More Schools Are Expected to Go Year-Round

School district officials said Tuesday that growing enrollments most likely will force two more high schools and three middle schools to switch to year-round calendars next July.

Van Nuys High and the Westside’s Hamilton High were identified as the high schools that may need to make the change, which would mean a total of 20 of 49 Los Angeles high schools would be operating on year-round schedules.

Peary Middle School in Gardena and Burbank and Nightingale middle schools in Highland Park also have been targeted by district officials. Seventeen of 72 middle school campuses already run on year-round schedules.

Magnet programs at the schools also would follow the new calendars.

School officials said the predictions are based on growth projections that could change--and that schools could be added to or subtracted from Tuesday’s list--when final enrollment figures are collected early next month.

The school district is expected to grow by more than 12,000 students this year, to a record 723,230. The heaviest growth is expected in grades 4 through 9.

A portion of the growth is being driven by private school students who are switching to Los Angeles’ public schools, Associate Supt. Gordon Wohlers told the Board of Education on Tuesday.

Wohlers said the district attracted 700 students from private schools last year, and that he anticipates a similar number this year. Principals at several schools are reporting that private school students, and their parents, are making the switch because of the district’s rising test scores, Wohlers said.