League Plans Meeting on School Reform

In an effort to learn more about the state of education in the Los Angeles Unified School District, a League of Women Voters of Los Angeles committee is holding a public meeting to understand the myriad reform programs in the school system.

The meeting, to be held today, will be moderated by Board of Education member Julie Korenstein. The panelists include Helen Bernstein, president of United Teachers-Los Angeles; Peggy Funkhouser, president of the Los Angeles Education Partnership; Yvonne Chan, director of the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center--a school district charter campus; Robert Wycoff, president emeritus of the Atlantic Richfield Co. and a founder of the LEARN project; and Ruben Zacarias, a school district deputy superintendent, who will discuss the magnet and alternative schools.

The league’s education committee is preparing a study on public school restructuring so that it can take positions on the various ways the district is being reformed, according to Elaine Steiner, a co-chairwoman of the panel.

“It’s a one-year study seeking to find criteria for judging restructuring,” Steiner said. “Our main concern is that whatever is done results in improved student achievement.”

The meeting, which is free and will run from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., will be held at the Kaiser Permanente facility, 5601 De Soto Ave. in Building 5, Auditorium A, in Woodland Hills. For more information, contact the league office at (213) 939-3535.