THE STATE OF OUR SCHOOLS: TOP TO BOTTOM; INNOVATION CREDITED FOR DIXIE SCORES.Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby / Daily News Staff Writer Wendy Freitag-Gass considers herself lucky. She got her eldest son into Dixie Canyon Avenue School, one of the San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Valley's top-scoring nonmagnet public elementaries. Regularly deluged with inquiries from parents from throughout the Valley, the Sherman Oaks campus offers extraordinary performing and visual arts visual arts npl → artes fpl plásticas visual arts npl → arts mpl plastiques visual arts npl → programs, as well as courses in tai chi Tai Chi Definition T'ai chi is a Chinese exercise system that uses slow, smooth body movements to achieve a state of relaxation of both body and mind. , yoga yoga (yō`gə) [Skt.,=union], general term for spiritual disciplines in Hinduism, Buddhism, and throughout S Asia that are directed toward attaining higher consciousness and liberation from ignorance, suffering, and rebirth. and basic chemistry. ``If you want your child to have a healthy amount of confidence and strong self-esteem, bring them to Dixie because they will learn how to be healthy, outgoing, generous adults,'' said Freitag-Gass, who commutes 20 minutes each way from Toluca Lake with her son. Dixie is among the top elementary schools elementary school: see school. in the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. , the nation's second-largest system, where poor test scores and high dropout (1) On magnetic media, a bit that has lost its strength due to a surface defect or recording malfunction. If the bit is in an audio or video file, it might be detected by the error correction circuitry and either corrected or not, but if not, it is often not noticed by the human rates have led to a reform movement and a breakup breakup The division of a company into separate parts. The most famous breakup to date was the 1984 division of AT&T (formerly, American Telephone & Telegraph Company). This breakup was intended to increase competition in the communications industry. campaign. Over the years, thousands of dissatisfied families have pulled their children out for private schools or moved to outlying out·ly·ing adj. Relatively distant or remote from a center or middle: outlying regions. outlying Adjective far away from the main area Adj. 1. communities. Yet, among the district's 425 elementaries, there are bright spots - schools where a combination of innovative teachers, enthusiastic principals, involved parents and motivated students have managed to beat the odds. Dixie is one such school. And like most high-achieving schools, its neighborhood is more affluent, with higher percentages of college-educated families than most low-achieving schools. Back from private schools Natalie Morris pulled her 7-year-old daughter out of private school to enroll her in Dixie. This after once swearing she'd never put her children in public school. ``It has an excellent reputation for academics. Everyone wants to get into this school. We turn away kids every day who want to get into this school,'' she said. So popular is Dixie that it draws about 30 percent of its students from outside the neighborhood. Of 750 students, about 225 hold special permits to attend through the districtwide open enrollment program or for child care and work-related reasons. At popular schools like Dixie, the beginning of the year is a mad scramble for spaces. This year, Dixie closed its doors to new children from outside the neighborhood because of a surge in the number of local students enrolling at their home school. That didn't stop about 100 anxious parents from calling to inquire about space, said Principal Melanie Deutsch. The school is so full that on Monday, 12 fourth- and fifth-graders will begin being bused to Chandler Elementary School in Van Nuys. The primary attraction for many parents evaluating schools for their children is Dixie's test scores. On the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills - a multiple-choice, national standardized standardized pertaining to data that have been submitted to standardization procedures. standardized morbidity rate see morbidity rate. standardized mortality rate see mortality rate. exam that covers math, language and reading - the school scored in the 70th percentile percentile, n the number in a frequency distribution below which a certain percentage of fees will fall. E.g., the ninetieth percentile is the number that divides the distribution of fees into the lower 90% and the upper 10%, or that fee level , significantly higher than the national average of 50 and the district average of 42. Dixie is among the top 11 nonmagnet elementary schools for CTBS CTBS Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills CTBS Certified Tissue Bank Specialist CTBS California Tests of Basic Skills scores in the Valley, which include Beckford, Carpenter, Wilbur and Woodland Hills. Other high-scoring Valley elementary schools Valley Elementary School is an elementary school located in Beavercreek, Ohio and is part of the Beavercreek City School District. The principal is Lisa Walk. External links
