Baldwin Park Schools Test Fundamental Idea

Baldwin Park Unified School District is tallying the results of a parent-interest survey regarding a proposed fundamental school.

Such a school “is intended for students and parents who are conscientiously committed to education over almost anything else a school could provide,” including athletics and other extracurricular activities, said Patricia De Long, assistant superintendent for educational services.

The school would accommodate about 350 student applicants in grades three through six. Students and teachers would have to abide by dress codes, and there would be strict guidelines for behavior and attendance, as well as lots of homework, De Long said.

“When I was a principal,” she said, “I used to hear things like, ‘Why do you have to allow students to stay in school who disrupt the educational process?’ In a school of choice, students and parents will be agreeing to abide by certain guidelines.

“If you violate the rules of conduct,” she added, “you’ll be asked to leave.”

The district sent interest surveys to the parents of its 8,700 pupils in kindergarten through fifth grade about three weeks ago. They were due back Feb. 1; results are expected by Tuesday’s board meeting.

The proposed fundamental school would be on the south portion of the Jerry D. Holland Junior High School campus at Baldwin Park Boulevard and Olive Street. School officials haven’t made any construction plans, pending results of the interest survey. No cost estimate was available.

If the school board gives the go-ahead, the district intends to open the school for fall, 1991.