Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 68, No. 9 - February 28, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............3
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................5
Classifieds............................3
Entertainment......................2
Food.......................................3
Lawndale..............................4
Legals.................................6,7
Pets........................................5
Real Estate...........................8
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Cloudy
75˚/62˚
Saturday
Rain
73˚/61˚
Sunday
AM
Showers
72˚/61˚
The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood
Inglewood Kids at Laker Clinic
Spectrum SportsNet Lakers studio analysts and hosts James Worthy, Chris McGee and Allie Clifton with boys and girls from Inglewood as well as surrounding communities held court at the 2019 Spectrum
SportsNet Los Angeles Lakers Basketball Clinic on Feb. 23 at El Segundo High School . Photo credit: Spectrum SportsNet
Inglewood School Board to Review
New Charter School Petitions
By Haleemon Anderson
The Inglewood School Board opened
a public hearing at its meeting last week
to receive comments on the charter petition
renewal for ICEF Inglewood Middle
School. A group of more than 30 teachers,
administrators and students from the
school were on hand to admonish the Board
members to renew the charter. The school,
located at 304 E. Spruce, has been in operation
since 2014 and seeks to renew its charter
through 2024.
Principal Natalie Kieffer spoke on behalf
of the middle school, and several parents and
teachers spoke in support of the renewal. Abba
N’gissah, representative of the Inglewood
Teacher’s Association, spoke against the
petition. She said only 25 percent of ICEF
students meet or exceed state expectations,
and that number is no better than district
schools. For that reason, said N’gissah, “This
petition must be denied.”
Sue Ann Evans, a teacher from ICEF
Inglewood Elementary charter, noted the
schools had met the criteria set by Inglewood
Unified School District. Evans said the school
is performing comparably to the District’s
four elementary schools. The public hearing
closed at 6:06.
The Board voted to renew the charter petition
for the school. The school’s renewal petition
was filed in December of 2018, and had a
public hearing in January. A similar protocol
will take place for the middle school, with a
vote likely to take place in March.
ICEF (Inner City Education Foundation)
operates eight schools in the Los Angeles
area, including the two in Inglewood. The
non-profit organization started its first school
17 years ago. In 2016, it moved its flagship
school, View Park Prep, into its first new
building -- a $19.6 million construction on
Crenshaw Boulevard.
Also during the meeting, Chief Business
Officer Eugenio Villa gave a report on rising
special education costs. The agenda presented
over $1 million in additional special
education costs needed to finish the 2018-19
academic year. “Special education costs have
been rising at an unsustainable rate over the
past several years,” said Villa. He explained
one way to control costs would be to create
programming within the district. Currently,
Inglewood Unified contracts out for many of
the service providers for special education.
Compared to other local districts, Villa
indicated the District faces the highest costs
in special education in the county, with more
than 25 percent of the budget going to SPED
costs. Villa added that there is proposed
legislation pending to address this need.
A special education concentration grant, if
passed, would provide increased funding
when a school’s number of students with a
disability (SWD) outpaces the state average
of 10.93 percent.
Dr. Rene Rojas reported on reclassification
of English language learners. The District
administers the ELPAC, a standardized language
assessment test, three times a year.
He also noted that there have been positive
gains. Scores are up, with 19 percent of
English learners designated reclassified this
school year. “It’s something to celebrate,”
said Rojas. “The state average is about 11
percent. LA County is 13. Our strategic goal
in five years is 25 percent,” he said.
Principals Steve Donahue and Sylvia B,
from Warren Lane Elementary and Crozier
Middle schools respectively, reported on
progress at their campuses.
The Inglewood School Board meets once
monthly. The next regular meeting is scheduled
for Wednesday, March 6, at 5:30 p.m.,
at 401 S. Inglewood Ave., in the Dr. Ernest
Shaw Board Room. A special board meeting
will be held March 13. •
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think
critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.