Learn more about the Excellence in Education Awards Additional profiles: Carthay Center Elementary Wonderland Avenue Elementary Irving Middle School White House Place Primary Center Community Magnet School Lowman Special Education Center Magnolia Avenue School Elizabeth Learning Center Park Western Place Elementary Coeur d'Alene Elementary Welby Way Gifted Magnet Haddon Elementary Hobart Elementary

Excellence in Education Awards Denise Cole and Dolores Patton Open Magnet Charter School 6085 Airdrome Street, Los Angeles Dr. Grace Arnold, Principal A LEARN School Hamilton/Palisades/University Cluster-Merle Price, Cluster Administrator RESULTS: Open Magnet Charter School students consistently score well above the district average on standardized tests, and above the state average. Yellow Cluster students also have performed well on the state-mandated Stanford 9 test. Stanford Achievement scores are above grade level, and scores for 3rd and 4th grades generally increased between 1997 and 1998. Cluster teachers use a variety of means to document achievement including portfolios, rubrics, performance-based assessments, student self-evaluation paragraphs and ongoing observation and review of work. Yellow Cluster of the Open Magnet Charter School is a third and fourth grade classroom community of 50 children, two teachers, a classroom aide and numerous interested parents. Yellow Cluster's curriculum is focused on the students planning, designing and building a model city that will exist 100 years in the future. This is a multi-step, multi-layer process to which all students, with all of their interests, talents and experiences, contribute a vital part. As a group, the children discuss what they want and don't want in the city model they are creating, and subsequent design plans must meet their standards. Commission groups study particular city systems such as transportation or human resources. They are then responsible for creating system designs that will meet the city's needs. To interview for commission jobs, students must complete applications and obtain recommendations from other people. Next, the city is built out of recycled materials, finishing touches are added, and the students imagine and enact what it would be like to live in their city. Parent involvement, ranging from help with building to sharing areas of expertise with the whole class or one commission, deepens and personalizes the experience of the students. Children are paid monthly in Yellow Cluster currency and must use the salary to buy classroom materials and pay monthly rent on their land parcels. The classroom organization reflects that of a city, a parallel structure that helps bring purposefulness to classroom experiences. The day begins with a class meeting led by the mayor, assistant mayor, city clerk and city attorney. Children work in neighborhood teams of 12 or 13 that are responsible for designing the neighborhood areas for the city mode. A system of fines, modeled after traffic tickets, helps maintain classroom standards. Children use computers to create simulations, animation and slide shows to disseminate information and recreate city life.