Better School Programs a Priority, Survey Finds : Education: Communication and safety also need work, say participants of the Educational Summit.

Better school programs and improved communication ranked top among the concerns of those who attended the Pasadena Educational Summit, according to a survey released today by the school district.

The 1,200 parents, teachers and administrators who took part in the November summit were especially worried about meeting individual student needs, maintaining special programs for low-achieving as well as gifted children, improving library facilities and beefing up instructional materials.

The survey found that participants saw a need for greater “communications linkage with students, teachers, parents, school and community.”

School safety ranked as the third priority, with parents voicing special concern about drug use, firearms on campus and discipline. Fourth came accountability, with parents citing the need for better role models and more parent-teacher conferences.

Lowering class size was listed fifth among 20 priorities compiled by school officials at the summit, which sought to find consensus on what the Pasadena Unified School District management should concentrate on in the next five years.

The summit, held at 11 sites in Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre, generated work sheets with hundreds of suggestions. The district has spent the past six weeks tabulating and analyzing the information.

“This priority list is one of the most important elements to emerge from the first Education Summit,” District Superintendent Vera Vignes said. “We found people are hungry to be heard and to be involved.”

Vignes, who became superintendent earlier this year, says she is determined to overhaul Pasadena Unified’s educational system. The district’s students currently score in about the 25th percentile on standardized tests. Like all large, urban school districts, Pasadena struggles with teen-age dropouts, violence on campus and neighborhood gangs.

Much like the nation’s new President, Vignes believes it is important for Pasadena’s educational community to reach consensus before heading off on a comprehensive plan to reform the city’s schools.

To spur more community discussion of where the district should be headed and to identify specific action plans, the district has scheduled six follow-up public meetings. They will be held on Wednesday nights, Jan. 13 to Feb. 17, from 7 to 9 at six schools.

At that time, a revised draft of Pasadena Unified’s position paper for the next five years will be available for discussion. The district expects to release the final draft of its position paper March 20. For more information, call Pasadena Unified’s Ellen House at (818) 568-4553.

The six community meetings are scheduled as follows:

Jan. 13, Sierra Madre Elementary School, 141 W. Highland Ave., Sierra Madre Blvd.; Jan. 20, Madison Elementary School, 515 Ashtabula St.; Jan. 27, Eliot Middle School, 2184 N. Lake Ave., Altadena; Feb. 3, John Muir High School, 1905 Lincoln Ave.; Feb. 10, Wilson Middle School, 300 Madre St., and Feb. 17, Allendale Elementary School, 1135 S. Euclid Ave.