Valley Schools to Try Reading, Math Pilot

A $40-million math and reading program that offers students $6,000 each in scholarships was approved by the Los Angeles Board of Education for a targeted area in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams), which was approved late Tuesday night, draws on national reform programs that research has shown to be effective in raising math and reading scores and reducing dropout rates.

It will be phased in starting July 1 and will involve about 25,000 students in grades kindergarten through 12 in the San Fernando cluster.

Educators said they expect to see standardized test-score increases in schools using Project GRAD, and if that occurs, the program might be expanded to other clusters in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“Essentially, the Project GRAD initiative is a pilot for the district,” said Cheryl Mabey, president and executive director of Project GRAD Los Angeles. “We’ll be watching for results.”

Started in Texas in 1993, Project GRAD promises 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.

In Houston, 25 public schools use Project GRAD, with elementary students in one cluster posting an 18% increase in reading scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills over four years.

College scholarships totaling $6,000 per student for four years will be offered to San Fernando High School’s class of 2003. Students must achieve a minimum 2.5 grade-point average, take college preparatory classes and at least two university classes during school break.

The Valley program will cost $40 million for four years, funded with contributions from the district, the Ford Foundation, private groups and businesses.

A cornerstone is the reading curriculum, called “Success for All,” already in place at 13 of the 15 San Fernando cluster schools. Each teacher follows a timed script, and students are retested every eight weeks to see if they’re ready for the next reading level. If they are, they advance to a new group; if not, they repeat the same level and get additional tutoring.

Other components of Project GRAD include at least 105 hours of teacher training, full-time social workers who can address problems such as truancy, and a math program that brings algebra into elementary grades and uses children’s literature and blocks to understand numerical principles.

Critics of Project GRAD worry that students are being over-tested, possibly discouraging some students, and that the scripts are too rigid to allow for creativity.

“Some teachers have had this concern,” said Nick Vasquez, principal at Morningside Elementary School in San Fernando, where fewer than 20% of the students read at grade level in English.

“But this is major reform,” Vasquez said. “We’re so excited about Project GRAD. Teachers are giddy and giggling because they know [the program] works.”