GLENDALE : Evening High School Proposal Supported

A proposed evening high school has garnered enough community interest to support the project, according to a task force that studied the proposal as a way to relieve overcrowding expected to plague Glendale high schools later this decade.

By the 1997-98 school year, Glendale Unified School District officials expect enrollment for grades nine through 12 to exceed the capacity of the district’s three high schools by 506 students. Enrollment is projected at 8,983 students for 1997, with the schools’ combined capacity of 8,477.

School administrators have said they would like to see an evening high school in place at one of the district’s three high school campuses by fall of 1995.

Officials foresee 200 to 600 students in grades nine through 12 enrolling in night school, all of whom would volunteer to attend classes from 2:15 to 9 p.m.

In a 22-page report scheduled to be presented to the Board of Education tonight, the 30-member task force says that an evening high school is cheaper than purchasing 15 to 17 portable classrooms to house students at overcrowded campuses.

The Evening High School Study Task Force, made up of parents, teachers, students, school administrators and community representatives, surveyed parents and students to find out if they favored the night school.

The task force, convened by the Board of Education in March, received 1,901 responses to the survey, with 1,182 students in grades eight through 10 answering the questionnaire and 719 parents responding.

According to the survey results, 26% of the students said they would attend an evening high school, while 17% of parents who answered the questionnaire said they would be interested in having their children enroll in the school.

From these results, the task force theorized if 20% of eligible students enrolled in evening high school, the school would have 1,740 students--well above the minimum number of 300 to 500 needed to alleviate overcrowding.

Survey respondents did not express a preference for a specialized area of study at an evening high school, but did say they were interested in internship and job-placement programs being provided.

The task force also recommended that the district start a public information campaign to publicize the school, hire faculty and a principal and form partnerships with local businesses to operate specialized classes.