School Bells Signal Start of Year With Larger Classes, New Courses, Uniforms

By DENISE HAMILTON

Sept. 1, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

From Pasadena to Pomona, students are trading their bathing suits for three-ring binders as school bells signal the start of a new academic year.

Arcadia, Azusa, Bonita, Charter Oak, Glendora, Monrovia, Pomona and Rowland school districts begin classes this week, while most San Gabriel Valley districts will start next week.

For the record:

12:00 a.m. Sept. 5, 1991 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday September 5, 1991 Home Edition San Gabriel Valley Part J Page 2 Column 5 Zones Desk 1 inches; 24 words Type of Material: Correction
Monrovia Schools--An incorrect start date for the Monrovia Unified School District was listed in Sunday’s San Gabriel Valley edition. The correct start date is today.

But already students are gathering for orientation, lining up for immunization shots and registering for classes.

Because of budget cuts, many children will be returning to classrooms with more students per teacher and fewer electives. At some schools, library and counseling hours have been trimmed for lack of staff. At others, extra-curricular programs have been dropped.

“Everyone’s been affected by the severe budget cuts,” said Principal Judy Codding of Pasadena High School, where electives such as creative writing and vocational education have been axed so that the school can keep its class size from 25 to 33 students.

“Either they had to reduce programming or reduce class size,” Codding said. “It’s really terrible, it’s a real serious moral issue as far as I’m concerned. The kids who need help the most get it the least.”

Budget cuts have also curtailed programs at Temple City Unified. Supt. Clint Taylor said libraries and computer centers will be open fewer hours each day, victims of the $750,000 in cuts that were made in a $17-million budget.

“Things will be harder than before because we’ve had to cut the budget,” Taylor said.

Despite the bleak economic picture, some districts are launching innovative programs this fall. Among them:

* Students are buying uniforms at Sunkist Elementary School in the Bassett Unified School District.

“Between 75 and 80% of the students have uniforms now,” said Susan Flores, the community relations specialist for Sunkist.

The uniform program, which is voluntary, was adopted enthusiastically by parents tired of hearing their offspring beg for the latest pricey togs. Educators also hope the uniforms will stop students from wearing gang attire.

* Azusa Unified is one of 16 school districts in California participating in a program to restructure education.

“We’re going to be taking a real good look at how we instruct,” said Dan Keebler, administrator of Instructional Evaluation and Planning at Azusa Unified.

The district is experimenting with special programs for potential dropouts, team-teaching in ninth-grade classes and a four-day work week for teachers and staff. It has also received more than $1 million in computers and equipment from firms such as IBM.

“This will be a very different school year,” Keebler predicted. He said the program, to begin at the high school level this fall, will be expanded to elementary and junior highs next year.

“Azusa is not noted for academic success and we don’t graduate a lot of people to the universities,” Keebler said. “We want to change all that.”

Pasadena Unified is opening four new “academies” at its high schools that will give teen-agers specialized training in future careers: a Graphic Arts Academy at Pasadena High School; Space and Finance academies at John Muir High, and a Computer Academy at John Marshall High.

The academies are schools-within-schools that provide practical training, paid internships, professional mentoring and college credit, said John Porter, director of secondary education at Pasadena Unified. Each curriculum is designed in part by industry, he said. All high school students are eligible to sign up for the academies.

The Finance Academy, for instance, will expose students to principles of banking, accounting, insurance and small business management. Students in 10th through 12th grades will take core academic subjects tied to their theme, Porter said. They will take evening classes at Pasadena City College, be paired with business people who will mentor them and work paid internships with local firms.

In addition, “Project Seed,” a hands-on science program for young students, has been expanded to grades one through five at all Pasadena elementary schools. Teachers have spent two weeks at Caltech this summer learning how to teach the interdisciplinary science classes.

When School Districts Start Alhambra City Elementary: Sept. 10

Alhambra City High School: Sept. 10

Arcadia Unified: Sept. 5

Azusa Unified: Sept. 4

Baldwin Park Unified: Sept. 9

Bassett Unified: Sept. 9

Bonita Unified: Sept. 3

Charter Oak Unified: Sept. 3

Claremont Unified: Sept. 10

Covina Valley Unified: Sept. 10

Duarte Unified: Sept. 9

El Monte City Elementary