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Excellence in Education Awards Coeur d'Alene Avenue Elementary School 310 Coeur d'Alene Avenue, Venice Beth Ojena, Principal Venice/Westchester Cluster-Carol Dodd, Cluster Administrator RESULTS: Students consistently rank at the top of the Los Angeles Unified School District in standardized testing, with math and reading scores above the national averages and above those of many magnet schools. Children perform solidly on reading tests, demonstrating a continuous and accelerated acquisition of literacy skills. Stories of individual student progress are just as heartening. One has become a computer "advisor" to fellow students in his special education class. His motivation to learn computer use has prompted him to learn vocabulary to become a proficient user of technology. Other students who are new immigrants to the United States not only master English, but also excel in every area of the curriculum. Coeur d'Alene's kindergarten through fifth grade community is closely involved with its goals of helping students to become fluent in English, improve their reading comprehension across the subject matters, and learn to think critically and solve problems. Parents launched a reading awareness program called "Let Them Eat Books," which brings volunteers from many sectors of the community to school to read to children before school and during recess and lunch. Since an estimated 18% of the students are homeless and reside in homeless shelters, the school community has developed an outreach program to provide books and tutoring to students in shelters. Parent volunteers work with the school to provide enrichment experiences for students. One parent guides instruction in journalism and production of the school newspaper. Another, a local poet, instructs in poetry reading and writing. Networks of community resource organizations assist the school. The Public Schools Arts Foundation provide funding and volunteers for instruction in the fine arts. The Riordan Foundation funds the school's "Writing to Read Lab" where kindergarten and first grade students sharpen their phonics skills using computer software. The California Community Foundation assists homeless and at-risk students who need health care. Other community partners include the Ahmanson, Chechhi, Crail Johnson, and Drown foundations and TBWA Chiat Day. The faculty participates in the UCLA Collaborative, a joint project between the Venice Westchester Cluster of LAUSD and the UCLA School of Education. The faculty works on continuous assessment of student progress toward standards for student achievement. The school's Web site broadens its reach into the community and gives it one more medium for members of the community to communicate and share. Nearly every teacher has a site on which he or she posts homework and student work.