Downey : Project Success Is a Failure

The Board of Education of the Downey Unified School District has voted to abolish its program to assist ninth-grade students who are having serious scholastic problems, because it has been ineffective. Project Success will be eliminated after this year, district spokesman Michele M. Swanson said.

About 50 students are enrolled in the program at Downey and Warren high schools, Swanson said. The program, which was founded at the start of the 1986-87 school year, is running on a $92,000 annual budget.

The program offers specialized instruction to students who have difficulty in English, math and science classes. But Swanson said students showed little improvement over the life of the program. Group grade-point averages rose from 1.05 to 1.10 at Warren High, and dropped from 1.40 to .85 at Downey High. A student receiving perfect grades would have a 4.0 grade-point average.

Swanson said district educators determined that they must identify and help children with scholastic problems at an earlier age, but no formal programs have been proposed.