SOUTH-CENTRAL : Only the BEST for 49th Street School

Dancing in sync to the tune of Michael Jackson’s “Jam,” 68th Street Elementary’s after-school drill team put on a nearly flawless performance for city officials, educators, parents and children at 49th Street Elementary School on Wednesday.

Trained by instructors of the city’s Better Educated Students for Tomorrow program (LA’s BEST), the drill team’s performance was deemed an example of what the free after-school enrichment program can do for kids.

“All that they’re putting in discipline and daily routines will translate (into) how they work at school,” said Carla Sanger, executive director of LA’s BEST.

This fall, LA’s BEST activities will be offered for the first time at 49th Street Elementary, the 21st school to benefit from the 6-year-old city program. The program’s 200-student capacity at 49th Street Elementary was expected to be reached by Friday, according to an LA’s BEST representative.

Operated by the Los Angeles Unified School District, the program provides assistance with homework, computer skills development, academic, recreational and seasonal sports competition, visual and performing arts and field trips. Activities are offered from the end of the school day until 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, 245 days a year.

Funds for the opening of 49th Street’s LA’s BEST program came from proceeds from the gala opening of the Los Angeles Convention Center, at which Councilwoman Rita Walters named the after-school program as the sole beneficiary.

Before the opening ceremony Wednesday in the school’s auditorium, Mayor Richard Riordan spoke of the importance of crime prevention programs in urban schools. He cited the death of LA’s BEST participant Crystal Kimberly Bracey, a second-grader who died in an accidental shooting at a friend’s home in March.

“When our children become innocent victims, some people say, ‘What’s the use? Prevention programs don’t work,’ ” Riordan said. “I say to them, ‘If we are able to save at least one life, prevention programs do work.’ ”

Also last week, Lois Salisbury, executive director of Children Now, released findings of a UCLA evaluation of LA’s BEST. The study found that 77% of the children liked school more since joining LA’s BEST, and a majority of parents surveyed said their children’s participation in the program lessened worries about exposure to crime and drugs. Most parents reported academic improvements among their children.

“The LA’s BEST children have a significant gain in their (grade-point average),” said Pauline Brooks, project director of UCLA’s study. “In our preliminary findings, the GPA of children that are not in the program actually began to drop.”

Launched as a pilot program in 1988 at 10 schools serving 2,000 children, the after-school program now serves 4,200 children. Site schools are selected based on low test scores, lower socioeconomic status of the community and high gang and crime rates within the neighborhood.

Laverne Govan and Carlas Barlow, site coordinators at 68th Street Elementary, said considerable change is evident in children who participate in the program.

“When we first started the program, the children came in and their behavior was out of control,” said Govan, a first-grade teacher. “Since they’ve been in LA’s BEST, they are calmer. They have higher self-esteem and they enjoy being there.”