High Dropout Rate Needs Examination

Re “Schools’ Dropout Remedy: Get Small,” March 26: The small schools initiative is just the latest program to rearrange the deck chairs of the Titanic Los Angeles Unified School District. The LAUSD’s only concern is protecting a bloated administration that robs money from the classroom with mini-districts and now proposed mini-schools to further implement the only thing it seems capable of -- the Peter Principle.

What is truly scary about the present abysmal showing of Latino and black students graduating at 39% and 47%, respectively, is that it is not even a true measure of how bad the LAUSD is doing its job. These figures must be viewed in light of the fact that a student can still graduate from high school with inflated grades and without passing the standardized state examination, the California High School Exit Exam. One must believe that the requirement of passing such an independent examination in 2006 will only further lessen the graduation rates of our most neglected students. The one thing that you can be sure of is that the LAUSD’s lobby in Sacramento will again work hard to try to stop the exit exam from being required as a prerequisite for graduation in 2006.

Leonard Isenberg

LAUSD Social Studies

Teacher, Los Angeles

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Re the dropout rate in California’s high schools, especially among Latino and African American children: Of course, the overcrowding and neglect have been known for many years. While there has been much hand-wringing over what to do, the single most important underlying cause of the problem -- overwhelmingly rapid rates of immigration of young people -- is never mentioned in The Times.

Unless and until national immigration rates are reduced, all the finger-pointing and blaming of state and local government and other institutions will, unsurprisingly, be for naught.

Ben Zuckerman

Professor of Astronomy

UCLA

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The reason for the 50% to 70% four-year dropout rate for urban high schools is inappropriate courses. High schools used to offer basic math and pre-algebra for the two-year math graduation requirement. Now both courses are gone, and many students can’t pass algebra 1 and geometry. Giving students only college-prep classes in the various curricula creates bored, failing students who drop out. High school students again need a choice of taking college prep or vocational, business, homemaking, ROTC, work-study and general ed courses.

Bob Munson

Newbury Park

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To answer the question (Letters, March 27) “How much smaller can class size get?” I say, “A lot!”

As a high school government teacher, I invite her to my classroom (if she can squeeze in or find a seat). I have 40-plus students in every class. This is not because of overcrowding at our school; this is what the district norm table dictates. Eleventh- and 12th-grade social studies classes are not alone. High numbers are mandated in arts, foreign language, life skills, English as a second language, physical education, senior English, all electives and non-lab sciences, among others.

Please don’t criticize teachers for speaking out about our horrible working conditions. You wouldn’t attempt our job even for one day.

Just ask my students, especially the ones whose names I can’t remember. They deserve better.

Jerie Morrison

Venice High School

Los Angeles