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Utah Educators Get First-hand Look at School Reform at Urban Learning Centers SEVERAL URBAN LEARNING CENTERS MODEL SITES in Los Angeles recently hosted more than 60 educators from Salt Lake City and Provo, giving them a first-hand look at a school reform model the group has started to implement at two school districts in Utah. "If those three schools in inner-city L.A. can bring about such dramatic changes in the conditions of their communities, we can certainly use the sound principles of the Urban Learning Centers to help our Provo children become fully functioning learners," said Marné Isakson, an administrator from the Provo School District after visiting Foshay, Elizabeth and Vaughn Next Century Learning Centers in Los Angeles. Since 1992 the Urban Learning Centers has provided design-based technical assistance to low-achieving urban schools and districts committed to comprehensive school restructuring. As one of eight designs participating in the New American Schools project, Urban Learning Centers is organized around three essential components. Rethinking Education (Teaching and Learning) is designed to ensure that all students are taught in a community of learners using effective educational practices. Rebuilding Community (Learning Supports) establishes new strategies to overcome barriers to student learning by addressing the health and well being of students and their families. Restructuring Schools (Governance and Management) engages learning community members in decision-making and ensures that the Learning Center can improve and evolve. Urban Learning Centers also incorporates the extensive use of advanced technology as an essential element for implementation of the design. During the next six months the Salt Lake City and Granite school districts will begin self-assessment processes during which they will set goals for themselves focusing on student achievement. "These schools are definitely moving forward," said Dr. Greta Pruitt, director of Urban Learning Centers. "The Urban Learning Centers design is a good fit for these Utah schools." Both the Granite and Salt Lake City school districts are comprised of about 25 percent non-English speaking students with that number increasing annually. Moreover, the state of Utah ranks last in pupil allocation among the 50 states. Within the next few months, Granite and Salt Lake City will focus on the Governance and Management and Learning Supports portions of the ULC design. Learning Supports helps schools address the educational, behavioral, emotional, and health problems that can interfere with learning and performance. Urban Learning Centers assists schools in building partnerships with appropriate social and community services which are not traditionally part of the school's program as well as developing school-based services to support learning. The Governance and Management component focuses the school community on improving student achievement and promoting continual learning. It regards school governance and management not as a rigid structure but as an "organic" process that is continually examined and redefined. The Urban Learning Centers concept of governance combines collaborative management practices with the principles of participatory democracy. All members of the learning community- students, parents, other adults, and educators-are invited and encouraged to be full partners in the education of children, and to take an active part in the decision-making and budget discussions of their school. "A child's learning life requires far more than quality literacy and numeracy teaching," Isakson said. "He or she needs to be free from gang warfare and intimidation, understand and speak English, have accessible health care, have appropriate clothing for school, have parents who can make ends meet, have nutritious meals, be loved, recognized, valued and feel a part of something important with hope in the future. If these things are missing in a child's life, long lasting and expeditious academic learning is not going to occur." This past summer, Urban Learning Centers became a separate non-profit organization from the Los Angeles Educational Partnership. "I think this move toward independence focuses our work tremendously," Pruitt said. Urban Learning Centers is currently scaling up in 18 sites in Los Angeles-three high schools, three middle schools, seven elementary schools, and five Children's Centers, as well as schools in Arizona and Utah. These schools enroll more than 15,000 students. For additional information contact Greta Pruitt at Urban Learning Centers (213) 622-5237, or via email at ulc@urbanlearning.org.