A worrisome decrease in kindergarten enrollment for September at some of Culver City’s five grammar schools — but, ironically, not at El Marino, the city’s showcase school — caused the School District last week to apply a broad remedy that, by the way, affected El Marino, too.
Supt. Dr. Myrna Cote dropped a total of 2 1/2 kindergarten classes citywide, including one at El Marino, which is oversubscribed as usual, in an apparent attempt to even out the negative effect.
A District Goal
The hope of the School District is that the parents now being turned away from Culver City’s blue ribbon campus will choose to stay in Culver City and pick one of the four remaining grade schools.
Sandi Levin, a former mayor of Culver City and an analytical, facts-first leader of the well organized uprising, said this morning the logic is valid, but the wounds inflicted on El Marino will be devastating, complicated and long-lasting.
She said the class-cutting decision by Dr. Cote was honorably motivated, but packs future penalties for El Marino that may not be immediately visible.
Jeopardy
By deliberately eliminating one of El Marino’s (already filled) wildly popular specialty kindergarten classes — the Spanish Immersion Program — Ms. Levin says the District risks losing the rejected families for good.
“Who is to say they will stay in Culver City instead of going elsewhere, putting their children in a private school? They were drawn by the reputation of our schools. But El Marino was their choice.”
To Ms. Levin, the foot-stomping campaign of organized parents — they fired off more than 200 emails and voice mails to Dr. Cote in the first 24 hours last week — realistically feels doomed.
Assessing Chances
Unless the Superintendent reverses herself, said Ms. Levin, “our chances of succeeding are zero.”
They are not despairing, though.
There is a strong reason, she said, for the upset families to carry their protest into Tuesday night’s regularly scheduled School Board meeting — at 7:30 at Lin Howe School, 4100 Irving Pl. — and beyond.
By eliminating one of the four Spanish Immersion Program classes at El Marino, the School District hopes that the resident families left behind on the El Marino waiting list will do what the District regards as the right thing, stay home, keep their child in Culver City.
Changing One Mind
Ms. Levin’s group, called SKIP, for “Save Kindergarten Immersion Program,” seeks to persuade Dr. Cote to release the resident families. That way, the school can proceed and fill its fourth Spanish Immersion class.
The parent group said this crisis might have been avoided if the Superintendent, who arrived in January, had a history with the community.
“But Dr. Cote is new to Culver City,” said Ms. Levin, who has three children — a kindergartner, a second-grader and a fourth-grader — enrolled at El Marino.
The Learning Curve
“She did not fully understand the history and the background of El Marino. And she did not fully understand the damage that cutting this class will do to El Marino.”
Ms. Levin lauded the Superintendent, though, “for being so forthcoming (to SKIP members) by providing us with up-to-date enrollment information.”
For the foreseeable future, the wound lies open, said Ms. Levin, who issued the following detailed statement on the many nuances of the controversy.
“THE PROBLEM
“Although the School District has five outstanding elementary schools, Culver City is experiencing declining enrollment as part of a statewide trend.
“Currently, there are not enough kindergarten applicants for the Fall to fill the same number of kindergarten classes the district had this past year.
“El Marino had more than enough parents request an immersion education to fill four Spanish Immersion Programs (SIP) and two Japanese Immersion Program (JIP) classes, the same number of kindergarten classes El Marino had this year.
Nonetheless, the District has announced the “tentative” closure of an SIP kindergarten class at El Marino next year and plans to turn away residents who applied for SIP kindergarten, unless kindergarten classes at the non-immersion schools reach the enrollment levels the District is hoping for.
THE FACTS
“To be economically viable and comply with state law, each kindergarten class should have 18-20 children.
“There is no shortage of kindergartners requesting placement in SIP; four SIP kindergarten classes would easily be filled.
“More than 71 residents have applied to SIP kindergarten, according to the most recent numbers provided by the District — and the number is growing.
“Many more applications to El Marino have been received from families outside the District. The front office reports being inundated with calls.
“The number of resident applications requesting kindergarten placement at each of the other 4 elementary schools was not enough to fill as many kindergarten classes as they have now (3.5 classes at La Ballona; 4 at Lin Howe; 4 at Farragut; and 3 at El Rincon).
“Excluding those who stated their first choice was El Marino, La Ballona received 60 requests for next year; Lin Howe received 47 requests; Farragut 34; and El Rincon 35.
“The District has cut the programs with the highest number of applicants in order not to cut the programs with the lowest number.
“The School District’s target numbers are three at La Ballona; three at Lin Howe; four at Farragut, and three at El Rincon.
“CUTTING SIP KINDERGARTEN IS NEITHER FAIR NOR HELPFUL.
“It is a breach of faith and fundamentally unfair to families who have applied to El Marino’s language immersion program for the District to cut the program rather than allow their children to attend.
“By denying parents the education and program of their choice, the District will lose students and money.
“Despite the exceptional educational opportunities at other Culver City schools, many parents who do not get into El Marino leave the District, sending their kids to private schools or immersion programs elsewhere. Flight from public schools is a primary factor cited in the statewide decline in enrollment.
“Cuts to El Marino’s program damage its reputation and the reputation of the District as a whole at a time when attracting and retaining students is critical!
“El Marino’s language immersion program is one of the School District’s most widely-recognized assets, having earned national recognition and an API score of over 900.
“If this were a business, the District’s approach would be tantamount to slowing production on the most popular product line in order to try to boost sales. It just makes no sense.
“A cut in an immersion program for even one year has long term consequences that differ from single language schools.
“Students cannot enter mid-stream. Specialized requirements make it more difficult to find qualified teachers. Qualified teachers are in high demand, and they will be recruited away by school districts that provide greater support to immersion programs.
“Damage to the program may be done quickly, but it would take years to rebuild.
“Cutting the Language Immersion program doesn’t even address the underlying problem of a continuing decline in the kinder population for several years to come.
“It does grave damage, but it only gets the District through this September.
“We may still have a shot at changing this is we all take action.
If you haven’t called or written to the Superintendent and every member of the School Board of Education, do it now at Myrna Coté (myrnariveracote@ccusd.org), Marla Wolkowitz (marlawolkowitz@hotmail.com), Jessica Beagles-Roos (jebero@hotmail.com), Stew Bubar (sbubar@lausd.k12.ca.us), Dana Russell (danarus@aol.com) and Saundra Davis (saundrawdavis@yahoo.com).
