Donations Help Save Programs in Local Schools

For most school districts, the headaches of budget cuts and layoffs continue, but the Los Alamitos Unified School District has, with the help of the community, been able to continue programs that are being lost in other schools.

The school district, at this week’s school board meeting, accepted $27,122.20 in donations to help continue funding for not only programs, but also personnel.

To date, this year, Los Alamitos Unified School District, has accepted $112,871.77 — and since June  of last year, the school has received $668,092.00 in donations.

“The amount of donations that we receive is phenomenal,” Superintendent Sherry Kropp said. “We get donations from several groups, organizations and friends of the schools and without these donations we wouldn’t have many of the programs that we have today.”

The district has faced budget reductions each year for the past six years. But Kropp said the donations are helping the school provide essential programs to the students, programs which are necessary for the students growth and education.

“It is really a gift that the parents and community have supported the school district and students through these difficult times,” she said. “We are really blessed.”

Also at this week’s meeting:

District Makes Exception for Exchange Student

Amalia Almasy, a mother of three, spoke at Tuesday’s meeting thanking the board for accepting a foreign exchange student being hosted by her family.

The district is not accepting inter-district transfers at the high school level, and has not been for some time with the high school being near capacity.

The exchange student, who is living with the Almasys  will be living in the district and in a household with three other students in the school system. She is on a J-1 Visa, which provides funding to the district.

“We made the exception in this case because she is staying with a host family that is within the district, and has students that are attending our schools,” said Kropp. “In addition, we get ADA funding, this is an exception that was necessary and one we are excited about.”

Standardized Tests Results Are Cause for Celebration

Officials discussed the latest CST highlights in math, science and English. The results showed significant improvement, especially in elementary and high school math and English.  Success in the classroom is a goal in every district, but Los Alamitos Unified School District made it a priority to set their standards high and then reach them, said school district officials.

Dr. Mark Johnson, assistant superintendent, said that 2,653 more students are proficient in math, English and science than before.

In fact, the second graders at Lee Elementary and the 4th graders at Weaver Elementary are 100 percent proficient in math.

The district ranks second in the county in high school graduation, and more students than ever before are graduating from the district, Johnson said.

“We are very excited about the data,” Kropp said. “The results are exceptional and we are proud of our students and teachers. There is always work to do, but we are happy with where we are at.”