Elementary Schools Of The Year: Like A Free Private Academy

Kids at Accelerated learn by doing rather than just reading or listening. Fourth-graders study aerodynamics and the history of flight while constructing model airplanes. Second-graders try their hand at sculpting while learning about Rodin. First-graders are taught to manage personal bank accounts with play money they can use to buy toys at the student store. Rita Kanell, a first-grade teacher, recalls the joy of watching her students pepper a visiting composer with questions about Beethoven and Vivaldi.

The curriculum follows an approach pioneered by Stanford educator Henry Levin, whose 1986 "Accelerated Schools Model" called for schools to introduce slow learners to the same material as gifted students, while school officials work closely with parents. Says Sved: "We are forming a new and exciting model for urban education, and we've shown that it works."

Accelerated has its pick of accomplished teachers and links their pay to student performance. Unlike many guideline-laden public schools, Accelerated gives its teachers near-total control over instructional methods and a real voice in running the place. "For the first time in 19 years of teaching, my experience and my opinion make a difference," says kindergarten and first-grade teacher Faynessa Armand.

Sved and Williams have forged a partnership with California State University, Los Angeles, which helps with teacher training and grant applications. Wells Fargo, the school's largest donor, pumps $200,000 into Accelerated each year. And the school in 1997 received a $6.8 million office and warehouse site, donated by clothing designer Carole Little and her business partner Leonard Rabinowitz. As a result, Accelerated is that rare inner-city public school with stylized, glass-block walls and palm trees.

Today Accelerated has 11 teachers, 270 students, a waiting list of 1,200 kids and a $2.3 million operating budget. A planned $30 million expansion will add a two-story high school to the property by 2004. Graffiti-filled walls outside the school have given way to student-painted murals. Classrooms are teeming with books and artwork. And at lunchtime, Zachary is thrilled to grab food from the new salad bar.