's public schools has reduced the dropout rate among participants by as much as 20 percent even as officials struggle with the issue on a broader scale in the Los Angeles Unified School District, a study released today says.

Students in the 16-year-old program - called Los Angeles' Better Educated Students for Tomorrow, or LA's BEST - were one-fifth more likely to remain in school through 12th grade, as well as to show improved social skills and interaction with parents, according to an analysis for the National Center for Research on Evaluations, Standards and Student Testing.

In the study, the LAUSD dropout rate is estimated at 36 percent - a figure between what district officials and their critics claim - and an analyst compared attendance and other data from the district as a whole and from LA's BEST.

``It was notable that the students who attended the after-school program for three years were far less likely to drop out of school than those who did not participate in the program,'' researcher Denise Huang said.

The district's dropout rate has been a source of contention as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and school officials tussle over control and the best way to improve student achievement.

Promoting his own education-reform efforts, Villaraigosa has cited a Harvard University study that found that more than half of LAUSD high school students drop out before getting a diploma. LAUSD officials maintain that the dropout rate is actually 24.6 percent - and certainly no higher than the 33.1 percent determined by state government analysts in 2003-04.

From whichever high level, lowering the dropout rate is crucial to achieving other important goals, such as reducing neighborhood crime, getting state revenue based on student attendance and improving job opportunities and salaries for former students, the LA's BEST director, Carol Sanger, said Wednesday.

``Our program takes in more schools and students - 24,000 - than most school districts in the country,'' Sanger said. ``We are like our own LA's BEST school district.''

Huang's findings are scheduled to be publicly released today by Villaraigosa and billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, who has donated $2 million this year to LA's BEST.

Started at eight schools in 1988 under then-Mayor Tom Bradley, the program is operated by the LAUSD and funded by private donations and federal, state and local grants.

Today, it has a $29 million budget and operates at 147 of the 431 elementary schools in Los Angeles. Students can get homework help and nutritious snacks, and they participate in arts programs, drill teams, dance, reading and literacy programs, science clubs, field trips and other activities.

City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who worked to establish LA's BEST when she was an aide to Bradley, said the program has performed exactly as its founders hoped it would.

``What we anticipated was being able to make a difference in the lives of kids with meaningful after-school programs,'' Greuel said. ``It is not just a baby-sitting service. It helps teach kids and make up for programs that have been lost.

``Every study that has been done of LA's BEST, whether (of) reduced violence around schools or better attendance records, has shown it to be a remarkable success.''

While Huang did not focus on academic achievement - an area the researcher said she hopes to explore in future reviews - she found substantial evidence of other program benefits.

``What we're seeing is that the program acts like a bridge between parents and teachers, particularly where there are language problems,'' Huang said. ``A teacher might ask an LA'S BEST instructor to help relay information.''

Huang said she also has seen improvements by LA's BEST participants in use of English language, work habits and ability to deal with anger issues.

A.J. Duffy, head of United Teachers Los Angeles, said results of the new study are no surprise to him and underscore the value of LA's BEST.

``Any program that engages students after school, helps them with homework or to reinforce their lessons from that week, is going to have a beneficial impact,'' Duffy said. ``This is the kind of program all of us need to support.''

Villaraigosa has made LA's BEST one of his priorities, using his inaugural gala last year to raise money that has enabled the program to expand to more than a dozen additional schools.

``We think it's significant that this mayor, like the three before him, has placed so much importance on this,'' Sanger said.

Huang said her only recommendation to improve the program is to hire more staffers and reduce the current 20-to-1 student-staff ratio.

She said she believes the program has particularly helped girls and students who have low self-esteem, poor work habits and anger issues.

``Teachers noted positive changes in social skills, classroom behavior, discipline and social interactions,'' Huang noted in the study.

``Former LA's BEST participants said the program helped them maintain friendships, develop social skills and receive opportunities for mentoring.

``We would see students go up and tell their instructors they wanted to stay in school and become teachers.''

Sanger said the program also has helped the instructors - most of whom live within two miles of the schools where they work.

``Usually, these are people who have an interest in children and education and want to become teachers,'' Sanger said. ``We think that's why it's so popular across the board.

``I can guarantee when these people become teachers, they will be the best the district has because they care and want to work in the inner city where they have established relationships.''

Rick Orlov, [phone]

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