Up the Right Staircase : LEARN Schools Rank High in Survey of Students, Teachers and Parents--but the Bathrooms, They Say, Are the Pits

The parents, teachers and students at 81 Los Angeles schools who seized a chance to voice an opinion about their campuses generally say they are satisfied with the quality of instruction and give high marks to student discipline, attendance and safety.

But those bathrooms. Something has got to be done about those dirty campus bathrooms, everyone seems to agree.

In the first informal survey of campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s LEARN reform plan, it appears that few issues leave such a lasting impression as a foul-looking, smelly school bathroom, devoid of toilet paper, hand soap and paper towels.

And this was one opinion not even solicited in the survey questions. It was a write-in response.

Making bathrooms clean and usable “is the one thing that everyone unanimously agreed has to be done,” said Dianne Dash Island, principal of Brockton Avenue School on the Westside, after reading her school’s survey results. “It’s now a question of how we are going to do it.”

Under LEARN--Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now--schools have more power to make decisions on issues such as instruction and overall school operations. The goal is to raise student achievement by allowing educators and parents to tailor-make reform plans free from the constraints of a central bureaucracy. While principals have ultimate decision-making authority, all groups must make decisions together.

The wide-ranging survey, while not a scientific poll, was intended to give school leaders base-line information to guide their overhaul plans and offered them much-needed information about what needs improving, principals and teachers said Thursday.

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In general, parents and students in elementary schools gave their campuses the highest marks, while those in secondary schools were more critical. And the older students were, the harder they said it was for them to learn, according to the district report, which summarized 44,636 responses.

“Learning should be fun and interesting,” wrote one secondary school student. “We should want to come to school. I love to learn, but unfortunately, I have to start after school.”

Students were asked questions such as whether they like being in school, whether learning is easy for them, if schoolwork is exciting and if campus safety measures are effective. Parents and school staff were queried on communication, quality of the instructional program and student welfare issues.

While most parents did not respond, district officials said they were able to generalize from the surveys that parents are most concerned about school safety, including campus plans to deal with natural disasters, and the number of “pupil-free days,” in which student have the day off so teachers can take professional development courses. Typically, a school takes eight such days a year.

Parents who responded also said they are frustrated because they cannot attend school meetings during the working day.

“Future parents meetings should be scheduled from 5:30 to 8 p.m. because some parents do work,” wrote one respondent. “It is impossible for us to come to meetings and show our interest in our child’s progress when the meetings are scheduled before then.”

School staff members also expressed strong satisfaction with their schools, although not quite as much as parents and students. One recurring theme among staff members was that they are still confused about what being a LEARN school means and better communication and teamwork are needed.

“I believe that one of the greatest problems is that staff doesn’t always work together,” wrote one staffer. “If the staff remains divided, then we will not be able to effectively accomplish LEARN goals.”

For some schools the high overall ratings will provide a morale boost as they begin the school year.

“I’m going to copy this survey and pass it out to everyone,” said Monica Studer, a teacher at Wilson High School on the Eastside, where most students said they feel safe and teachers are pleased with the level of learning in college prep courses.

“For me, this validates what we are doing well and we are on the right path,” said Principal Sue Di Julio of Overland Avenue Elementary on the Westside, which has focused on improving math and science instruction.

“But we also need to improve communication with parents in our school who are not actively involved.”