Class of 2000 : Schools Toss a Party for Kindergartners to Celebrate Distinction

The party for nearly 48,000 kindergartners in the Los Angeles Unified School District Wednesday was billed as a celebration for the Class of 2000, “the district’s first class of the new century.”

The bash was great, though the billing was slightly wrong.

Because the 21st Century does not actually begin until 2001, the Class of 2000, in fact, will not be the first group of students to graduate from the Los Angeles district in the 21st Century. That privilege will go to next year’s crop of 4-year-olds.

“Unfortunately, this isn’t the first class of graduates of the 21st Century,” said district spokesman Bill Rivera. “It is the first class of graduates that will walk into the 21st Century (on Jan. 1, 2001). It’s a fine distinction.”

Didn’t Matter to Pupils

Indeed, it is distinction that did not appear to matter to the kindergartners who sang, recited poetry and launched balloons on Wednesday. In their minds, any reason is a good reason for a playground party.

“I like being in the Class of 2000. It means people think we’re special,” said Amanda Warenkiewicz, a kindergartner at Carpenter Avenue Elementary School in Studio City.

Los Angeles’ Class of 2000 is special. About 86% of its members come from ethnic minority groups, the largest percentage of minority students in a single grade in Los Angeles district history. Many of the children speak little English and have already started their academic careers in bilingual classes, which, depending on who is talking, will either help or hinder their education.

If current disappointing trends hold, 48% of the Latinos and 49% of the blacks will drop out of school before they receive a high school diploma, according to the Oakland-based Achievement Council, a nonprofit organization that works to improve the academic achievement of minority students.

And, of the blacks and Latinos who do graduate from high school, many will have a significantly lower chance of meeting entrance requirements for schools in the California State University and University of California systems, said Kati Haycock, president and director of the Achievement Council.

Los Angeles Schools Supt. Leonard M. Britton, who has made academic preparation of the Class of 2000 one of the district’s top priorities, has said on several occasions that the system will initiate a long-range plan to enhance the youngsters’ education.

“We’re going to make them feel so good about themselves and feel so successful that they’ll stay in school and graduate,” Britton told a gathering at Roscoe Elementary School in Sun Valley.

“And I plan to give them their diplomas on June 10, 2000. I plan to be here,” he added.

Outline of Plan

Details of Britton’s 13-year plan are still being worked out, according to district spokesman Rivera. In an interview Wednesday, Britton said the proposal will focus on academics, dropout prevention and improvement in the level of parent participation in school activities.

But with the current school year almost half over and no specific plan for the Class of 2000 on the table, officials of the district’s largest teacher’s union are leery that any significant changes will take place.

“Unless Britton is able to work a miracle, I don’t see anything on the horizon to change things, and it pains me to say that,” said Wayne Johnson, president of United Teachers, Los Angeles.