Transformation at Broadway Elementary School

Susan Wang has worked in the LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District) for 22 years with a strong background in special education. She was Assistant Principal for six years at two different schools before coming to Broadway Elementary School three years ago. "I thought this would be a good opportunity to work with a Title I school," she says. "I´m interested in working with children who might need a little extra support and expertise and I want to devote myself to that work."

Thanks to Wang, positive changes are happening on the campus. "It takes time and patience when you want to improve a school," she says. "Step by step we want to see little results along the way and, after a period of time, it will add up to big results."

Based on statistics, the biggest problem to overcome at Broadway Elementary is declining enrollment. "As the neighborhood changes, and it´s continuing to change, many families can no longer afford to live here," says Wang. "The newer families are not as familiar with the school."
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Westminster Avenue Elementary School - Proud of its Role in the Community

There is a noticeable difference at Westminster Avenue Elementary School . "The teachers are the same. The programs are the same," says Westminster parent and outgoing booster club president Coby Dahlstrom. "The change is in perception, parent involvement and community awareness."

The booster club, the Westminster Endowment Group also known as West End, is a non-profit  to raise funds for areas of need including computer labs, after-school events, instructional support, field trips and gardens that have beautified the campus grounds.

Started in 2004, the West End merged with the school´s PTA (Parent Teacher Association) in 2009 to combine forces. "The two groups ended up splitting our parent population," says Dahlstrom. "Instead of motivating more people to join and, thereby handling both organizations, the same number of people had to do both."
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"Venice Etc". ... by Paul Tanck

Why Venice´s Nude Beach Went Away

Recently, I read an article in the LA Times about Nudity in Venice - 1974. Well, that struck my bell, because that´s exactly when I moved to Venice and it was the nude beach, down Westminster, that I initially went to, unbeknownst to me at the time. I´d moved in, got up, put on my trunks, and just strolled down the sidewalk from my apartment on that Saturday morning in June, crossed the boardwalk with the LaFayette on the right, passed the old pagoda with the old-time drunks, and went down through the sand to the water. And there I was, at the nude beach. Wow! So I too took my trunks off...

It was a transforming day for me, that first day in Venice.

I guess in hindsight, I was ready for this beach experience. I´d grown up near a "nudist colony," and when I was a kid, I confess I snuck under the fence to go through the woods and, under cover of the weeds and trees, tried to make out some sort of private parts on anyone, from across the small lake, Seger´s Lake, Valparaiso Indiana, to be exact. I guess I saw something, but it didn´t really... get me. But the forbidden excitement of nudity back then stayed with me, if only, vicariously, through men´s skin mags.
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Abbot Kinney Festival - September 26th


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