LAUSD Gets $1.6 Million for Reform

Reform efforts in the Los Angeles Unified School District received a $1.6-million boost with the announcement Monday that the district will be one of 227 in the state to receive a grant from the federal Goals 2000 program.

The money will be shared by 221 schools, Assistant Supt. Amelia McKenna said. More than half of them are already part of the district’s LEARN reform program and the rest are preparing to embark on that or other reform measures.

LEARN gives individual campuses the right of self-governance but also holds them accountable for results. It began in 1993 and is in operation at a third of the district’s 650 schools.

Supt. Sid Thompson called the federal grant “another clear indication that we’re on the right track,” and said a panel will be formed to decide how the money will be spent. McKenna said the emphasis will be on finding ways to improve student achievement.

Statewide, $15 million has been distributed in the first round of Goals 2000 grants. Continuation of the program is in limbo while the federal budget is debated.