‘At Risk’ Students May Not Come to Eagle Rock High

The LAUSD is reconsidering its cost-cutting decision to use part of for an option school in which up to 40 “at-risk” students would have been housed in two secluded bungalows meant for special-needs students.

The development follows a February 15 meeting in which LAUSD Board Member Bennett Kayser met with several District officials responsible for the option school program as well as with LAUSD Space Planning staff, according to Jan Davis, the District’s administrator and coordinator for secondary programs.

The meeting included ERHS Principal Salvador Velasco and LAUSD director for secondary schools in District 4, Annick Draghi. “They had some questions for us,” Davis told Patch in an interview Thursday, adding: “Mr. Kayser asked Space Planning if there are some other properties the [options] school could go to.”

Patch first reported on February 7 that the LAUSD was planning to move to ERHS its so-called “Tri-C” option program, designed to prevent students who have trouble graduating from dropping out. Since then, Mr. Kayser’s office has received numerous emails and phone calls from parents and community members concerned about the possibility—now looking increasingly unlikely—that not only would special-needs students be displaced but that the presence of at-risk youth on campus would be disruptive.

"It's very encouraging to see that our school board member is so responsive to the concerns of the school and larger community,” said Michael Larsen, president of the , whose two children go to , the neighborhood’s gateway to ERHS.

What Exactly is Tri-C?

Hardly anyone at LAUSD seems to know, however, just what is meant by the cryptic term “Tri-C.” Over the decades, the word has become bureaucratic shorthand for Community Day Schools. Further, Tri-C happens to be just one of the four branches of the District’s Options Schools tree—the other three being “continuation schools,” “pregnant minor schools” and the “City of Angels” independent study program, according to Davis.

Although Tri-C schools have historically been based in leased facilities, office buildings and storefronts, many regular LAUSD schools also have them on their campuses, Davis said. By law, they must be located in a fenced area on the property’s perimeter. “You have to have a physical barrier—because the kids are a little bit more at risk,” she added.

According to initial plans, LAUSD was considering locating the Tri-C school in two chain-linked bungalows overlooking Yosemite Drive, where the special-needs students receive “community-based instruction” in such simple tasks as how to shop, cook and take a bus in a safe environment.

Although Tri-C schools are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, “they have a different accountability and are not subject to an improvement scale because they have a transient population,” Davis said.

Annual enrollment in the program fluctuates from 500-600 students, Davis said, adding that on average 150-200 students per year have managed to graduate over the past five years. (For further details about the Tri-C program, see the attached PDF file.)

Next Steps

The LAUSD has until June 30 to relocate all its options students in Los Angeles to school campuses. “If we don’t find an alternative location, we’ll have to make it work at Eagle Rock [High],” Davis said, adding that the two bungalows for special-needs students “would probably stay intact” as the at-risk students are housed elsewhere. “We wouldn’t necessarily build new classrooms but just put fencing up” at minimal cost, Davis said.

“We need to continue to make our concerns known to Superintendent Deasy by calling his office at (213) 241-7000,” said Larsen. “At the very least, LAUSD owes Eagle Rock transparency and clear communication on this issue."