CLASSROOMS, CLASSROOMS, EVERYWHERE.

Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Staff Writer

It's the opening day of school and Gledhill Street School's auditorium has been transformed into a makeshift classroom.

Only a bookcase divides first- and second-graders from a cluster of special education students.

And on the stage? That's where resource teacher Tami Wein will give individualized instruction to students who have reading problems.

``The principal has done her best, but it's very unsettling,'' Wein said Wednesday. ``I keep wandering around the school wondering where I'm going to put my stuff - I guess I can pin my charts to the curtain.''

The transformations at the North Hills campus are similar to what's happening at other elementary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

As a result of a new statewide effort to reduce class sizes, administrators at schools like Gledhill are shuffling first- and second-graders at a furious pace.

``I may even have to put a class in the library,'' said Gledhill Principal Jan Walsh.

In mid-July, Gov. Pete Wilson announced an incentive plan that would reimburse school districts up to $650 per student if they reduce class sizes to 20 in kindergarten through third grade. In Los Angeles, most schools will cut class sizes in first and second grade initially, then do the same in kindergarten and third grades later.

Like other schools in the district, Gledhill began the new 20-to-1 student-teacher ratio without much-needed portable trailers. The district ordered 500 bungalows, but a backlog of orders means a long wait - maybe until the end of the year.

A spokeswoman for United Teachers-Los Angeles said Wilson should have given schools more time.

``Schools had only six weeks to prepare for a major reconfiguration,'' said UTLA's Catherine Carey.

But while the less-than-optimal classroom conditions exist districtwide, Carey said teachers are committed to making things work.

``Reducing class size is everyone's No. 1 priority and teachers will do anything to make that happen,'' she said. ``They'll do everything they can to keep the students' attention and batten down the hatches so they'll concentrate on the education process.''

But concentrating does not come easy in these conditions.

Sixty Gledhill students found themselves in two rooms sharing three teachers. And while the numbers add up to a 20-to-1 student-teacher ratio, learning was tough.

While one teacher gave directions on how to complete an art project, another teacher a few feet away tried to lead a discussion on class rules. Students from one group were often distracted as the other teacher spoke.

``You're going to have to listen carefully because there's going to be two voices in here,'' teacher Maria Vallone told her students.

``And a whole bunch of children,'' piped one student.

Vallone was one of the 1,500 teachers recently hired by the district in a frenzied effort to staff their schools to accommodate the new shrinkage in class sizes. Because of a statewide shortage of credentialed teachers, instructors like Vallone possess only basic qualifications and have been issued emergency credentials.

The auditorium, with its dim lights and large spaces, appears gloomy to a visitor compared to the cozy comfort of a regular classroom. But most students seem to take it in stride.

``When they let us play in here, I want to go up on that stage and dance,'' said 6-year-old Octavia Harris. ``It's nice that it's big.''

As the students in the auditorium begin a project of writing the alphabet, Gladys Gochez arrives late with her 7-year-old daughter, Samantha. Gochez says she understands the school's dilemma, and is happy that classes were being made smaller, despite the unconventional learning environment.

``I think the teacher will be able to get to my daughter more, she'll get more help,'' Gochez said.

But Samantha was leery of her new digs.

``I was afraid,'' Samantha said.

But Gochez believes that her daughter will adjust.

``I think if I can explain the process the school is going through, and she knows that eventually they'll have a classroom, that she won't feel so out of place,'' Gochez said.

Meanwhile, the special education students gather on the steps of the stage to sing a song about farm animals, complete with a ``moo moo'' here and a ``moo moo'' there.

``I didn't know until (Tuesday) that I didn't have a classroom,'' said special education teacher Marilyn Peters. ``It's been chaotic.''

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Photo

PHOTO Teachers Maria Vallone, lower right, and Annette Jens en, standing in rear, share a classroom at Gledhill Street School in North Hills.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News