New High School Tallies Its Achievements

The leased laptops have been turned in, finals are over, and the navy-and-khaki uniforms have been packed away for the summer.

As the faculty and families at a pioneering school for the largely Latino immigrant community of Lennox gathered last week to celebrate the end of the first academic year for Animo Leadership Charter High School, it also was time to take stock.

There were many pluses at the school, which was founded to provide a college-prep alternative to the large public campuses where many Lennox students have foundered or dropped out.

The achievements included an impressive 99% daily attendance rate and commitments from nearly all 140 freshmen to return in August to the academically rigorous, few-frills school in rented classrooms near Los Angeles International Airport.

There are also a positive early review from a key school accrediting agency and enthusiastic responses from the faculty, parents and educators who helped launch the school.

“Something is happening [at Animo] that is engaging these students,” said Shane Martin, an assistant professor of education at Loyola Marymount University, which works closely with the high school.

“Animo has taken a lot of time this year for all of us, but, upon reflection, I think it is the most valuable project I have ever been involved in in my 22-year career in education,” added Martin.

Among the challenges: a state funding system that forced the school’s operator to borrow money to meet payroll and the possible loss one day of the leased campus, which is in the path of the proposed LAX expansion. In addition, the school’s well-liked principal is leaving.

There is also the puzzle of how to provide more of the “extras” that students in bigger, more traditional high schools get--athletic teams, arts and music programs and a range of electives. And there is concern about how to keep the strong personal connections from fading as the school, which began with just a freshman class, adds another grade level in each of the next three years until it accommodates more than 550 students in grades nine through 12.

“The teachers here really know you and care about you. If you get a bad grade, they are not going to ignore you,” said student Juanita Garcia.

The first year of Animo--Spanish for “spirit” or “courage”--holds some lessons for school reforms, especially in the relatively new but quickly growing charter school movement. Charter schools are public institutions, funded with tax dollars, that are freed from most state regulations and allowed to operate independently of a school district. They are expected to tailor programs to succeed with students in ways that traditionally governed schools have not.

California has about 300 charter schools, with dozens more in the pipeline, according to the state Department of Education. To open, they must receive approval of their plan, or charter, from a sponsoring school district or state education officials, and they are evaluated periodically.

“We ask a lot of our kids, but they know every adult here loves them and will do our best to create the conditions that allow them to succeed,” said Animo founder Steve Barr. He hopes Animo will be just the first of several charter schools he wants to start through his nonprofit Green Dot Public Schools. (Earlier this year, school officials in Inglewood turned down his application for a charter, saying they wanted to try an alternative school of their own, but he is seeking permission from the state to open a school there and in Venice.)

Animo students come from the Lennox School District, which sponsored the charter school to provide an alternative to the Centinela Valley Union High School District, where many Lennox students fare poorly.

Animo students were picked by lottery from a pool of more than 200 applicants. Some were already good students, but others were unmotivated, struggling with learning disabilities or not proficient in English.

“We did not take just the best students. . . . We work with the students wherever they are [academically] to help them reach our standards,” said Principal Carlos M. Jimenez.

Jimenez, a veteran social studies and Chicano studies teacher, took a one-year leave of absence from the Los Angeles Unified School District to try his hand at administration. He will be returning to a Los Angeles classroom in the fall.

“I felt like a fish out of water, and I realized how much I missed not being able to teach,” said Jimenez, who will be replaced by Mara Simmons, an assistant principal from Lennox Middle School. “But I think we laid a very solid foundation.”

The curriculum is designed so every student will fulfill the rigorous course requirements for entrance to the University of California. School is in session from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., including time for study skills courses, tutoring and homework.

Each student was assigned a laptop computer to use in class and at home, where parents could also use them to track their youngster’s academic progress from teachers’ reports. One of Barr’s challenges is to find $80,000 to continue the 1-to-1 ratio as the school doubles in size next year.

Animo provides buses to shuttle the students, many of whom live in gang-ridden neighborhoods, safely to and from its quarters at the University of West Los Angeles. Officials believe the free transportation--and the prompt calls home if anyone was late or missing--contributed to the school’s high attendance rate. It was not until halfway through the school year that a student missed a day.

The school’s “campus” is the third floor of the law school, which will be moving soon. Barr dreams of buying the site when Animo’s four-year lease ends and if the airport expansion falters.

School began with five full-time teachers, all conversant in Spanish and some from family backgrounds similar to those of their students, plus a student teacher to help with study skills.

Earlier this year, the students chafed under the all-work-and-no-play atmosphere. So, the faculty started holding dances and other activities, and they expect to help with soccer and other teams when the California Interscholastic Federation approves Animo to play other schools in the coming year.

“It’s a lot of work, but we get to make a lot of the decisions and really feel part of it,” said math teacher Mario Alcala, president of the school’s recently established teachers union. He said he likes being a role model for students who will probably be the first in their families to attend college.

Parents also are required to give at least 30 hours a year in service to the school. Three-fourths have met the requirement.

Many parents say they are very pleased with the school.

Antonio Diaz said his son, Anthony, is thriving under the tough standards and extra homework.

“He needs these strong teachers. When teachers are soft, he doesn’t do nothing,” Diaz said.

Lennox school officials, who granted the charter and continue to work with Animo, say they are happy, too. But leaders of the Centinela district, which would have received the Animo students, said they have not paid much attention to the alternative school. District enrollment, a basis for state funding, is up, even without the Animo students, said Supt. Julian Lopez.

Animo’s preliminary accreditation--formally called “candidacy”--from the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges was a feat few charter schools attempt in their first year. Animo has three years to earn full accreditation, but its candidacy status enables work to be accepted on college applications and heightens the fledgling school’s credibility. Association evaluators this spring cited, among other things, Animo’s “high academic standards,” its “highly motivated staff,” its ongoing partnership with Loyola Marymount and its parents’ involvement.

Results from statewide testing will not be available until August, but officials say one measure of success is students’ enthusiasm.

All but three of the original 140 students stayed through the year. One girl’s family moved, one boy decided to transfer to a district high school (both were replaced with students on the waiting list), and another boy was expelled for behavior problems; he has asked to be readmitted. Except for one other girl whose family is moving, all of the students are returning.

As they signed yearbooks, ate burgers and hot dogs and were serenaded by mariachis at their end-of-the-year picnic, Animo students offered their own assessments.

“At first I wanted to go to Hawthorne [High School], but now I am so happy I went here,” said Karen Bran. “I was lucky to get in.”