Sequels of ’95 : They...

Together, they’ve been through life’s ups and downs, always there for each other: Usha Sampath, Corene Peterson, Janice Tamehiro and Arbella Malong--teachers at Woodlawn Avenue Elementary School in Bell--known collectively as the Carpool (“A Sisterhood,” May 31).

Twenty-two years ago, Peterson started the rainbow coalition of ride-sharers: Sampath, a fifth-grade teacher, is an Indian Hindu; Peterson, who teaches fourth and fifth grades, is a white Mormon; Tamehiro, a second- and third-grade teacher, is a Japanese American Methodist; and Malong, also a second- and third-grade teacher, is a Filipina Catholic.

They’ve survived as a carpool for this long, but next year the quartet just might be a trio if Malong is reassigned because of a shortage of English-as-second-language teachers at Woodlawn.

Two months ago, the women were invited to the American Assn. of University Women symposium in Long Beach, where they spoke about how it’s not just the ride that bonds them. They also were honored by the National Assn. for Year Round Education.

Producers continue to hound them for their rights to projects, but Sampath says, “We haven’t returned their calls. We don’t want anyone to distort what we are about.”