99 More L.A. Schools Join District’s Reform Program

An additional 99 schools lined up to join the LEARN program Friday, spreading the Los Angeles Unified School District’s largest reform effort to nearly half the system’s campuses.

The applications mean that 75% of teachers at schools from Van Nuys Middle School to Banneker Special Education Center near Carson have voted to take on the responsibility of local governance. In return, they will gradually gain increased control over their budgets.

The interest level was down slightly from last year’s high of 103 applications, and district observers said a greater drop is expected in coming years as the local reform movement begins to include less-prepared schools.

The slightly waning interest should inspire the district to redouble its efforts to solve underlying problems at the reluctant schools, said LEARN founder Mike Roos, the former state assemblyman who pulled together a group of community leaders, business people and educators to develop LEARN.

Some of that work will be accomplished, Roos suggested, by a grant aimed at helping Los Angeles reach its goal of folding all 663 schools into LEARN. The $21-million Annenberg Foundation grant will be distributed only to groups of reform schools.