More Information: LAEP Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project (LAAMP) Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now (LEARN) Los Angeles Unified School District(LAUSD) Comments from LAEP President Peggy Funkhouser

LAEP, Other Reform Groups to Explore Closer Alliance on Education Issues THE LOS ANGELES EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP along with four other organizations on the forefront of public education reform have announced the formation of a joint committee to explore the creation of a closer working alliance to further accelerate school reform in Los Angeles. In addition to LAEP, the other four organizations are the Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project (LAAMP), Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now (LEARN), Los Angeles Business Advisors (LABA)and the Committee for Effective School Governance (CESG). The joint committee will explore ways to harness the resources of the individual organizations to maximize their effectiveness in improving public education in the greater Los Angeles area. Initially, the committee will consist of the chairs of the five reform groups. These include: Douglas Brengel of LAEP, Chuck Miller of LABA, Virgil Roberts of LAAMP, William Ouchi of LEARN, and Harold Williams of CESG. Additional members may be named later. "With momentum rising in the school reform movement, this presents an excellent opportunity to take stock of our progress, unify our voices and determine how best to proceed in the future," a committee spokesperson said. "Our respective organizations, which represent a diverse cross section of education, business, civic and civil rights leadership, have accomplished a lot, but much more remains to be done and we believe we can achieve greater success by working together more closely. The momentum, unity and focus behind school reform today is stronger than ever." The committee expects to complete its work by January 2000. Its recommendations will be subject to the review and approval of the respective boards of each organization. Since 1984, LAEP has worked with educators and community members to foster and support excellence in public education in Los Angeles. LAEP activities are focused in classrooms, at school sites and in communities. Its work ranges from the provision of support and training for teachers to complex initiatives that engage schools and communities in comprehensive education reform. LAAMP is the Los Angeles community's response to the Annenberg Challenge, a national effort to improve public schools. LAAMP provides funding and technical support to 28 K-12 "school families" across Los Angeles County. In addition, LAAMP leads a series of projects related to key challenges in school reform, such as teacher training, parental involvement and the use of technology in schools. LABA is an organization of 25 chief executive officers of major area companies which has been in existence for more than three years. It was formed to support initiatives and issues which will improve the economic environment of the area. Created in 1991, LEARN has been a major force in reforms that have improved student achievement in the LAUSD. Today more than half of the district's schools have implemented LEARN's reform principles giving greater power and voice to parents, teachers and principals at individual campuses. The CESG was formed in 1998 by civic leaders already active in education reform efforts such as LEARN and LAAMP to promote and support the adoption of effective policies and practices by the LAUSD Board of Education to improve student achievement.