Brand New East L.A. Academy Open to Bidders
High school to open in 2011 is tenth campus added to second wave of Public School Choice list.
By Gloria Angelina Castillo, EGP Staff Writer
A school scheduled to open a year ahead of time in East Los Angeles is the latest entry in Los Angeles Unified School District’s second round of Public School Choice (PSC 2.0), LAUSD officials announced late last week.
East L. A. Star High School Academy, located on the site of a former hospital, is scheduled to open in August or September 2011. It is the tenth new school to be included in the Public School Choice initiative, according to District officials. Under PSC, outside groups, including teachers and charters, can apply to manage eligible schools.
The high school will be in the old East LA Star Hospital located at 319 N. Humphreys Avenue, at the intersection of Humphreys and New York Street, in East Los Angeles. EGP photo by Gloria Angelina Castillo
LAUSD announced the second round of PSC about two months ago, and received more than 200 Letters of Intent for the 9 new schools and 8 focus schools identified by the District, by the June 30 deadline. Informational workshops for applicant teams are already underway.
When finished, East L.A. Star will be able to accommodate 702 students in 22 classrooms, and will relieve overcrowding at Garfield and Wilson high schools, according to the District’s press release.
“As the sponsor of the Public School Choice resolution, I am encouraged by the continued effort to make our new and existing schools models of quality education,” said LAUSD Board Member Yolie Flores, who represents the school district where the campus is located. “I am also encouraged by the progress being made to expand the academic choices available to our students. With the addition of East L.A. Star High School Academy, students on the eastside will finally have a greater opportunity to choose among numerous specialized schools and academies to best meet their individual needs and interests.”
Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines, who announced his retirement plans last week, said the district is seeking “innovative instruction, proven strategies and solid results year after year” from PSC school applicants.
The new high school will share the site with the East LA Star Adult Education campus, currently housed in 16 bungalows and called the Eastside Learning Center. It is run by the Garfield Community Adult School office, and is not part of Public School Choice.
The East LA Star Hospital facility is 105,000 square-feet on 4.98 acres, and cost $47,183,297, according to February 2010 LAUSD Facilities Services Division documents.
Facilities Director Tony Arellano told EGP the old hospital building will house both the new high school and the existing adult school currently located in the nearby bungalows.
Retrofitting of the building is complete but construction is still underway. Once done, the high school will be located on the third and fourth floors of the building, while the adult school will move into the first floor and basement, he said. Over the next 18 months, the bungalows will be removed and their location converted back to parking for the site, he added.
Charter-operator Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools wasted no time in submitting a Letters of Intent for the new campus. According to Communications Coordinator Lili Barsha, the Alliance submitted its letter on July 23, one day following LAUSD’s announcement.
EGP also contacted Green Dot Public Schools to inquire whether they were interested in the campus. John Sun, vice president of new school developments for Green Dot, said on Monday they are not planning to apply for ELA Star, but added they did submit Letters of Intent for three middle schools under PSC 2.0.
Robert Alaniz, LAUSD director of communications, declined EGP’s request for a list of Letters of Intent submitted before the deadline for East L.A. Star saying “we will announce all Letters of Intent received for East LA Star Academy on August 5th.”
LAUSD is holding an Applicant Team Orientation meeting today, July 29, at 4 p.m. at the District headquarters located at 333 S. Beaudry Ave in downtown L.A. Letters of Intent are due Aug 4.
The letters of intent are not bids, but an indication of interest, according to Flores’ press officer Ron Palacios.
The final proposals/applications are due December 1. Presentations to stakeholders will follow, leading up to advisory and school, application reviews by two district committees, a recommendation by the superintendent and a final vote by the school board in February 2011.
Public School Choice is an in-house educational reform aimed at turning-around chronically underperforming schools. Under the Public School Choice Resolution applicant teams compete to present the best plan to raise student achievement and graduations rates at existing school and all new campuses opening.
The first group of 30 schools awarded to applicant teams through Public School Choice will begin to open next month.
For more information on PSC process visit: http://publicschoolchoice.lausd.net
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July 29, 2010 Copyright © 2010 Eastern Group Publications, Inc.
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