LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer and Everychild Foundationleader Jacqueline Caster discuss issues facing the district.

Roy Romer Vows a "Cultural Shift"
To Bring Systematic Education Gains
By Laurel Busby, Staff Reporter
Palisadian Post
February 21, 2002

While Los Angeles elementary students have begun surging forward with higher test scores, middle and high school students have made no real progress, but that will change, according to Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Roy Romer.

Speaking recently at a private residence in Santa Monica to members of the Palisades-based Everychild Foundation, Romer detailed his plans for bringing improvement to secondary education.

The ideas, some of which have already been instituted, include employing one full-time coach for every 30 teachers to help improve instruction, especially for the 50 percent of new hires who aren't credentialed teachers. In addition, Romer plans to create a disciplined system to catch children who are falling behind and bring them back on course through skills testing every six weeks. A crash course will be implemented to bring illiterate secondary students up to grade level, and an emphasis will be placed on content literacy, which pushes teachers of science and other "content" courses to include language instruction as part of their methodology.

He described a "cultural shift" that was necessary to bring about changes. "You need to believe all children can learn... You need to believe intelligence is not inherited," Romer said. "If you accept that, it's the institution's fault, not the children's fault."

Romer, the former governor of Colorado, detailed the success that has already happened at the elementary level since he started in July 2000. Last year, first graders districtwide jumped one-third in their test scores after a rigorous phonics-based reading program was implemented. He expects to see similar improvement this year for second graders. "Effort counts. It really counts. If you put muscle to it, you can get it done... We're raising the expectations of the students, the teachers, the administrators and the system."

For older students, Romer plans to similarly raise expectations. Twenty percent of secondary students are termed "developmental readers" who are three to four grade levels behind. LAUSD's standard operating procedure for these students has been to just pass them through so they graduate with an empty degree. Recently, a crash course in phonics has been approved by the school board to get them quickly up to grade level. For the other 80 percent of students, many of whom are also reading and writing inadequately, Romer plans to shift the way they are taught in "content" courses like science.

Currently, students with inadequate reading skills cannot function well in their courses because they can't read, analyze and write well enough to handle the material. But science teachers don't think of themselves as needing to teach literacy. Romer says they need to shift their thinking. In science, students learn vocabulary about the science they're learning. They learn how to analyze and think about scientific principles. And they must read and write well to succeed on tests.

"We have a challenge of teaching that science teacher that instilling science is partly learning how to read and write," said Romer, who had earlier noted that one "content" teacher he knows prides himself on failing 70 percent of his students. It is a "cultural shift, but it's absolutely true.... There is no one who can teach a content-based course without thinking about how students deal with thinking about language."

So methods of incorporating the study of language into the study of science will be taught to teachers. The students can then improve their reading and writing skills not only in English class, but across he board. "The really interesting and exciting thing that's happening here is the intellectual energy that's flowing through the teachers, students, administrators.... [Students] can acquire intelligence in a way they never ever realized..... They will be literate in the sense Socrates and Plato were literate," Romer said. "We need to enable these kids."

Palisadian Jacqueline Caster, who spearheads the Everychild Foundation, asked Romer how he would be able to implement his ideas despite the $133 million budget cuts that recently hit the district. He replied that the cuts have not affected core instruction, but instead have been around the edges of the district's $9.2 billion budget. Some programs like certain library book purchases have such tight budgetary restrictions that surpluses have gathered in accounts, so this money will be returned to the state. Despite the cuts, $30 million has already been earmarked for the secondary literacy programs, he said.

Romer's dynamic energy inspired one listener to ask the 73-year-old if longevity ran in his family. He replied that his father lived to 94 years old. The listener's more pressing question was "how long will it take" to improve the school system.

Romer answered, "You can change the atmosphere quickly," but teachers can't be asked to change themselves too fast. "We'll break their backs if we do it too quickly... In 18 months, we can show this can work. In order to get high school functioning the way it ought to be, it'll take 10 years."

The two dozen or so Everychild Foundation members and spouses listening to Romer's presentation were obviously energized and inspired by him. This salon was their second such event. State Senator Sheila Kuehl spoke at their first about domestic violence in teen relationships. Both appearances were part of an effort to educate the members on local children's needs.

The foundation avoids hosting fundraising events and instead asks its members for $5,000 annual donations. Then, all members vote on one big project to support each year. Their first $230,000 donation bought a three-suite mobile dental clinic to provide dental care to underprivileged LAUSD students. Last year's $385,000 project funded the creation of 15 new libraries in LAUSD schools.

Also attending the event were Palisadian Merle Price, a former PaliHi principal and the current LAUSD deputy superintendent of instructional services, and his wife, Shirley, an Everychild advisory board member.

Merle, who has been a science teacher and administrator in LAUSD for more than 30 years, told the group that Romer's political prestige has helped the district attract intellectual input from around the country. "He has brought the most profound educational thinkers here. LAUSD has never had this caliber of input and thinking. This is a radical departure of anything that has happened in 30 years."