BEST Chance for Poor Kids

By the time Mauricio Valdovinos was in the second grade he could distinguish between a shotgun and a nine-millimeter weapon by the sound of the shot. He was a self-acknowledged street kid. LA’s BEST, an after-school program at Langdon Avenue Elementary School, took Valdovinos off the streets in his rough San Fernando Valley neighborhood and made him a better student. Now 21, he is a college senior at Cal State Northridge and a teacher’s aide helping children in that same program, which Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn plans to expand.

LA’s BEST, which stands for Better Educated Students for Tomorrow, keeps 78 elementary schools open until 6 p.m. and provides help with homework, plus games, sports, art, dance and more. Most important to many parents, it is a haven for children and often the only alternative to their being home alone at hours when school-age children are prone to trouble.

The program, according to a UCLA evaluation, increases school attendance, raises standardized math and reading scores and helps limited-English children become proficient. Founded by then-Mayor Tom Bradley in 1988, the city after-school program operates independently but in partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Hahn wants to add 23 elementary campuses starting as early as next month. Half of the expansion’s annual cost of $3.7 million is expected to come from private donors and the remainder from government sources, though much of the public financing is not yet identified. Hahn can count on $1.73 million over three years from the foundation of billionaire home builder Eli Broad and an additional $1.1 million in anonymous donations. The mayor says he expects help from the federal education bill and the state but will also ask the Los Angeles City Council to kick in.

Hahn realistically starts with 23 additional schools, which were selected from throughout the district on the basis of high poverty, low test scores, commitment by the principal, interest from parents and student vulnerability to gangs and drugs.

Walking through gang territory on his way to and from school made Mauricio Valdovinos streetwise at a young age. He credits LA’s BEST with redirecting his life.

Hahn clearly wants to make helping education one of his first big gestures as mayor, and LA’s BEST is a solid, tested benefit for low-income children. It’s a golden opportunity for latchkey kids and one that deserves to be extended to the too-often-forgotten middle schools.