Porter Ranch Community School

After much anticipation, the new Porter Ranch Community School has opened on schedule, Tuesday, August 14, 2012 with almost 700 students in grades K-7. The school was planned to open its first year with 550 students, eventually expanding to serve about 1,000 students grades K-8. The increase in students seems to have come in the elementary grades, which opened with about 550 students instead of the projected 400. Coordinator Mindy Park notes that 20-25% of students were enrolled in private schools the prior year. Additionally, there are middle school students who would have been headed to private school, if they had not enrolled at PRCS.

The PRNC was involved in the school from the outset with a Town Hall meeting in 2005 with then Superintendent Roy Romer to call for a new school. Since that time, the PRNC participated in a unique partnership with LAUSD, Porter Ranch Development Company, and the Councilman's office to develop a school to meet the community's needs. Our involvement contributed to the expanded size of the school with 13 acres instead of the originally planned 7. The expanded size includes space for an additional middle school building when funding is available. Through community meetings the PRNC focused on the importance of a computer lab, community use of the multipurpose room and gym and orienting the campus to protect students from the relentless Porter Ranch winds.

L) Korean Dual Language class in progress; R) Administrators visit a classroom

It is most exciting to see the school move from drawings, to construction to being filled with students. Becky Leveque, past PRNC President and Chair of the School Committee exclaimed, “Everyone told us this will never happen. We wanted to create something for future generations. A kid who finds the cure for cancer may be in this school.”

A day after school opening LAUSD Superintendent Deasy walked through the campus with Principal Mary Melvin, Local District 1 Superintendent Linda Del Cueto, other administrators, the press and the PRNC.
Daily News Article about PRCS.
Galatzan Gazette Article about PRCS.

While students and families love the new school, traffic and parking have become an issue. The PRNC discussed this at the March 2012 meeting, but strong objections were made to street parking by homeowners in the Renaissance community. No cohesive parking plan was presented or approved at that time, but Councilmember Englander specified that he was open to considering all proposals except on the north side of Sesnon for safety reasons. If you have parking concerns, please address them to Hannah.Lee [at] lacity.org (Hannah Lee) in Councilmember Englander's office.

L) The K-8 library with reading corner already has a mural painted by parent artist Mienah Yoon. R) Middle school students at PE class in the multi-purpose room on a hot day.

L) Middle School History class discusses visual vs. auditory learning. R) Eating area

L) Administration building and drop off zone. R) Kindergarten yard

Castlebay Lane Charter Elementary

On the other side of Porter Ranch, Castlebay Lane Charter Elementary has kicked off the new school year as an Affiliated Charter School. This means that the campus retains its union teachers and LAUSD materials, but receives increased funding that it may administer as teachers, parents, and administrators choose. Becoming an Affiliated Charter school increased funding for supplies and staff beyond the LAUSD provided staff from approximately $36,000 to $250,000 for this academic year. The planned $36,000 was significantly down from the prior year, forcing the administration's hand in the affiliated charter decision. With the increased funding the school is hiring an additional teacher to reduce class size and a coordinator.

Due to students transferring to the new school, LAUSD projected Castlebay attendance at 690, down from last year's 820 students. While the school has transferred many students, enrollment is at about 710. Principal Littlejohn noted that enrollment seemed to have dropped more in the fourth and fifth grades; however, kindergarten is at capacity with six full classrooms and one transitional kindergarten room. Class sizes in K-3 are at about 24 students and in fourth and fifth grades about 29 students.

Castlebay Principal Littlejohn greets parents at her monthly coffee with the Principal

Just before the school year started, the District installed smart boards in the classrooms. This is part of the current construction project to remove the four bungalows on the east side of the multipurpose room and replace them with a new multipurpose room to seat 450. It may not look like the project is underway, but the project is in the early stages with soil testing and progress is being  made on it daily. Funding for these improvements are provided by school construction bonds. As construction costs came in lower on new school projects, our school board member Tamar Galatzan was instrumental in directing available funds to Castlebay.

As a new affiliated charter school, Castlebay plans to focus on the arts. By keeping the old multipurpose room and adding the new one, the school will have various spaces to use for dance, music and theater. The new building will also provide an indoor lunch area in inclement weather.

The PRNC provided assistance to the school with the allocation of $7,000 April 2012 towards an emergency sound system for the school yard and technology to facilitate teachers conducting student assessments.

Also new this year is the implementation of the Accelerated Reader Program, which is being funded by PATH, Parents And Teachers Helping. This is an online program students will use to improve reading comprehension. Find out more about Castlebay.