Reopening of School Is Fresh Start

When the gate swings open and the freshly painted blue doors unlock Tuesday morning in West Hills at the Haynes Street School for the first time in 16 years, students and parents swimming with excitement will be taking part in a rare renaissance.

The rebirth of a school.

A peach-colored schoolhouse with four shiny basketball hoops and a dewy green lawn now stands where an abandoned building once was surrounded by broken beer bottles and overgrown weeds.

Braced by increasing enrollment and overcrowding, the Los Angeles Unified School District ordered Haynes and two other schools to be reopened during the next year.

The district’s enrollment, about 668,000, is expected to swell by 50,000 more students by 2001. Newcastle Avenue Elementary in Reseda and Osage Avenue Elementary in Westchester are expected to reopen next year to help handle the space crunch.

For the principal, parents, teachers and students who have been gearing up for the revival of Haynes, this is more than just a new school. With energetic instructors, an innovative curriculum and computers wired for the Internet in each of the 22 classrooms, parents say Haynes represents a fresh way of looking at public education.

Like several Haynes parents, Denise Carlton pulled her 6-year-old son, Benjamin, from private school because she was impressed by the potential at Haynes.

“It has everything that private schools have,” Carlton, 34, said during an ice cream social at the school last week. “More importantly, I like the feeling here. It’s like baseball. We’re all happy to be a part of the team. In a big city like Los Angeles, it’s nice to feel like part of a little community.”

Haynes was built on Lockhurst Drive in 1961 to house about 500 students. But when mandatory school busing took effect in the 1970s, parents fled Los Angeles Unified and Haynes enrollment dipped to 179 students. The school closed in 1982 with the nearby Lockhurst Drive School absorbing most of the students. Since then, the building had been leased to a private school.

When the district decided to reopen Haynes last year, a $1.2-million renovation project began that included painting, landscape work, plumbing and installation of air conditioning. In addition, each classroom was stocked with a television set, five computers and new textbooks.

Principal Usafi Diamond said she intends to make Haynes one of the best public schools in the country.

“I want Haynes to be recognized nationally as a school that provides powerful learning in a highly motivated and technologically advanced way,” she said.

There are 310 students enrolled at Haynes, with more expected in coming weeks. Of those enrolled, 249 are coming either from overflowing schools or through open enrollment. About 61 students will be bused from Hazeltine Avenue Elementary School.

Teachers Emma Stokes and Mindy Levine are eager to finally have some breathing room in their classrooms. Both had worked together for two years as pre-kindergarten team teachers sharing a classroom at Canoga Park Elementary School.

“It’s wonderful to be working with fewer students and a smaller group of teachers,” said Levine, who will be teaching kindergarten. “And it’s a beautiful school.”

“The whole faculty is excited,” added fifth-grade teacher Jim Lebovitz. “This is basically being built from the ground up.”

At the festive ice cream social, a small-town feeling prevailed. Near big balloons, teachers had posted wish lists for parents to read.

Third-grade teacher Neysa Madison wished for an aquarium and big pillows. First-grade teacher Brahmashakti Fudail wished for a puppet theater and floor puzzles. Tables displayed the new textbooks and class rosters.

Students bopped to the Macarena. Parents shared in the enthusiasm and signed up to volunteer for fund-raisers.

Nancy Wood had extra reason to celebrate the reopening. The legal secretary, who lives around the corner from Haynes, will only have to walk a few steps to take her 7-year-old daughter, Kariann, to school.

“We’ve been watching the transformation over the past months and it has changed dramatically,” Wood said. “Having a school so close to home feels great.”

Kariann, a third-grader, likewise gave Haynes her approval. But for a different reason.

“I like having the grass because if you fall you won’t scrape your knee. You’ll just get grass stains,” she said.

Anton Gorenc transferred his son, Dimieri, 5, from Canoga Park Methodist School and could not be happier.

“We’re really impressed,” he said. “Since March, when we first decided we wanted our son here, it’s been nothing but positive. And, of course, having a fresh facility is incredible. You can just tell by talking to all the teachers. These people really care.”

Dimieri was more concise.

“Cool,” he said.