Scoring in the 15th and lowest percentile for Valley schools was Hillery T. Broadous Elementary in Pacoima. The ranking earned the school a place on L.A. Unified Superintendent Ruben Zacarias' list of 100 worst-performing schools. Community mission High marks at schools like Dixie don't come easily. An active and large group of parents who volunteer and raise thousands of dollars each year helps create the school's rich scholastic program. Supporters also credit administrators for backing teachers' innovative methods and nontraditional ideas. Deutsch said she believes the school works because there is consensus about its mission. ``We feel passionate about education. Everyone has the same focus,'' she said. Located between Moorpark Street and Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. , Dixie serves 750 children in kindergarten kindergarten [Ger.,=garden of children], system of preschool education. Friedrich Froebel designed (1837) the kindergarten to provide an educational situation less formal than that of the elementary school but one in which children's creative play instincts would be through fifth grade - about 12 percent below the district average of 850 on elementary campuses. Parents are integral to day-to-day operations. As part of Dixie's school-based management philosophy, parents and teachers have authority to hire staff and make decisions over portions of the campus budget, like which textbooks and software equipment to buy. Parents also financially support the school. They add about $60,000 to the school's budget by organizing a silent auction and sales of wrapping paper Noun 1. wrapping paper - a tough paper used for wrapping kraft, kraft paper - strong wrapping paper made from pulp processed with a sulfur solution butcher paper - a strong wrapping paper that resists penetration by blood or meat fluids , pizza, baked goods and any other kind of fund-raiser they can invent. Students run a store - with the help of adults - that sells soda and snacks. Parents are key Proceeds from the fund-raisers help pay for two full-time and one half-time classroom aides, a librarian, performing and visual arts activities, field trips and supplies. Last year, parents raised about $47,000 to install wiring for air conditioning air conditioning, mechanical process for controlling the humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and circulation of air in buildings and rooms. Indoor air is conditioned and regulated to maintain the temperature-humidity ratio that is most comfortable and healthful. . With that in place, the district installed the units this year, putting Dixie well ahead of nearly 300 schools waiting for air conditioning. Parents don't seem to mind the extra work. ``You have to work for everything you get,'' said Mark Holden, a parent who spearheaded last year's fund-raising drive Noun 1. fund-raising drive - a campaign to raise money for some cause fund-raising campaign, fund-raising effort crusade, campaign, cause, drive, effort, movement - a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end; "he supported for air conditioning. ``It's not like it's handed to you. Even private schools you have to put time into.'' Parental involvement is crucial to a school's success, ``the No. 1 thing to look at,'' said Fay Van Der Kar-Levinson, co-author of ``Choosing the Right School for Your Child.'' ``The more energy you put into a school the better it's going to be.'' Extra enrichment Among the extras financed and run by parents is the school's Gifted and Talented Enrichment program, an amalgam of academic, performing and visual arts activities that includes writing and producing an original play. The program includes 216 children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Pupils in kindergarten through second grade are screened through various classes, such as tai chi, kitchen chemistry and yoga, to determine if the GATE program is suitable for them. Outside the GATE program, children can experiment with oils and pastels in the school's visual arts program or participate in one of the school's four plays that make up the performing arts program. These resources are extras that many elementary schools in the district go without. Parents direct the plays and help the children design the sets. Last year, students produced a miniature version of the Pageant of the Masters The Pageant of the Masters is an annual festival held by the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach, California. The event is known for the "living pictures" wherein classical and contemporary works of art are recreated by real people posing in almost exact detail to the work of art they , re-creating Winslow Homer's painting ``Snap the Whip.'' This year, they will