TUESDAY | June 24, 2008

Today the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) School Board has the opportunity to take a very significant step to improve education in our public schools.  The Small Schools II resolution will set the district on a path to transform all new and existing schools into schools of 500 students or less – making them four to six times smaller than most of the district’s current high schools.  The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce encourages the Board to pass this bold vision, and we applaud Board Member Yolie Flores Aguilar for authoring this resolution and Monica Garcia and Richard Vladovic for co-sponsoring.

Small Schools produce better results. A preponderance of research reveals that Small Schools increase attendance, reduce drop out rates, improve academic performance and increase student, parent, community and business engagement.  Students graduating from small schools also go on to college at higher rates than students from large high schools.

Small Schools and Small Learning Communities centered on career themes such as Health Care, Business and Finance, Engineering, Law and Government, Media, etc., give kids a chance to connect learning and earning.  These schools also provide employers with an avenue to help teachers and students make academics come to life.

New York, Chicago, San Diego and other large cities have used small schools to improve their graduation rates.  These cities have closed their large high schools or converted them into rigorous, relevant and personalized small schools. 

The L.A. Area Chamber supported LAUSD as it began this transformation to small learning communities and career academies several years ago.  With over 330 Small Learning Communities and Small Schools formed, many are now beginning to show remarkable results.   The Student Empowerment Academy on the Jefferson High School Campus gained 180 points on its API scores in its first year – one of the largest single-year gains of any California high school.

Now is the time to build on this foundation and accelerate so all students can have the option to attend a high performing small school. We strongly encourage the School Board to pass Small Schools II and we encourage the business community to get connected to these schools.  Doing so will dramatically improve student education and give our young people a much better opportunity to establish a successful career.     

And that’s The Business Perspective. 

Gary L. Toebben
President & CEO
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

The Business Perspective is a weekly opinion piece by Gary Toebben, President & CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

by Gary Toebben, President & CEO, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

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