EDITORIAL

Newport-Mesa schools last week produced a round of much-needed good

news after five weeks of drama, fear and anxiety in the aftermath of the

Sept. 11 attacks.

The Monday release of the Academic Performance Index -- which rank

California schools based on Stanford 9 tests -- showed improvement goals

met, top campuses maintaining their scores and a county-best elementary

score at Harbor View Elementary School for a second year in a row.

There also was good news at Wilson Elementary School, which posted the

highest gain in the district as it climbed 56 points, from 479 to 535.

Such results show that good things are happening in our schools: Our

children are learning, and our teachers are figuring out innovative ways

to do their jobs.

The numbers were not without areas of familiar concern, however.

Schools in Costa Mesa, including many on the Westside, continue to score

lower than those in Newport Beach. And unfortunately, three Costa Mesa

schools -- Pomona Elementary and Estancia and Costa Mesa high schools --

qualified for the state’s intervention program because of low scores.

Clearly, there are areas for improvement. And there are many reasons

to expect and hope for better things to come. Along with programs such as

Project GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) that was used at Wilson

to such dramatic success, the school board this month approved plans for

renovations at campuses districtwide with the $163 million in school bond

money voters approved in June 2000. Improving the environment in which

our children learn will only help them learn more.

And, at its simplest, that is everyone’s goal.