LEARN SCHOOL INTENT ON FORGING NEW IDENTITY : CAMPUS HOPES TO SHED `SHOOTING BELL' PAINS.

Byline: Stacy Finz Daily News Staff Writer

Langdon Elementary School officials want people to know there's more to their school than what goes on outside its fences: drive-by shootings, drug deals and vandalism.

The school may best be known for its ``shooting bell,'' an alarm sounded to warn children and teachers to take cover from gunfire.

But Monday, nearly 900 students wearing bright green ribbons and attending a schoolwide assembly sought to create a new image - a school undergoing spirited reform in academics and community involvement.

``We're tired of people portraying our school as being the same as the area around it,'' said Principal Dan Balderrama. ``We want to change that because we're a good school.''

The school is the latest in the L.A. Unified School District to participate in Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now or LEARN reform. Langdon is one of 102 schools becoming a LEARN school this fall.

The essence of the program lies in local control - in which teachers, principals, parents and school staff are trained to run their own schools and tailor their curricula to the school's specific needs.

For nine years, Balderrama has been reaching out to the community in the hopes that it will reach back, he said. And it's starting to happen, according to the principal.

In the past four years break-ins have become less frequent and when they happen residents get angry, Balderrama said. Parents are volunteering on campus and students are learning school pride.

``Now it's rare to find graffiti on the walls,'' he said.

Some on campus still fear that the social and economic conditions of the neighborhood are too much to overcome.

``I see the administration putting forth a lot of effort,'' said Wanda Linan, a teacher's aide at the school for seven years. ``But these children have a lot of special needs and need extra attention. Most of them have a language barrier. And their parents can't help them because they're doing all they can to survive.''

Linan pulled her own son out of Langdon two years ago to send him to a public magnet school for gifted students.

``I work here and I see what it's like,'' she said. ``He wasn't being challenged and he was getting into trouble.''

Linan didn't want to risk her son's future. But she continues to work at the elementary school because she knows that the students there need her.

``We're really, really trying,'' she said.

Balderrama said he is hopeful that LEARN will help them accomplish academic change.

``Today was the first time the staff was able to say we're ready to take this on,'' Balderrama said about the LEARN plan. ``I don't think we had the commitment even two years ago.''

Most of Langdon's students are from poor homes where Spanish is their native language, according to Balderrama. So students struggle to learn their classroom lessons in English.

``Most of our students are about a year to a year and a half behind their grade in reading,'' Balderrama said.

As part of Langdon's three-year plan on the LEARN program, students will learn to read in groups of four, Balderrama said. Everyone from the custodian to the principal will read to or work with students on a daily basis, he said.

The school, meanwhile, will continue to hold classes for parents who want to learn job and parenting skills in the hope they will become more involved in their children's education.

Balderrama also said he plans to continue making home visits to his students to keep them coming to school.

``My attitude is the gangs will have to quit before I do,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO Langdon Elementary students form a banner to celebrate their school's conversion to a LEARN campus.

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News