Pasadena Unified School District's school consolidation study committee released its 68 page report over the weekend, recommending not just the closure of three Altadena schools, but a major shuffle of programs and personnel.
As previously reported, the committee recommended the closure of Loma Alta, Jackson, and Burbank elementary schools, and that Norma Coombs Alternative School relocate to the Burbank campus.
But that doesn’t mean the other two schools will be shuttered. The committee also recommended that Rose City High School relocate to the Jackson building, and that Loma Alta be the site of the district's child care program and perhaps the occupational therapy functions now at Hodges Day Care Center in Pasadena.
In addition, Norma Coombs would become the new site of PUSD headquarters, as well as early childhood education offices now located in Hodges.
As for the current students in the schools: Loma Alta students are to be split up between Franklin and Altadena elementary schools, while Jackson students are to be split between Franklin and Cleveland. Burbank students will be split between Altadena, Webster, and Longfellow, and the Mandarin dual language immersion program there will be relocated to Longfellow or Field.
The report also gave some of the reasoning behind why the schools were chosen for closure:
Loma Alta:
Committee members seemed to agree on Loma Alta because of its low enrollment (well under 200 students) , continuing low academic scores, and location on the periphery of the District. The group struggled with displacing the special education population there, but felt that he students could be placed at nearby schools. It is the Committee’s hope that the other schools will be able to provide the academic environment that will help those children succeed.
Burbank
Based on the low neighborhood population currently attending Burbank, the Committee believed closing the school would not prevent keeping the neighborhood together. Additionally, the school has performed inconsistently in regard to State academic performance measures. Also, there are a high number of transported students to the site.
Jackson
Jackson has a strong neighborhood presence, yet the school has consistently under-performed other schools in the District. Although many families walk to Jackson and the community uses the facility, the school has been in Program Improvement since the 2004/2005 school year. The Committee took note of research that low performing schools in low economic areas only serve to continue the cycle of poverty for those individuals ... Those voting to consolidate Jackson felt that Jackson showed little chance of improving in the near future, yet the students needed improvement immediately. Since Cleveland and Franklin are better performing schools, moving Jackson students to those schools would give them access to a better education more quickly ...
Norma Coombs
Moving Norma Coombs to the Burbank site would mitigate the impact on Altadena; instead of closing three sites, two would be closed. This move would also provide a more attractive option for families in the East Altadena area. Many East Altadena families have left PUSD. The Committee saw this as a potential opportunity to increase the neighborhood population attending a PUSD school.
Rose CIty High School
The committee recommends relocating Rose City High School to the Jackson campus. The committee recognized how much a part of the neighborhood the Jackson school is, and how the school now hosts programs critical to supporting the neighborhood. By placing Rose City High School at the site the neighborhood will still have a place to hold group meetings. It will also make it easier for Rose Ciy students in the Northwest to get to school ... The movement of Rose City to Jackson would also give the District an opportunity to create an after school center for the Altadena area if it wished or to offer satellite offices for some of the much needed programs like Families in Transition and the Welcome Center.
The school district is on a fast track to make these changes: PUSD Supt. Edwin Diaz plans to present his recommendations to the school board toward the latter part of November, with the changes to take effect by the beginning of the next school year.
A full PDF copy of the report is available on the school district's web site.