add a living sculpture to their repertoire. ``This program is incredible,'' said Sue Robinson, whose son and daughter graduated from the school, and who now oversees the school's performing arts activities, GATE program and glee club. ``We're a family. We have fights, but people don't hold grudges. We go ahead. We're here to make children whole and happy,'' she said. The volunteer efforts have made deep impressions upon teachers and students alike. ``Parent support is 100 percent,'' said Jerian Bayless, a first- and second-grade teacher whose 7-year-old daughter attends the school. ``I've never gone wanting for anything in 14 years.'' Fourth-grader Rainey Latislaw agrees. ``There's always enough of everything.'' Despite the fund-raisers, the school struggles to pull off its programs. Fourth-grade teacher Jill Winner said the school has to arrange for parents to drive students to field trips because there is no money to hire buses and drivers. ``Our school is in a nice neighborhood, so they think we're rich. But we're not. We're actually poor,'' Winner said. Holden said many parents are average working-class people who make time for the school. ``Most parents are blue collar,'' said Holden, a self-employed businessman who remains on the school-based management committee although his twin sons graduated last year. ``It's a misnomer misnomer n. the wrong name. MISNOMER. The act of using a wrong name. 2. Misnomers, may be considered with regard to contracts, to devises and bequests, and to suits or actions. 3.-1. that it's a wealthy school.'' Classroom innovation Teachers said they believe the support they get from Deutsch to pursue innovative classroom techniques also contributes to the school's success. ``The administration is very supportive of nontraditional programs,'' said Bayless, whose combined first- and second-grade class emphasizes academic ability, not age. ``We team-teach wherever children are,'' she said of her class. ``We take them until we can't go any further, and the older kids help the younger ones.'' And because literacy is a schoolwide goal, all teachers read aloud to their classes. In line with that goal, the school adopted new reading books for all grades this year. Phonics phonics Method of reading instruction that breaks language down into its simplest components. Children learn the sounds of individual letters first, then the sounds of letters in combination and in simple words. , spelling and writing are part of the program. In Winner's fourth-grade class, students start the school year with journals. One of the first assignments is to write about their best school year ever. Learning to get along Reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic aren't the only subjects students study. Because of its diverse population, the campus adopted tolerance as its schoolwide theme three years ago. Supplemented with trips to the Museum of Tolerance The Museum of Tolerance is a multimedia museum in Los Angeles, California, with an associated museum in New York City, designed to examine racism and prejudice in the United States and the world with a strong focus on the history of the Holocaust. and the House of Blues House of Blues (HOB) is a chain of music halls and restaurants founded in 1992 by Hard Rock Cafe founder Isaac Tigrett and his friend and investor Dan Aykroyd. It is a home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine, whose clubs celebrate African-American culture, specifically , students begin learning tolerance in kindergarten. Each Monday morning, the entire school gathers in the auditorium to recite the pledge of Peace Builders, a program that encourages children to recognize good deeds and compliment their peers. ``They need to learn to get along together regardless of differences,'' Winner said. Parents seem to appreciate the emphasis on diversity. ``It's socially challenging,'' said Julie Alpert, whose two children attend fourth grade. ``I feel safe here academically.'' So does Freitag-Gass. She's already planning to enroll her preschool-age son into the school. ``My youngest doesn't start until next September. I'm going to be here a long time.'' Dixie Canyon Avenue School Where: Sherman Oaks Principal: Melanie Deutsch Enrollment: 750 CTBS score: 70th percentile CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, Chart PHOTO (1--color) Fourth-graders quiz each other with flash cards at Dixie Canyon Avenue School in Sherman Oaks, top. (2) Principal Melanie Deutsch gives fourth-grader Crystal Oliver some help with a math problem at Dixie Canyon Avenue School in Sherman Oaks. (3) Parents and children walk past the ``Family Tree'' as they exit Dixie Canyon Avenue School at day's end. Michael Owen
CHART: TOP TO BOTTOM Here is a comparison of test scores and percentage of students who receive free meals and public assistance at Hillery T. Broadous Elementary and Dixie Canyon Avenue School. Daily News |
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