They Take Education Personally : Schools: Manhattan Beach Intermediate’s ‘warm and caring environment’ is cited in its federal designation as a Blue Ribbon School.

Manhattan Beach Intermediate Principal Billie Jean Knight was walking toward her office last week when she called out, “Hey Rachel, why aren’t you in class?”

Instead of being taken aback, the student gave a quick explanation and skipped on her way.

At Manhattan Beach Intermediate, it’s no stigma for the principal to know your first name.

As Knight likes to put it: “I have 450 smiles and I know every single one of them.”

That personal rapport with the school’s seventh- and eighth-graders and the “warmth and caring environment” it nurtures, was cited recently by the U.S. Department of Education in naming Manhattan Beach Intermediate a Blue Ribbon School.

The national honor, the most prestigious educational award given by the federal government, went to just three secondary schools in Los Angeles County; the others were Whitney High School in Cerritos and Notre Dame Academy in West Los Angeles.

It recognizes public and private schools that are doing an exceptionally good job of educating students and showcases their programs to other schools in the community.

This year, the award program’s ninth, the federal agency recognized a total of 222 high schools and junior highs, 18 of them public schools in California. On alternating years, elementary schools compete for the honor.

Although the award brings no financial compensation, representatives from the winning schools will be invited to Washington in September for a White House reception and a luncheon with Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander.

It was the first such honor for the Manhattan Beach City School District. And for teachers and administrators at Manhattan Beach Intermediate, which was created in 1985 out of the controversial consolidation of Center and Begg middle schools, the victory was especially sweet.

Prompted by a lack of funding and a steady drop in enrollment in the district, the merger had been opposed by many parents and students and “brought conflict over nearly every detail of school operations, curriculum and instruction,” school officials noted in their application for the award. “Discipline faltered. Academic test scores plummeted. Critical parents supported neither the staff nor the program.”

But Knight, who became principal in 1986, decided improvement was needed in school morale and the students’ California Assessment Program scores, which had been hovering in the high 70th and low 80th percentiles.

The curriculum was revised to emphasize writing in every subject, including math and physical education. In all classes but math, school officials stopped grouping students by ability. And teachers were offered new career-development opportunities and were enrolled in seminars with writing consultants from the UCLA Writing Project.

To encourage students to take responsibility for their own achievement, the school began requiring them, along with their teachers and parents, to sign contracts at the beginning of the year on each course’s goals and expectations. Teachers were encouraged to limit lectures and instead assign creative learning projects that would encourage students to interact with their peers.

The school also began offering classes for parents on how to discipline and promote self-esteem in teen-agers.

“I think Jean really had a vision and she really worked at it,” said Christine Sullivan, president of the school’s Parent Teacher Assn. “She always had her eyes open for new, innovative ways of doing things, and I think she brought those things to her people.”

The strategy worked. By the 1989-90 school year, students were scoring in the 97th percentile in reading, the 98th percentile in writing and the 93rd percentile in mathematics.

Today, enrollment is up, and more than a dozen children who were in private schools are expected to enroll in Manhattan Beach Intermediate in the fall, Knight said. Almost every parent is actively involved in the Parent Teacher Assn., and a student cannot miss a single homework assignment without his or her parents receiving a call from the teacher.

The emphasis on writing is evident everywhere. When two seventh-grade boys this week complained about a district policy banning riding skateboards to school, Knight asked them to write a letter that she could submit to the school board.

This constant attention to the educational development of students prompted the review panel that bestows the awards to describe Manhattan Beach as “extraordinarily effective” and “one of the best” among the honorees. The 100-member panel, which comprises prominent educators, also praised the school for developing leadership abilities in students and staff members and for building “strong parent support” and creating “a family atmosphere in which learning thrived.”

“In my experience, that’s very unique,” said Steve Ludwiczak, principal of Solana Vista Elementary School in San Diego County, who spent two days at the school in March as an observer for the federal agency. “If I was lost, walking down the corridor, the students would introduce themselves and ask, ‘Can I help you?’ To me, that’s a strong indicator that there is a human element at work at the school.”

Spirits were high the day word of the award spread through the school. Congratulations poured in. To celebrate the honor, parents in the largely affluent community catered a luncheon for the teachers last week, the district sent flowers to the school office, and Knight personally announced the news to every classroom.

“I think it’s really neat,” seventh-grader Marne Osden, 13, said last week of the award. “The teachers and people are nice and they’re friendly and we do neat stuff.”

Agreed seventh-grader Jenna Grauman, 13: “I feel like some of the teachers are my friends, not just teachers who teach me.”

As several Manhattan Beach teachers sat in the lunchroom last week enjoying their catered meal, they insisted that their close relationships with students--more than their well-hailed writing programs and extracurricular activities--were the secret of the school’s success.

“We have done some things that are different, but we’re not revolutionary,” algebra teacher Bill Graham said. “We tend to do traditional things. We care about kids. Whatever is happening here is not material things, it’s just the people.”