SUMMERTIME CLASSES BEGIN; PROGRAM GENERATES ENTHUSIASM AMONG PARENTS OF VALLEY KIDS.

Byline: David R. Baker Staff Writer

Ed Aros took his son, Kris, back to school early Wednesday and hoped three weeks of summer classes would be enough.

Kris, 8, is among 109,000 Los Angeles elementary students identified by the district as at risk of not graduating to the next grade level next year if their reading and writing skills don't improve.

As many children lay in bed early Wednesday, Kris and thousands of other students across the city went back to class for three intense weeks of literacy lessons.

``We knew he was falling behind,'' Ed Aros said, as teachers assembled their classes in the hot courtyard of Sylmar's Herrick Avenue Elementary School. ``He needed a little more help. So I'm totally for it . . . It's better than him staying back.''

Aros was not alone. The Los Angeles Unified School District sent notices for summer school to the parents of 109,000 children. Those parents - and thousands more, who learned of the program on their own - opted to sign up their kids.

For L.A. Unified, the new summer school program represents one of the largest reform efforts undertaken in years. In addition to the 125,000 to 130,000 students who were expected in classes on Wednesday, a second, smaller group of students will begin later this month.

The program is viewed as the district's best hope for avoiding an educational train-wreck next year when new state rules force all California schools to end social promotion, the practice of allowing kids with poor marks to graduate to the next grade level.

``This is going to be the key to making sure these kids survive,'' said LAUSD board member Julie Korenstein.

Although teachers, principals and parents have pegged high hopes on the program, some wondered whether three weeks would be enough to substantially boost reading and writing skills.

``The three-week period is pretty short,'' said Richard Cone, executive director of the University of Southern California's Joint Educational Project, which works with local public schools. ``It's not going to be the kind of individual attention kids need to make a breakthrough. But it's a question of how much we can afford.''

Korenstein agreed, saying that if the state provides funding next year, the program may be expanded. The school district assembled this summer's $71 million program mostly out of its own general funds, she said.

``Three weeks, you just begin to bring about some changes,'' she said. ``Six weeks would make a much more indelible impression on these kids.''

Several teachers and principals said that while they would prefer more time, they could still make a difference in three weeks.

``I'm not sure we can accomplish everything we'd like in that time, but hopefully we can give them a boost before next year,'' said Principal Rosemary Enzer at Danube Avenue School in Granada Hills.

The program began at several year-round schools late last week, said Robert Barner, assistant superintendent for student intervention.

For most schools, the effort began Wednesday with a battery of short tests designed to gauge each student's skills. Herrick Avenue Elementary teacher Zada Ericson recited several sentences and asked her class - kids who just finished second grade - to write them down.

Some kids charged into the assignment. Others' pencils barely moved.

``Children going into third grade should be able to listen and dictate, but if they can't, we need to work on it now,'' Ericson said later. She would analyze the results Wednesday night and plan her lessons from there.

While some students pined for the swimming pool or the living room, several said they understood the importance of the classes.

``We won't get held back. We won't be that dumb,'' said Martha Vasquez, 8, of Sylmar. ``That would be pretty embarrassing.''

Their parents were even more eager. At some San Fernando Valley schools, parents whose children were scheduled to take the second round of summer classes, which start at the end of the month, showed up Wednesday instead.

Other parents, as many as 24,000 citywide, have registered their children for the program simply because they want their kids to study during the summer. Mario Salazar of Sylmar brought two of his children to Herrick Avenue on Wednesday hoping to sign them up on the spot.

``They're not in danger of falling behind,'' he said. ``I just want them to keep their skills up. . . . Otherwise, they'd probably be running around with mom and the baby at home, watching cartoons. But those are things they can do after school.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1) Second-graders Kris Aros and Martha Vasquez, both 8, tackle a class assignment Wednesday at Herrick Avenue Elementary School.

(2) Summer school students line up for the bus Wednesday at Herrick Avenue Elementary School in Sylmar.

John McCoy/Daily News