ENROLLEE DERBY; PARENTS WAIT TO GET KIDS IN SCHOOL; SPACE CRUNCH TAKING TOLL.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

Anxious to be first in line, Ralph Diner spent the night outside swaddled in a sleeping bag with his yellow Labrador, Sinbad, at his side.

Waiting for Rolling Stones concert tickets? No. Diner was there to enroll his 6-year-old daughter, Madison Genovese, in first grade at Dixie Canyon Avenue School, where classes are so full that neighborhood children like her may have to catch a bus to attend other, less crowded schools.

``It's been a real odyssey,'' said Diner, who lives in the neighborhood and, despite his diligence, still is not guaranteed a spot for his daughter at the popular Sherman Oaks campus.

``I was first to be on the `uncertain' list,'' he said, adding that campus officials won't know until the first week of school whether Madison has been accepted into Dixie Canyon.

Parents around the San Fernando Valley are hearing the same story - particularly in the east and central Valley - as schools experience an unprecedented surge in enrollment and struggle to carry out the state's class-size reduction program.

Many students also are returning from private schools. Drawn by the district's smaller class sizes, private school returnees more than doubled last year to 700.

``We have so many kids coming in, it's unbelievable. I don't have any school in my cluster with a lot of space,'' said Yvonne Davis, administrator for the Grant and Van Nuys cluster, where many schools already are busing students or have switched to year-round calendars to relieve overcrowding.

This year, nearly 650,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade are expected to attend classes in the Los Angeles Unified School District - 11,300 more than last year. That puts L.A. Unified third among the nation's fastest-growing districts.

To accommodate the growing number of students, some schools have reserved space for neighborhood youngsters, while others have temporarily suspended their open-enrollment programs.

New schools crowded

Dixie Canyon, for example, never opened its doors for open enrollment this year and is expected to cap its 800-pupil enrollment for the first time, meaning some neighborhood children may have to attend school elsewhere.

``It's really new for us,'' said Dixie Canyon Principal Melanie Ann Deutsch, who attributes the space crunch to Gov. Pete Wilson's class-size reduction program, which calls for 20 students per teacher in kindergarten through third grade.

``Before, children from overcrowded schools in other areas used to be bused to our school,'' she said. ``Now we're in a position where if we continue to grow we may be in the position to bus students to another Valley school.''

Hazeltine Avenue School in Van Nuys already is in that position. A month ago, it capped its 1,300-pupil enrollment. Now 20 neighborhood students must catch a bus to Coldwater Canyon Avenue School in North Hollywood.

Hazeltine is so full that 10 kindergartners have been placed on a waiting list while campus officials work to add a 10th kindergarten class.

``The kids just keep coming and coming and coming,'' said Anna Marie O'Connor, assistant principal of Hazeltine.

Last year, 25,000 students districtwide took advantage of the state's 1994 open enrollment law, which allows parents to choose their children's schools within the district regardless of location - provided that space exists and the school's racial balance is not disturbed.

But this year, only 11,000 seats will be available because of soaring enrollment and the class-size reduction program.

At El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, campus officials project they will reach the school's 3,344-student capacity this fall, forcing any late enrollees to find another school to attend.

``We're very, very full this year,'' said Linda Miller-Kawamoto, an assistant principal at El Camino Real, which received 500 applications for open enrollment seats.

``Every year, people on the waiting list have been accepted, but this year I don't see that happening,'' she said.

In May, the school chose 300 students in a lottery and placed 100 prospective students on a waiting list because of the enrollment boom.

At Carpenter Avenue School in Studio City, Principal Joan Marks received 200 open enrollment applications but accepted only those with siblings already enrolled.

``We have Realtors calling us all the time because people are moving into the Carpenter school area and want to go to Carpenter,'' said Marks, who reserved 3 percent of the school's 900 seats for neighborhood children.

``Unfortunately, there's no space except for children in the neighborhood.''

Behind the boom

Driving enrollment are a surplus of affordable housing, the improving economy and recovery from the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

The return of private school students also is boosting enrollment. Last year, 700 students left private schools for public schools, compared with 280 the previous year, district officials said. The reason: smaller class sizes.

``Class-size reduction is a very, very big deal with parents,'' said Gordon Wohlers, assistant superintendent of policy research development for the district. ``There is increased confidence in public schools and an increased awareness that the state is beginning to reinvest in public schools.''

Evon Green removed her 8-year-old daughter, Erin, from Laurel Hall School in North Hollywood because of high tuition costs. This fall, Erin will attend fourth grade at the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies, where 1,799 students were on a waiting list for open enrollment seats earlier this week.

``I was told it was a challenge,'' Green said of the Reseda school.

Promoting open schools

Despite the growth at some schools, others are struggling to attract students.

Canoga Park High School, for example, received 110 applications for its 200 open seats. About 90 seats still were available less than two weeks before the start of school.

``Canoga has had a rough reputation,'' Assistant Principal Sandra Benavidez said. ``It's hard to compete with the big ones like Taft and El Camino.''

Campus officials have tried to polish their image by providing attendance incentives and individual attention to the school's 1,730 students with a mentoring program that pairs students with staff members.

The school also has taken its show on the road. This spring, Canoga Park's award-winning cheerleading squad and animals from its environmental and agriculture magnet program visited area middle schools.

The approach seems to be working. About 30 students were on a waiting this past week for the school's 260-student magnet program.

``I think we're on our way up,'' Benavidez said. ``It's a concerted effort on everyone's part to project a positive image and let people know we have a quality education program.''

At Reseda High School, where more than 100 seats were recently available, officials are working to overcome its image as a violent campus. In February 1993, a Reseda High student was fatally shot by a classmate.

During the past several years, school officials have added a foreign-languages teaching academy for students and a humanities program for sophomores and juniors to supplement the environmental and science magnet program.

Now the school has 50 openings left for its 400-student magnet program.

``I do see people. They're not going out of their way to take off for other schools,'' Assistant Principal Ronaye Alarcon said. ``It's getting out that we have a fabulous magnet program.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Chart

Photo: (1--color) Ralph Diner and Sinbad demonstrate how they waited overnight to be first in line to enroll Diner's daughter in school.

(2--color) Sandy Landar, an assistant principal at Canoga Park High, checks classes kept posted in the auditorium.

Evan Yee/Daily News

Chart: (color) SURGE IN STUDENTS