After-School Program to Expand

Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn vowed Monday to expand the after-school program launched by his predecessors, promising to bring the arts, science, sports and tutoring classes that are part of LA’s BEST to 23 more elementary schools by the end of the year.

During a morning ceremony in front of City Hall, Hahn said that billionaire Eli Broad is donating $1.73 million over three years to help fund the program, which is currently at 78 schools around Los Angeles. Late last week, Broad also helped secure $1.1 million in other private donations.

However, Hahn does not yet know how the city government will pay for its half of the expansion’s $3.7-million annual cost. The budget for this fiscal year has already been approved, making it difficult to allocate additional funds.

“We just haven’t identified the source of the funds, but we are going to find the money,” the mayor said, adding that he will work with City Council President Alex Padilla to locate funds.

During the mayoral campaign, Hahn promised to expand after-school programs to every elementary school campus in Los Angeles, and he reiterated that pledge on Monday, saying the program helps increase children’s interest in school.

“They get a chance to show who they are and express their own creativity,” said Hahn, surrounded by about 100 children from the program who sat on the steps of City Hall, fidgeting in the sun. “It gives them that extra spark that we hope leads to a real interest in education that will last throughout their entire lives.”

About 17,000 children at 101 elementary schools will be able to participate in LA’s BEST by next January under Hahn’s proposal, which he dubbed “101 in 2001.” The 23 new schools that were selected are in low-income communities where a high number of students qualify for federal lunch programs and have low test scores. All told, there are 322 elementary schools in the city.

A public-private partnership started by Mayor Tom Bradley, LA’s BEST, which stands for Better Educated Students for Tomorrow, is a 13-year-old program that offers students in underserved neighborhoods academic classes and activities such as drill team, conflict resolution courses and sports from the end of school until 6 p.m. Under former Mayor Richard Riordan, the program expanded significantly; the city currently provides about a quarter of the program’s $8.3-million budget.

Broad said he decided to award his grant after Hahn met with him two weeks ago.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am for the children of Los Angeles that education is the first item on the agenda of Mayor Hahn,” said Broad, who backed Hahn’s opponent Antonio Villaraigosa in the June election.

On Friday, the billionaire and Riordan made calls to other civic leaders to secure more private donations.

School officials enthusiastically praised the expansion, noting that many schools have been on the waiting list for years to get the program. One principal shrieked in excitement and dropped the phone when a representative of LA’s BEST called her last week to tell her her school was selected, a school official said.

A seven-year UCLA study of LA’s BEST found that children who participated extensively in the after-school program had better attendance, better grades and better achievement on standardized tests.

Mauricio Valdovinos, who attended LA’s BEST at Langdon Elementary, where he is now a teaching assistant, credited the program for keeping him out of danger in a gang-infested neighborhood. Next year, he is graduating from Cal State Northridge, the first in his family to get a college education.

“For all those funders out there, all those philanthropists, you guys want to make an investment--they’re right behind you,” he said, gesturing to the children seated on the City Hall steps. “They’re a great investment.”