Major Projects Spur Revere’s 50th Year

By RACHEL FIRESTONE Special to the Palisadian-Post In keeping with the L.A. Unified School District’s ongoing quest for community-supported renovation of local public schools, Marquez Elementary, Palisades Elementary, Canyon School, Kenter Canyon Elementary and Brentwood Science Magnet are all undergoing major transformations. From libraries and computer labs to playgrounds and playing fields, parents, administration, community members and the L.A. Board of Education are focusing on improving the resources and opportunities available to students. P.R.I.D.E., the parent booster club at Paul Revere Charter Middle School, is making sure its 2,200 students are not left behind in this movement to build strong minds and strong bodies. The volunteer group hopes to complete two of the school’s groundbreaking projects’the renovation of the existing library and the building of an innovative agility course’by year’s end. “The budget for these upgrades is $308,000, of which over $200,000 has been raised from parents, school organizations, Palisades service clubs and several businesses,” said T. Scott MacGillivray, a Brentwood resident and architect who has had two children at Revere and is coordinating the projects. MacGillivray noted that Revere has not had any significant upgrades since it was built 50 years ago. “By hooking up the library with modern technology and building a training camp-style agility course, school officials and parents are determined to make Revere a first-class facility on par with the community it belongs to,” he said. Principal Art Copper and Board of Education President Marlene Canter, whose district includes the Palisades Complex schools, believe this Revere renaissance will provide students with new opportunities and will serve to spark other schools to follow suit. “Take ownership and help mold it to make the school a success,” Canter said. Having stated that a proper education is a civil right for every child, she sees parent interaction and community involvement as “change agents” in the system. “It is about pride and ownership,” Canter continued. “It is crucial to have parents become part of the school’s climate and to encourage them that their value is not just as a volunteer in the classroom or to just come when their child gets into trouble, but to become part of the fabric of the school.” Copper, who is beginning his third year as principal, agreed. “You don’t own the school unless you participate in making it a success.” Revere supporters are doing just that. The new library, budgeted at about $220,000, will not only house thousands of new books, it will be buzzing with students using the new audio library and laptop computers. The previously under-utilized facility will soon be a place students can visit, research, write, do schoolwork and recreational reading or pursue independent studies. With 12 new computer terminals at two circular tables, the library will serve as a resource for both students and teachers alike. Additionally, P.R.I.D.E. is seeking funding for a library aide to keep the library open longer hours and help navigate students through the new resources. Integration of computer technology into the core curriculums for elementary, middle and high school students is essential in keeping students up to speed. To ensure that its students excel academically throughout these crucial years, P.R.I.D.E. is emphasizing the acquisition of new laptop computers for the library. With a laptop, every chair becomes a computer station when you want it to and then a study chair when the laptop is returned to the recharging unit behind the librarian’s desk. Another advantage is that laptops operate on wireless technology, which saves thousands of dollars in hardwire costs. The future has arrived and it is cheaper and faster. Revere’s state-of-the-art audio lab, a new feat for LAUSD, will allow students with varying learning styles to acquire knowledge in new ways. Students with learning disabilities, attention problems or visual processing challenges will have the tools necessary to keep up with other students and further narrow the achievement gap. “As a school with an emphasis on math, science and technology, it is imperative that we prepare our students for the ever-advancing world of technological innovations,” Copper said. “With the addition of an audio lab and the flexibility that laptop computers provide, we’re taking a giant step forward in giving our students immediate access to the tools they need to be competitive.” The new agility course, designed to supplement Revere’s rigorous physical education curriculum, will feature various apparatus that challenge and develop students’ agility, fitness, upper- and lower-body muscles, competitiveness and the confidence of meeting the challenge and bettering one’s personal time. Located on the athletic playground, the course will be equipped with a 153-ft. by 27-ft. rubber mat saftey surface and will include balance beams, crawl-under bars, a cargo climbing fence, hurdle walls, a 4-ft.-high vault wall, inline loop climbers, interlocking tires, and a 6-ft.-high vault wall. “The PE staff requested this course as their top priority,” MacGillivray said. “If fundraising goes well in the next month I hope to be ordering the agility course by October 1. I am currently bidding out the work. Equipment and installation will come from Steelcraft, Inc. of Pasadena.” MacGillivray added: “We will be mailing a flyer to all of our Palisades and Brentwood neighbors in two weeks, asking for donations to help make this happen. We really want the community to be proud of Paul Revere and help us bring the facility up to the standard of our great elementary schools.” Public schools used to be community hubs and it is the vision of Revere supporters and the L.A. school board to see every public school become the center of the Palisades community again. Currently, the campus is used for night basketball, non-school affiliated performances, soccer games and more. The agility course will add a novel community resource. To support these projects, send a check made out to P.R.I.D.E. c/o of Paul Revere Middle School, 1450 Allenford Ave., Los Angeles, CA. 90049 or contact MacGillivray by phone (479-1974) or e-mail: TSMAIA@aol.com. (Editor’s note: Rachel Firestone graduated from Palisades High in 2002 and is now a senior at Boston University majoring in public relations. Upon graduating next spring, she hopes to move back to Los Angeles and work in the nonprofit sector on behalf of public schools.)