Neighborhood Public Schools

Re “Fleeing Public Schools: The SRB Factor,” by Thomas F. Jones, Commentary, Dec. 11:

Despite the fact that my own local school, Overland Avenue Elementary, is a superb public school, many parents in the neighborhood have opted for private schools. These parents shuttle their children across town to pricey private schools, past the excellent public school that exists within walking distance. Many of these parents, who proclaim that public education could never provide for their children, have never even set foot in their community school to meet the principal, teachers and parents.

Overland Avenue School is top notch, with an energetic principal, devoted teachers and an abundance of volunteers. Every year parents at the school raise tens of thousands of dollars for teachers’ aides, enrichment programs, computers, library aides and more. Our students consistently score high on standard achievement tests. We enjoy a multicultural environment much like the city the private-school parents live in.

So what’s the problem here? Some neighborhood residents, perhaps swayed by all-too-frequent negative media coverage, assume that public schools don’t measure up. These are often the same parents who complain about the lack of community in Los Angeles and flee to other schools or even cities to find a better answer.

The answer is their local public school.

Neighbors have tremendous power to enrich their local school. In my neighborhood, if every parent were to commit to Overland, they would save themselves thousands of dollars (better spent on college tuition) and countless hours of driving. Even more, they would further our school’s educationally rich environment, and contribute to a community treasure which I proudly claim is second to none. Broader community involvement in school affairs might even undo our growing climate of crime, anonymity and intolerance.

In the search for heroes in our society, come knock on the door of your local public school. You’ll find heroes and heroines too numerous to count.

PATRICIA A. PAPANEK, Board of Directors, Friends of Overland, Los Angeles