Parents Adopt Cautious Attitude on School Summit : Education: Participants of the districtwide meeting question what Supt. Vera Vignes will do with their wish list.

One week after a historic meeting aimed at overhauling public education in Pasadena, parents are already asking some hard questions about what comes next.

The “Educational Summit” on Nov. 19 drew almost 1,100 participants to 11 sites throughout the Pasadena Unified School District to discuss--via TV monitors--how to improve learning, raise test scores, make schools safer and restructure education.

While many parents and teachers voiced strong enthusiasm for the district’s efforts, they are watching closely to see whether new Supt. Vera Vignes will follow the well-orchestrated meeting with concrete action.

“How do you implement all those ideas when you have so many low-achieving students?” Lena Kennedy asked rhetorically, echoing the concerns of many parents. Kennedy, long active in school affairs, has an 18-year-old daughter at Blair High.

At Muir High, the 100 parents and others gathered in the auditorium were hopeful, but wary.

“Growing up in the district, I’ve heard this before, and it hasn’t gotten any better, it’s gotten worse,” said Don Radcliff, whose two children attend Cleveland Elementary School. “The only way it’s going to be different this time is if we can reach the kids through their parents.”

Vignes, who has vowed to move quickly, met with 11 site coordinators Monday to review the parental wish list compiled at the summit. It includes smaller classes, better security, higher test scores, getting rid of inept teachers, greater parental involvement, increased support for bilingual education and more outreach to multicultural students.

The superintendent said the district plans a series of follow-up meetings. Schools will offer child care for those meetings so parents can more easily participate. And Vignes said she will soon visit the district’s 30 campuses to meet with teachers and staff.

“We accomplished the primary objective, which was to begin the discussion,” Vignes said of the summit. “It’s the first step of many we’re taking and we’re committed to being successful.”

Vignes said the district plans to incorporate parental, civic and business concerns into a vision statement for the schools. The final draft will be released at a second summit March 20.

Many parents who attended the summit said they think that the district is committed to improvement.

“I like the fact that the district is now saying they need our help,” said elementary-school parent Joan Reid. “At one time, they never would have said that.”

“It’s very exciting,” added Jose Arribas, who has four children in Pasadena schools. “The district is calling on the community to be a real part of what goes on in the schools. This step is very important. . . . Without the community, the schools don’t work.”

As the summit began, Vignes laid out ambitious goals--including raising standardized test scores so that 80% or more of students score above the state average; 90% or more continue into post-secondary education, and 40% or more qualify for admission to the UC system. (Pasadena students now score around the 25th percentile on standardized tests).

In the lively summit debates, some parents complained that the goals were unattainable. Others wanted to see goals set higher to motivate students. Several worried that the district’s push to raise scores would come at the expense of individual student needs.

Vignes said she welcomes all feedback, including critical comments. She dismissed concerns that the district might be more interested in upholding the status quo than restructuring. And she explained that the draft vision statement was just a draft and that it would evolve along with the wishes of the public.

“The board and I have openly said we want to make a difference,” she said. “People will see by our actions that this time, it’s going to be different.”

This idea seemed exemplified at Madison Elementary School, where Principal Gloria Delaney urged parents, in English and Spanish, to speak their minds.

“Every idea is a good idea,” Delaney told about 50 parents. “Research shows parents who are interested in their children’s schools have children who are successful.”

Free-lance writer Richard Winton contributed to this story.