LAUSD CONSOLIDATES PROGRAMS DROPOUT, ADULT-ED POPULATIONS MERGED.

Byline: NAUSH BOGHOSSIAN Staff Writer

Under fire for poor dropout rates, LAUSD quietly consolidated its adult- and secondary-instruction programs, which instructors say will artificially inflate graduation figures and jeopardize courses for career-oriented students.

The restructured system is part of Los Angeles Unified's renewed focus on keeping students in school and enticing those who have dropped out to return.

Adults dropping out

Teacher Julie Carson said she's noted that more adults are dropping out of her elective classes at the Kennedy-San Fernando Community Adult School as more high school students enroll.

``If we become a dropout-prevention and recovery program, and that's our focus, I'm afraid it'll be at the expense of the adults,'' Carson said. ``We have this district-speak where they say they'll have these resources delivered and they're not. I'm concerned the resources will be delivered (only) to high school kids.''

Chief Instructional Officer Bob Collins rejects the notion that any student will be overlooked. He said the realignment was ``not a cosmetic'' change, but was implemented as a way to expand options for more students.

``We have adult programs throughout this district and there's no intent of taking over the adult school program with 9th- to 12th-grade kids,'' he said.

Los Angeles Unified offers 25 adult school programs, and also staffs nine education-career centers. With $18.6 million allocated for expanded vocational offerings and dropout prevention, the new system opens those programs to high school-age students who have dropped out.

``Fair to adults''

``This superintendent and this board are very concerned that students at high risk are given the maximum opportunities to succeed and have the maximum type of instructions to enroll in,'' Collins said. ``I think what we're doing is extremely fair to adults, and we're going to address students who are in high school with options they might never have had.''

But adult-education instructors are skeptical about the district's plans, saying officials have failed to follow through on previous promises to improve conditions and resources.

``Our No. 1 concern we have as educators is it's a paperwork solution to a real problem of the dropouts ... and the second concern is they're doing that at the expense of the people we're educating now -- the adults,'' said Michael Novick, a teacher at the Abram Friedman Occupational Center in downtown L.A.

An estimated 400,000 to 450,000 students enroll in adult-education classes each year, said Ernest Kettenring, who chairs the adult and occupational educational committee of United Teachers Los Angeles.

He said that when 15 percent of an adult-education class is composed of high-school students, it hits the tipping point and adults begin to leave.

``The district needs an instruction that regards the adults' education as its primary mission. My concern is that their needs are going to be lost in the political `single focus' on dropout prevention, and the needs of our adults will not be met,'' said Kettenring, whose union represents 3,200 adult-education teachers.

``It pushes adult students to second-class status. They'll continue to get money from the state for adults, but will find ways to transfer resources to the education of teenagers and the dropout problem.''

High stakes 

The stakes are high for LAUSD as it scrambled to unveil dropout prevention and retention programs after months of attacks from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The district's dropout rate is pegged anywhere from 24 percent to more than 50 percent.

The ``Diploma Project'' was created to provide dropouts with opportunities for credit recovery, work-based learning and career-tech education.

The Mayor's Office said that once Villaraigosa assumes a greater role in the district Jan. 1, under legislation recently signed into law, one of his top priorities will be determining the dropout rate.

``The mayor believes we must attack the dropout crisis in a manner which maximizes every student's chance to attend a four-year university,'' spokesman Matt Szabo said.

``The mayor wants to work with the district to find solutions that achieve real results, rather than simply papering-over the problem to produce better numbers.''

Adult-ed teachers charge that ushering more students into adult ed is a way to move the numbers around, with no real plan for how they plan to educate the kids in the programs. Collins had said the district plans to increase the vocational education program tenfold.

School board member David Tokofsky blamed poor communication for adult-education teachers not being included in the decision to merge their program with the secondary-instruction division. Because of that, Tokofsky said, even he's not certain of the impact the shift will have on adult education.

``I don't know if they're going to be effectively causing adult education to lose its significance or not,'' he said. ``I hope not and I hope the board isn't given that direction.''

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

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