Report Urges Wide Changes in L.A. Schools’ Method, Policy

In response to national and statewide calls for improving public education, Los Angeles school district officials Monday unveiled a 612-point report recommending deep and wide-ranging changes in the ways schools teach students and prepare and support teachers.

Called “Priorities for Education: a Design for Excellence,” the 370-page document, prepared over the last two years by a districtwide committee of 200 parents, teachers, administrators and other district employees, addresses the need for improvement in 14 areas, from basic instruction to parent involvement.

The proposed master plan was drawn up at the direction of former Supt. Harry Handler after a 1986 review of district integration programs suggested that comprehensive changes were needed to ensure that the district would provide equal educational opportunities throughout the predominantly minority 600-school system.

Board member Jackie Goldberg said the report marks the beginning of a process that will ultimately enhance the quality of education in the district. “Much of what we do is good. A lot of kids come out of our schools quite successfully, and we have to be sure we don’t muck up what is working for them,” she said. “But we also have to make significant changes for those students for whom the system is not working.”

The proposals, presented to the school board at a meeting Monday, “will redefine and focus the direction of the district,” said Jo Ann Ruffolo, an administrative consultant who helped draft the report.

District staff will distribute copies of the report to the public in coming months and will schedule a series of hearings before the board votes sometime next year on whether to adopt the recommendations. If the proposals are approved, the district would need three to five years to implement them, Associate Supt. Paul Possemato said.

The report criticizes the “current and massive overuse” of workbooks and mimeographed work sheets in classrooms, which it says is “nonproductive,” and instead recommends more hands-on experiences for students that emphasize the development of critical thinking skills.

It specifically encourages teachers to shape lessons to include the “physically active participation” of students through such activities as role-playing, simulations and “creative drama.”

The report also endorses an increasingly popular teaching strategy known as “cooperative learning,” in which students work together in small groups to discuss or complete an assignment. In addition to being an effective instructional practice, the technique was recommended as a method to reduce racial isolation and promote mutual respect and feelings of self-worth.

The teaching of values also would be emphasized, the report states, in order to help students “recognize that a common core of values exists in our society.” The report lists 26 values that would be taught, including compassion, honesty, courtesy, due process, patriotism, tolerance and integrity. It directs the district to establish a task force to develop a “values curriculum” for kindergarten through 12th grades.

Another major theme of the report was to increase the involvement of teachers in making major school decisions.

The report says that, because current school policies and practices have effectively excluded teachers from making decisions affecting curriculum and instruction, the district should make changes to allow teachers to use their expertise more fully, such as through helping to assess needs and set goals for their schools.

Career Options

In addition, it proposes establishing a “career lattice” for teachers, a system of promotions that would give teachers clearly defined opportunities to develop professionally and take on new responsibilities. This addresses an ages-old problem faced by teachers, who have few options for advancement outside of leaving the classroom and climbing the administrative ladder.

Among the positions the report recommends creating or expanding are “lead teachers”--a concept proposed in a 1986 Carnegie Foundation report that would set up a class of superior teachers who would help redesign and operate schools--and “training teachers,” who would supervise beginning instructors and curriculum developers.

The report also outlines strategies to improve parent participation, such as telephone hot lines and networks to relay school information and more consistent means of notifying parents about grades, graduation requirements and students’ behavior and academic performance.

It also calls for matching involved parents with those who are less active and showcasing successful parent programs currently operating in schools.

School safety would be improved by requiring visitors--from parents to repairmen--to wear special uniforms or jackets while on campus, a recommendation that, Ruffolo said, would be especially welcome on elementary school campuses, which do not have security officers.