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                I begin this column with a premise that might seem odd to those of you who have been following the news in recent months:  there are many outstanding schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. 

In my Board District alone, the schools that match that description are too numerous to mention here.  To cite one example:  13 of them – more than in any other Board member’s district – were selected California Distinguished Schools for 2008. 

And yet during the past year – my first on the Board – my colleagues and I dealt with the aftermath of the District’s payroll system; a nearly $400 million reduction in state funding; fallout from the effort to find space on LAUSD campuses for charter schools; allegations of sexual misconduct involving District staff preying upon students; and more.   Each week seemingly brought another crisis.

There is no doubt that the District’s problems and the publicity surrounding them have adversely affected morale at many of our schools.  When teachers are neither getting paid accurately nor on time, and the state slashes funds for education, that’s enough of a double-whammy to challenge even the faith of die-hard optimists.

But behind the familiar stories of failure, neglect, and incompetence is a different story of equal or greater importance:  the extraordinary devotion of teachers, administrators, staff, and parents to ensure that in this tumultuous year, students can still receive an excellent education.  They are the real heroes of 2007-2008 at LAUSD. 

Having visited numerous campuses since last summer, I have seen and met these people.  I am struck by their energy, their passion, and their determination to make their schools succeed in spite of “advice” from the gloom and doom lobby to stop wasting their time. 

How they accomplish this feat varies from school to school.  In terms of the parents, it could involve hosting a successful fund-raiser or fund-raisers; working with, and through, District bureaucrats to secure the necessary permits for a school fair or carnival; making arrangements with local businesses to secure monetary support or a donation of materials; volunteering in the classroom; or serving as driver and chaperone on a field trip.

As regards teachers, staff, and administrators, their jobs skills are measured not only in high test scores and honors, awards, and commendations, but in the student who reads a new book every week, or the one who puts in hours at home on his semester science project.  Such students are invariably the products of a rich learning environment at home and at school, which is a surefire guarantee of success later in life.

At the end of what has been a difficult year in the LAUSD, we can never forget that the greatness of our schools does not exclusively depend on the availability of money and resources.  A school with excellent leaders, active parents, and engaged students will find a way to not only survive, but thrive.