PUTTING SOME CLASS IN CLASS NEW SCHOOLS SHINE KIDS GET CLEAN BOOKS, HIGH-TECH BATHROOMS.

Byline: Jennifer Radcliffe Staff Writer

Students and teachers at the Los Angeles Unified School District's new Van Nuys and Northridge campuses can't seem to wipe the giddy grins off their faces.

Since moving in last month to the only new secondary schools to open in the San Fernando Valley in three decades, they've marveled at the sparkling bathrooms, state-of-the-art technology and large classrooms with picture windows.

Even the desks and textbooks at the East Valley middle school and high school academy at California State University, Northridge, are brand new.

``It's night and day, and this is day. This is definitely day,'' said Ron Tay, a seventh-grade science teacher at the new Van Nuys middle school on Roscoe Boulevard. ``This is a much more positive environment.''

Tens of thousands of Los Angeles children will have a chance to attend new LAUSD schools over the next eight years when 160 new campuses are set to open. About $14 billion in state and local money will be spent to build and repair schools - one of the largest public works programs ever undertaken.

And after years of being behind the curve, LAUSD schools will be among the nation's most state-of-the-art, featuring the latest technology and progressive construction standards, set by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools. The collaborative is a nonprofit group of designers, utility experts, state officials and school employees working to design environmentally sustainable schools.

From their white reflective roofs to their self-flushing toilets, the schools should be cheaper to operate. CHPS schools also feature underground parking, better classroom acoustics and more green space where students can exercise.

``Los Angeles Unified is the first school district in the country to do this. They're innovators,'' said John Zinner, LAUSD's Collaborative for High Performance Schools consultant.

During the first month of class, students who left campuses like Monroe High School and Sepulveda Middle School noticed the many differences.

``Look, no tagging,'' said a beaming 15-year-old Dinah Servando, holding up a spotless history textbook and noting that it was free of gang graffiti. Servando is a sophomore at the 600-student CSUN high school, a special academy for students interested in education, health and the arts.

Both the CSUN high school - which was dedicated last week - and the Van Nuys middle school will be named by the community later on.

At the new middle school, about 1,700 students have been finding their way around large courtyards and brightly colored, three-story classroom wings.

Youngsters were surprised to learn that the last middle school to open in the San Fernando Valley was Frost Middle School in 1969 - before some of their parents were born.

``Is that a world record?,'' asked sixth-grader Jocelyn Sanchez.

Children noted that the new campuses seemed safer. They say they appreciate the clean and functioning bathrooms - a serious and well-publicized problem at many LAUSD campuses.

``It's very clean. You don't see anything on the floor. There's no gum under the desks,'' said Servando, the CSUN high school student.

East Valley middle school Principal Suzanne Blake said she had to give students lessons on how to use the self-flushing toilets and automated sinks.

``They're a little freaked out by them, I have to admit,'' she said.

Just having access to clean restrooms is different for some students, who were so disgusted by bathrooms at their old schools that many refused to use them. Teachers - who have spent years teaching at overcrowded schools - are equally excited by other details.

Instead of chalkboards, they use large white boards that slide open to reveal extra bookcases and cabinets. Each teacher has a desk, a computer and a television with DVD player.

Classrooms, most of which are at least 960 square feet, also have digital overhead projectors. Most teachers have access to nearby work areas, where they can prepare lessons and store supplies.

``I think this is a good home,'' said Daniel Choe, a history teacher at the CSUN high school. ``We have technology up the wazoo.''

Blake said she's noticed that teachers seem to be energized by having the proper space and supplies.

``Here, you feel more important. You feel like what your job is matters,'' she said. ``When (teachers) feel provided for, they do a much better job teaching.''

While proud of the new schools, Superintendent Roy Romer has asked every school to consider ways of reinventing itself so that even students at older schools feel great about their campus.

``We've got a problem of have and have nots,'' Romer told school board members at a recent meeting. ``We have a real obligation as we think through this strategy to do something simultaneous in the (existing) schools.

``All of these (new schools) are the shell in which the real work occurs,'' Romer said. ``The personality and the human beings are more important than the furniture.''

Jennifer Radcliffe, [phone]

jennifer.radcliffe(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) New math books are stacked on a gum-and-graffiti-free desk at the new East Valley middle school in Van Nuys.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) Teacher Daniel Choe instructs students in one of the brand new high school classrooms at the CSUN campus.

(3 -- color) Physical education teacher Pamela Doman leads her class through a dance exercise in the Northridge high school cafeteria.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer