College Preparation Grant Awarded to Area Schools

Schools in the northeast San Fernando will receive $14.5 million over five years to implement a math and reading reform program, officials said Monday.

A total of $30 million in federal funds was awarded to the Los Angeles Unified School District for a program called Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. It is aimed at increasing the rate of low-income students attending college by forming partnerships with colleges, universities and community groups.

Among the Valley schools receiving funding for the 1999-2000 school year are those in the San Fernando cluster and Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood.

“I am thrilled,” said Larry Tash, principal at Walter Reed, which received a five-year grant for roughly $2.8 million. Funding begins with incoming seventh-graders at Walter Reed and will follow them when they enter North Hollywood High School.

“Many of these kids think college is not option,” Tash said. “We’re helping them to see that it is.”

The grant will fund mentoring, tutoring and teacher training as well as field trips to Cal State Northridge and Valley College. Both of the higher education institutions, along with community groups, will work with Walter Reed and North Hollywood High.

With $14.5 million over five years, the San Fernando cluster received the largest share of the grant. The money affects nearly 11,000 middle and high school students and will be used for Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams), a highly touted math and reading reform program that is being studied by other clusters within Los Angeles Unified.

San Fernando cluster administrators said they expect the program to quickly raise students’ scores on the Stanford 9 standardized tests.

Started in Texas in 1993, Project GRAD offers thousands of dollars in scholarships to students who meet academic requirements and gives teachers scripted lesson plans designed to provide structure, especially for the large percentage of LAUSD teachers who are new or on emergency credentials.