After unanimously rejecting a proposal for an Edison Project charter school, the Bellflower Unified School District set out to prove that it could do better for less money. The result is the Intensive Learning Center, a new state-of-the-art elementary school in the Los Angeles County suburb of Lakewood.
The district decided in early 1998 to convert a small preschool facility into a 900-student magnet school.
Work began immediately. All members of the education community pitched in and worked through the summer to get the school ready to open that fall.
They put in 26 air-conditioned portables and painted and carpeted existing classrooms. Law enforcement, city and district officials met with community members to address their concerns about increased noise and traffic.
CTA President Wayne Johnson tours the Bellflower Intensive Learning Center, meeting with the student council and its advisor Robert Giuffre who's also the school's computer specialist.
"It was teamwork all the way," says Paul Bonner, president of the Bellflower Education Association (BEA).
"We could not have accomplished the planning and execution of this ideal school without the cooperation of every faction - teachers' union, classified union, administrators, school board members and parents. This was an exciting school to create because we all worked for the same goal - to establish a school where students can learn to the maximum."
After two years in operation, the project is still receiving rave reviews from the education community, the students, parents and neighbors.
To visitors, the school seems to be in a time warp. It is the kind of school that existed before Proposition 13 made drastic cuts, eliminating many programs and teaching specialists. It employs the highest paid elementary school teachers in Los Angeles County. The top of the salary schedule exceeds $80,000.
Students attend school 205 days a year, eight hours a day. Class sizes are small. The curriculum includes English, Spanish, technology, science and math, along with music and art. Five full-time teaching specialists provide enrichment in reading, science, Spanish, technology and physical education. The students rotate among the specialists throughout the day.
Standards are strict. Students apply for admission and must agree to wear uniforms, exhibit enthusiasm for learning and practice good manners. The school has zero tolerance for bad behavior, shirking and littering.
Approximately 208 seats are reserved for neighborhood children, and the rest of the student body is selected by lottery, for a total of 895 students who reflect the culturally diverse population.
The district spared no expense in buying supplies, computers and whatever the teachers recommended, says Bonner. Teachers were asked to give the district lists of what they would need in the way of supplies and equipment.
Each classroom has three computers that are interconnected with a state-of-the-art technology lab and its 40 computers. Students and teachers can e-mail each other in every classroom.
Trying to keep up with first-graders who can answer test questions on the computer faster than adults can read them.
The center's science lab rivals any secondary school's setup. Students are able to perform experiments few other elementary school students can, because the school science lab has gas jet hook-ups, electricity and water along with top-notch lab equipment.
Before the end of the first year of operation, the school was presented the Magna Award by the American School Board Journal. The awards program showcases "bold and creative steps" taken to advance student learning. BUSD was one of two California districts, along with Elk Grove, among the top three honored nationwide.
"We are proud of the way the district and unions cooperated to make the Intensive Learning Center an example for other schools to replicate," says Linda Little, BEA bargaining chair and a kindergarten teacher at the center.
CTA President Johnson observes as Linda Little works with her kindergarteners, who seem to be thriving on the intensive schedule eight hours of schooling a day, 205 days a year.
Teachers negotiated an eight-hour, 205-day school year with pay for the extra 20 days but, at first, not the additional hours.
"With the enormous start-up costs to create the school, teachers decided we could make the salary sacrifice at that time, expecting to be correctly compensated in the future."
And, indeed, the new contract rectifies the situation over a three-year period.
"We are excited to be part of such an innovative school," says Little.
Parents and teachers are enthusiastic about the longer day. "Even the six kindergarten classes at ILC attend eight hours a day," says Little, "although we do put them down for a 40-minute nap and they all sleep! It is astounding how much the kindergarten students are learning in the longer day. They know as much as many first-grade students do in other schools. The longer day is not too much for them, and they love school."
BEA negotiated an hour of preparatory time for teams of teachers to meet at each grade level to coordinate curriculum and establish instructional standards. One of the essential components of the center is the assessment process, which stresses keeping careful records of what works and what does not.
"We are aware that other schools may want to create the same kind of intensive learning situation," says Little. "We are keeping detailed records to help them."
Mildred Muzzy Bettinger
