Nice report cards
THE LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT just closed out a spectacular week. In the seven days from April 26 to May 2, the following happened:
* Thirty-two elementary schools won the state’s Distinguished School designation, nearly three times the district’s record for any previous year.
* Taft High School won the national Academic Decathlon, racking up so many points that, toward the end of the competition, the outcome was a foregone conclusion. The team won seven of the top nine awards for overall performance and dozens of medals for individual subjects.
* North Hollywood High took second place in the equally difficult and elite National Science Bowl.
* Fifty-two of the district’s high-poverty schools won a state award for improving achievement.
There are plenty of legitimate criticisms to be made -- and they are made, here and elsewhere -- of the Los Angeles school system. For each school that stands out, many more don’t make the grade. But this week demonstrated that there are bright spots within the district. These are the success stories that show what the district is capable of when talented teachers, involved parents and hardworking students cooperate in a culture of high expectations.
There will be many days to chide the schools for all the changes they should make. This is a day for sitting back, admiring and saying: Well done.
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