LEARN Reforms

Your editorial on the pace of school reform in Los Angeles lacked the courage to take a clear stand (March 19). Your weak conclusion--”if, as the audit suggests”--is based on a confidential evaluation of the Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now (LEARN) implementation conducted by McKinsey & Co., a private consulting firm. The McKinsey study was a non-random, non-scientific review based largely on interviews with school site and district-level leaders. It was not an “audit” in any sense of the word.

The McKinsey evaluation, an oral briefing presented to the LEARN Working Group, did not discuss “blame,” nor accuse anyone of “foot-dragging.” Rather, it highlighted the conditions which define successful LEARN schools and the district-level policy and structural changes still needed to ensure continued success. Following the briefing, the superintendent and I moved quickly to schedule a series of discussions to address these findings and consider needed changes.

One hundred more LAUSD schools have just applied to join LEARN. These schools gave careful thought to their decision. Your editorial would suggest that these 100 schools were all misled. I don’t think so. The district remains firmly committed to systemwide implementation of LEARN.

The board has invested millions of dollars in supporting LEARN implementation. The district reorganized the administrative structure to better support K-12 collaboration at the high school complex, a key LEARN goal. The district has provided LEARN schools the flexibility to hire their own principals and teachers. The district has provided LEARN schools a lump-sum per pupil budget, which the schools control. LEARN schools have the flexibility to make sweeping changes, such as the decision of Harrison Elementary School to become a K-8 school.

Recently, Walter Annenberg awarded a $53-million challenge grant to Los Angeles County schools, nearly half of which is earmarked for our LEARN schools. Such generous gifts are made only after careful analysis and with some confidence in the likelihood for future success.

MARK SLAVKIN, President

LAUSD Board of Education