ANAHEIM : Storefront School Will Open in Mall

Community leaders--ranging from school social workers to chamber of commerce merchants to educators from nearby counties--converged on Anaheim Plaza shopping mall Tuesday, not to shop but to take a look at a new school.

Next to a shoe store and across the corridor from a fancy delicatessen sits an Anaheim Union High School District facility called the Learning Center, or TLC. It’s the first storefront school in the county and something of a model that educators up and down the state are watching closely.

Inside the former mall shop are rows of computer terminals, tables and chairs, along with a counseling room in the back, equipped with tiny chairs for younger children who come to the center while older siblings, or teen parents, study.

“Not all kids fit the mold that you get through junior high in two years and high school in four,” district Supt. Cynthia Grennan said. “I think this facility gives those students the opportunity to build their confidence and know that we’re willing to invest in them.”

TLC will formally begin classes this fall, primarily targeting junior high school pupils in the district who have lagged behind in regular school and who need extra attention to catch up with peers.

Students will study basic courses, such as math, language and reading, three hours daily on the computers. They also can talk with counselors about work preparation and career planning, and can take part-time jobs for work experience and school credit.

In addition, the center is open evenings for parents to meet with social workers to discuss their children’s needs, and to learn about services.

“Kids are coming to us with all sorts of problems, and we felt the real need for something like this at the junior high level. Many of them didn’t have a place to go,” said David Steinle, the district’s assistant superintendent for educational services.

TLC is something of a public-private partnership, funded with $200,000 in state grant funding, with the remainder financed through donations of equipment, space and volunteer hours.

Ideally, TLC will be a temporary stop for students who have gone off track in their school careers and need to catch up to move on, school officials said. Officials estimate that students will attend the center for about three to six months, and that the 22,000-student district can reach about 300 students annually through the center.

“If we can shore up what they don’t know, they don’t have to stay here indefinitely, and they can go back to their neighborhood schools,” Grennan said.

The center has housed summer school classes for the past few months, and is open on weekdays, but officially begins operating when school begins in September.