READING SKILLS GET BOOST COLLEGE PREP PROGRAM PAYS OFF AS STUDENTS SEE GAIN.

Byline: Erik Nelson Staff Writer

A year-old college readiness program aimed at low-performing Northeast Valley schools has reaped unexpected gains, nearly tripling the number of elementary students reading at grade level, officials said Wednesday.

At the start of the last school year, only 673 students, or 11.7 percent of second- through fifth-grade students in 10 elementary schools in San Fernando and Pacoima could read at grade level. After a year of intense reading instruction under Project GRAD, 1,907 students or 33.2 percent were at grade level.

``We actually surpassed what we originally expected for the first year,'' said Cheryl Mabey, executive director of Project GRAD Los Angeles, which stands for Graduation Really Achieves Dreams.

The four-year, $40 million program is part of a national effort launched by Texas oilman Jim Ketelsen, former chairman of Tenneco Inc., that prepares children from poor neighborhoods for college. Locally, the program targets 15 Northeast Valley schools including San Fernando High School and its feeder middle and elementary schools.

One of the cornerstones of the program is a structured reading program developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University called Success For All, which organizers credit with the dramatic reading improvements.

The program, one of three used to boost reading instruction for district students in kindergarten through sixth grade, tests children every eight weeks to determine their reading level and assigns them to groups of students with similar reading abilities.

``I think that's made all the difference,'' said Sharon Miller-Dunn, a SFA facilitator at Morningside School in San Fernando. ``Before, everyone was kind of doing their own thing . . . What Success for All has done is given them a script and a prescription for teaching reading.''

Under the reading program, second-graders saw the largest gains, growing from 10 percent who were able to read at grade level to 41 percent.

Project GRAD also features a similar learning program in math, which introduces algebra in early grades, as well as programs that promote tutoring, parent involvement and teacher training.

One of the major goals of Project GRAD Los Angeles is to increase to 50 percent the number of San Fernando High School students who attend four-year colleges. Now, only 14 percent of students do.

Under Project GRAD, if students sign a contract and graduate from high school with a 2.5 grade-point average within four years and meet other requirements, they can earn a $6,000 scholarship, which doubles if they attend a participating local college, such as Pepperdine University or Occidental College.

The local program spent $6.6 million in its first year, $2.5 million from private foundations, $1.9 million in government grants and $1.6 million from the LAUSD. Private donors included the Arco foundation, Corning Inc., and a foundation created by Walt Disney Co. Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Anthony Torres, 5, looks up at his tutor, Eusebio Lopez, during a reading lesson Wednesday at Morningside School in San Fernando. The tutoring session is part of Project GRAD, aimed at better preparing children for college.

(2) Judith Petit works with Bobby Osete at Morningside School on reading skills Wednesday in San Fernando.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

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