West Valley Schools No. 1 Choice in Open Enrollment : Education: Taft High and two Northridge campuses top the list as 10,000 students districtwide decide to transfer.

The results are in: Nearly 10,000 Los Angeles students--including more than half in the San Fernando Valley--are attending new schools this fall thanks to a new open-enrollment policy allowing parents to choose campuses.

The most sought-after elementary, middle and senior high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District--and those with space available--were Taft High in Woodland Hills, and Nobel Middle and Castlebay Lane Elementary, both in Northridge. Taft enrolled 488 new students, Nobel 130, and Castlebay 98, school district records show.

Under the open-enrollment policy, mandated by a 1993 state law and carried out by the Board of Education last spring, parents could select schools with available classroom space as long as racial balances remained intact.

Many state and local educators hailed the new law as a way of giving parents greater freedom to improve their children’s education by selecting schools. Traditionally, school attendance boundaries have been rigidly enforced and parents had to obtain special permits to send their children to schools outside their neighborhoods.

About half of the open-enrollment seats offered at 375 schools throughout the district were snapped up by new students. Districtwide, 19,200 seats were offered and 9,810 were filled. Valley students signed up for 5,623. Nearly 400 students enrolled from private schools, district officials said.

Los Angeles school board President Mark Slavkin said he was pleased with the first year’s results but said he wants the district to release another significant piece of information: a list of the schools that students are fleeing.

“I think that feedback is important,” Slavkin said. “We should be looking at those schools.”

One intent of the law was to improve the overall quality of schools by injecting free-market competition into public education. If a school is losing numerous students, it could be viewed as one indicator of a weak educational program. Some, however, have criticized the choice movement, saying that disadvantaged students do not have the ability to leave neighborhood schools.

Some principals and board members said they were not surprised by the heavy demand for seats on West Valley campuses. Parents perceive these schools to be safer suburban campuses with more experienced teachers, they said.

But officials were pleased to find that students in some areas were returning to their neighborhood schools. Several voluntary integration programs have allowed students to travel to schools outside of their neighborhoods.

At Garfield High on the Eastside, for instance, 108 new students enrolled. At Lincoln High, also on the Eastside, 114 showed up. Both schools heavily promoted their campuses during neighborhood meetings to lure resident students.

“There’s a degree of subjectivity--safety, the instructional program, discipline . . . all these things are in play when parents choose,” Slavkin said. “It’s not just a numerical figure based on test scores.”

Reseda High School Principal Bob Kladifko, who lost about 100 students, said he believes the ethnic and racial makeup of schools weighed heavily on decisions, with some parents looking for “whiter” campuses.

“It’s a shocker, but that’s what I’m hearing,” Kladifko said. “It had good intentions--to give people a choice--but the choice they’re taking is racially motivated.”

Other principals, however, downplayed the race issue.

“Everyone thought there would be a tremendous increase in the white student population and a decrease in the minority population,” said Ron Berz, the principal at Taft, where white enrollment increased only slightly. “I go by the facts and it’s just not that significant.”

But while Taft received the most applications of any district school and many parents credited the academic program, a new statewide ranking of high schools does not place Taft at the top.

The report, which ranked schools on performance standards, including test scores, dropout rates and curriculum, placed Taft behind El Camino Real High in Woodland Hills and Birmingham Senior High in Van Nuys.

Nonetheless, several parents said Tuesday they believe Taft is a superior school. Edith Blanco, who lives in Sun Valley but sends her two sons to Taft, said the school is safe and provides challenging courses. Her teen-agers’ home school is Polytechnic High.

“I’d rather take the 45-minute drive in the morning and after school to make sure they’re in a better school,” Blanco said. “I’m willing to sacrifice my time because my children are important. I’m really grateful that this came along; otherwise you’re limited to the schools where you live.”

Taft also had the most available seats of any high school in the district, which also contributed to its high number of applications.

Dotty Spector, who lives in Canoga Park and sends her son to Taft, said he always wanted to attend the school. “It’s about time parents and students are allowed to have choices,” Spector said.

While dozens of schools advertised for students last spring in newspapers and in 30-second television spots that aired on the school district’s station, many campuses, mainly in South-Central Los Angeles and East Valley, did not have the space for new students.

Administrators, who determined the classroom seats available, were required to keep space open for area students. As a result, many popular schools, such as Carpenter Avenue Elementary in Studio City and Third Street Elementary in Hancock Park, could not accept any students under open enrollment. Van Nuys High had room for just 20 students.

Parents shopped for campuses last spring, visiting classes and even attending school plays. Many parents applied at several campuses to ensure their children were accepted to at least one of their top choices. Schools with more applications than space held lotteries.

Allowing parents to choose schools has an added benefit to many schools, according to administrators and parent groups. “I think when parents pick schools, they’re so relieved and happy to be there . . . they feel it’s their obligation to participate,” said Harriet Sculley, president of the San Fernando Valley’s Parent Teacher Student Assn. “Absolutely, it will help parent involvement.”

It’s already paid off at Nobel. “People are truly supportive and interested in their children’s education,” said Rita Davis, the Nobel principal. “We do have real good parent participation and we’re proud of that.”

* SCHOOLS GRADED: Many L.A. schools rank below counterparts statewide. B1