Disney Offers to Fund Programs at High Schools

Waving its magic wand of expertise, the Walt Disney Co. has offered to sprinkle its knowledge in areas as diverse as security and job training on the Anaheim Union High School District.

In a letter outlining 12 programs it wants to bring to local schools, the entertainment giant promised to have faculty and students work with Disney designers and executives in programs ranging from advertising to public relations to marketing. Some of the Disney programs would be offered in the high school district as early as this fall, a Disney official said.

The Disney proposals, which would draw heavily on resources at Disneyland, are contained in a letter of understanding sent last week to the school district after officials decided not to file a legal challenge to the amusement park’s proposed $3-billion expansion plan.

Among the proposals are a Disneyland Academy that would reach out to “at-risk” high school students and teach them how to find and interview for jobs and a medical van staffed by a nurse who would visit schools and give inoculations, medical screenings and referrals.

There would also be programs for district employees. The University of Disneyland would offer schoolteachers and support staff courses in public speaking and oral presentation skills.

Anaheim Union was one of five school districts that expressed strong misgivings about the Disneyland expansion, saying the 28,000 jobs it would bring to the area would attract new residents, crowding local schools and affecting education.

In their written critique of the Disney expansion plans, Anaheim Union officials said the resort would bring an additional 513 students to the district.

But on Thursday, Anaheim Union officials praised the Disney proposals.

“These are very, very positive programs for the district,” said R.A. (Molly) McGee, a member of the Anaheim Union High School District Board of Trustees.

Trustee Lou Lopez also applauded the programs. “We are in good shape,” he said. “These are the type of programs that we don’t have the funding for.” He said the cost of the programs should offset the monetary impact to the district of any additional enrollment.

The proposals are an indication of the deal that Disney and the city of Anaheim have struck with Anaheim Union and three other school districts. All dropped plans to challenge the proposed resort in court.

A fifth district, Anaheim City School District, followed through with a lawsuit this week. That district contends that the effects of the proposed resort would be severely detrimental to its elementary students. Anaheim City, which has 16,300 students and 21 schools, has said that it would need to build another elementary school to accommodate the increased enrollment, which it estimates at about 400.

Lopez, who also serves on the Anaheim City school board, said that the elementary school district will need much more assistance than the high school district.

The five school districts had argued that it would cost them as much as $100 million to accommodate the influx of an estimated 1,000 children whose families would be drawn to the area by employment at the resort and attendant businesses.

Disney has argued that the number of families drawn to the area would be much less than anticipated because the vast majority of the new jobs would be low-wage and few families would relocate to seek such employment.

In speaking about the proposals made to the Anaheim Union High School District, Disneyland President Jack Lindquist said that while he has discussed similar projects with all of the school districts involved, no other letters of understanding have been signed.

The only other commitment to schools that Disney has made in writing, he said, is a pledge to support a future bond issue for the Anaheim City School District. The other school districts involved are Garden Grove Unified, Centralia and Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified.

The programs detailed in the three-page document to Anaheim Union, Lindquist added, are only preliminary and may change after further meetings with the district. He declined to say how much money Disney will spend to implement the programs.

Disney’s other offerings to Anaheim Union include:

* A tutoring program that would draw 20 to 25 tutors from Disney’s staff. The tutors would assist middle and high school students in various academic subjects.

* A joint Disney-district program that would train school employees in how to improve campus security and control crowds.

* A Disney junior correspondents program that would enlist the help of the Disneyland public relations/media relations staff to give students journalism experience. The students would cover special press events at Disneyland for school newspapers and local television or cable programs.

* An art and marketing program that would give students the opportunity to create and design community service advertising for Disneyland. Students would also be given a behind-the-scenes tour of Disney’s art department.

* The Disneyland 500, a program that would honor 500 high school juniors for academic excellence, citizenship and community service.

* An after-school orchestra program developed jointly by the district and Disney.

* A Disneyland/school district booster organization of former students who could provide positive role models for district students.

* A project to develop educational programs at the expanded theme park.

* An educational advisory board made up of Disney officials and other business and school representatives.