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Five New Alliance Charter Schools Approved

The roster of Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools has nearly doubled with the unanimous approval by the Los Angeles School Board of all five Alliance charter petitions.

LAUSD’s approval paves the way for the September opening of three more College-Ready High Schools. Plans for the fourth and fifth approved charters, a high school and a new middle school, aim for opening in September of 2007.   The new schools will introduce nearly 700 new students to the rigorous college prep instruction and high expectations of the Alliance College-Ready vision.  The new Alliance campuses that will welcome students on September 5, 2006 are:

Frank E. Baxter Education Complex
2023 Union Avenue

Construction progresses on the Frank E. Baxter Education Complex,
which includes the Gertz-Ressler High School, Richard Merkin
Middle School, and the Alliance's administrative offices.

Located in the Pico-Union community of Los Angeles, this new Alliance campus is less than a mile from the University of Southern California.  The Complex is named for the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alliance.

The Complex is permanent home to Gertz-Ressler High School, an Alliance College-Ready Academy, named for Tony Ressler, a Director of the Alliance, and his wife, actress Jami Gertz. The principal is Howard Lappin, the founding principal of the Alliance.  The campus includes 21 classrooms, 2 science labs, a large multi-purpose room, 2 college counseling offices, and a gymnasium and a library to be shared with the middle school.  More than 450 ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade students will be enrolled its first year.

The Richard Merkin Middle School, an Alliance College-Ready Academy named for Alliance Director Dr. Richard Merkin, will share the 1.35 acres of the Baxter Education Complex.  Its principal is Donna Jacobson, formerly Principal at the first Alliance College-Ready Academy Middle School.  Approximately 130 sixth graders and 150 seventh graders will be the first classes in the facility that includes 15 classrooms,

The Baxter Complex also will become the home of the Alliance’s corporate headquarters.

College-Ready Academy High School #4
644 West 17th Street
Principal Emilio Pack

Drawing from the Jefferson and Belmont High School neighborhoods, CRAHS #4 will enroll 200 ninth graders to begin classes on September 5, 2006. Principal Emilio Pack was formerly Assistant Principal at Huntington Park College-Ready Academy High School. A majority of the teachers for the new campus have been hired. All meet the credential requirements of No Child Left Behind.  The official name for the new school will be decided by its first class of students and their parents after the school year begins.

College-Ready Math and Science School (MASS)
California State University at Los Angeles campus
Principal Dr. Derrick Chau

In its first year, MASS will open at 5156 Whittier Boulevard and will relocate to the CSULA campus in its second year.  Featuring collaboration with the facilities and faculty of Cal State LA, the upcoming MASS will enroll a maximum of 200 ninth graders for the September 5 opening and will grow to 500 ninth through twelfth grade students,  drawing primarily from the area of Garfield and Roosevelt High Schools.  MASS students will emphasize a rigorous curriculum of four years of math and science courses in addition to the A-G core classes required for admission to the California State University and  University of California. Dr. Chau reports that the faculty is in place, including highly experienced math teachers, a math coach, and a complete fully credentialed staff.