ROMER PUSHES PLAN TO HIKE MORE TEST SCORES.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

Eager to repeat his success with elementary schools, Superintendent Roy Romer proposed Tuesday raising secondary school test scores by modifying year-round calendars to increase class time and creating more intimate ``schools within schools.''

Romer's ``Putting Students First'' initiative comes at a time when the Los Angeles Unified School District faces a $480 million deficit over the next 18 months, but he insisted it's important for the district to make substantial instructional changes.

Chief Financial Officer Joseph Zeronian told the board Tuesday that Gov. Gray Davis wants to cut 11.2 percent in the next six months from programs that largely benefit poor children. Areas affected range from gang-risk intervention and dropout prevention programs to bilingual education and 10th-grade counseling.

The superintendent said the cost of his initiative would be minimal - $1.6 million would be needed to buy additional bungalows while more money is necessary to hire assistant principals and counselors.

``This is an aggressive plan, but it's the right kind of aggressiveness,'' Romer said. ``We are proposing to change at at time when budgets are very tight.''

While LAUSD's elementary test scores have risen steadily in the last few years, academic performance at middle and high schools continues to languish.

Under Romer's initiative, schools districtwide will be encouraged to establish small learning communities - houses or academies within their schools - to provide students a personalized education. Some campuses, such as Sun Valley Middle School, already have small learning communities in place, but officials would like to see the concept spread to other schools.

``One size does not fit all,'' Romer said. ``There is a movement throughout the country toward smaller learning environments. The reason is youngsters really need to be known by a teacher or adult to be successful in education.''

As part of his strategy to improve middle and high schools, Romer would also like to see students tested every six weeks to measure their progress in all core subjects, starting with math. The test results will be used to identify problems early and prevent students from failing.

The strategy's last prong aims to re-configure the calendar of the district's most overcrowded elementary and middle schools to give students 180 days of schools. Currently, more than half of the district's 600-plus schools are on the Concept 6 calendar, which provides students with 163 days of schooling.

In the San Fernando Valley, four middle schools - Byrd, Reed, Sepulveda and Sun Valley - and six elementary schools - Beachy, Burbank, Hart Street, Sharp, Valerio Elementary and Valerio Primary Center - would be affected by the calendar changes.

In other news, board member Marlene Canter withdrew a proposed code of conduct for the school board. She plans to amend the code with input from her colleagues and seek a vote at the next board meeting.

The board also voted unanimously to approve a ``sweat-free schools'' policy, joining Minneapolis and several New York state school districts in buying equipment and apparel only from manufacturers with good labor records.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.