NORTHRIDGE : West Valley Parents Fear Loss of Teachers

Parents of students at Calahan Street Elementary School in Northridge and other neighboring schools met with district officials Tuesday night to discuss their concerns about the possibility that teachers could be transferred from West Valley schools because of low enrollment.

Every year, the Los Angeles Unified School District takes a count of how many students are enrolled at each school on what is called “Norm Day,” which is four weeks after the first day of school.

If a school’s enrollment is considerably down, the district transfers teachers to more crowded schools or places them in a substitute teacher rotation. When this happens, a school must reorganize its classes more than four weeks into the semester.

West schools face a unique situation this year because enrollment at many campuses is down by 60 to 80 students so far, meaning the schools could each lose one or two instructors, according to Calahan PTA representative Mandy Ritzmann.

The low enrollment may be a result of families having moved away from dwellings that were destroyed in the January quake, Ritzmann said.

Parents at the meeting expressed concerns that the families who have left may return in a few months, and if teachers have been transferred, the schools may wind up being overcrowded.

“I think it’s too early for schools to completely panic,” said Joyce Peyton, who oversees school space issues for the district. “It’s the first week of school--no one gets their full enrollment. We estimated enrollment would be down. It shouldn’t surprise anyone.”

Ritzmann cited a new study conducted through the district’s mental health department that shows many children are experiencing post-traumatic stress since the earthquake and that further disruption in their educational life will hinder the healing process.

School board member Julie Korenstein told parents she would try to have “Norm Day” pushed back from Oct. 14, its current date, and that she would also see if the federal government could help fund the salaries of the teachers that otherwise would be transferred.

Larry Moore, a district official who oversees some West Valley schools, has compiled enrollment numbers. He said he is now comparing last year’s rosters to this year’s and examining students’ addresses to see if they lived at properties known to be destroyed.

Moore said he expects to have a better idea of how significantly the earthquake figures into the low enrollment by Monday.

Korenstein added that the numbers may also have been affected by the district’s new open enrollment policy that allows parents to send their child to any school in the district where space is available.