2 L.A. Educators Receive National Awards

Two Los Angeles educators have received national awards for their contributions to American education.

Yvonne Chan, principal of Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in San Fernando, and Los Angeles County schools Supt. Donald Ingwerson were two of three recipients of the Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize, which includes a $25,000 cash award. Colorado Gov. Roy Romer was the third recipient of the award, sponsored by the McGraw Hill publishing firm.

Chan helped her school gain charter status, which relieved it of many state and local requirements and allowed her to save $1 million during its first year as a charter school. She used that savings to build more classrooms, reduce class size and fund various programs.

Ingwerson took the helm of the Los Angeles County Office of Education in 1994 and since has launched a countywide educational technology project to increase student access to--and teacher training in--computers.