September 12, 2013
Local News & Culture Marina del Rey
Westchester
Free S a n ta M o n i c a
P l aya d e l R e y
P l aya V i s t a
M a r V i s ta
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VenicE
Tongva Park welcomes the public Photos by Vince Echavaria
Karen Ginsberg (center), director of Santa Monica’s Community and Cultural Services Department, describes the area of the new Tongva Park surrounding three ficus trees nicknamed the “Three Amigos” and a 100-year-old Moreton Bay fig tree.
Santa Monica’s newest park provides connector between Civic Center, pier By Vince Echavaria Complete with its expansive tree and plant canopy, meandering walkways, various water features, children’s play areas and lookout onto the
ocean, Santa Monica’s newest park welcomed visitors for the first time Tuesday, Sept. 10. The 6.2-acre Tongva Park opened across from City Hall at the site of the former RAND
•This Week•
Corporation building and parking lot, as a significant green space for the Civic Center area. With the addition of the newly opened 1-acre Ken Genser Square in front of City
Hall, the parks are designed to provide a connection between the Civic Center, Santa Monica Pier and Palisades Park. “The Civic Center Specific Plan envisioned a series of open
spaces in the plan area… and this is one of a series of parks and open spaces to create sort of a central area and knit the Civic Center into downtown, (Continued on page 7)
Mar Vista
Grand View Elementary begins special ed integration initiative
Page 11 aReggae superstar Jimmy Cliff (right), seen here with Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, producer of Cliff’s Grammy-winning 2013 album “Rebirth,” will play the Santa Monica Pier on Sept. 12.
By Gary Walker For years, a large part of the mission of Grand View Boulevard Elementary School in Mar Vista has been to accept and educate children that other schools might not see as model students, for a variety of reasons largely unjustified. The elementary school, whose student population is largely Latino, has found success in educating all of its young charges, regardless of ethnicity. It is home to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s oldest dual language EnglishSpanish program. And now the faculty and administration are embarking on another challenge
that is in line with their mission of serving all students who walk through their gates. Students from the former James J. McBride Special Education Center, which was next door to Grand View, have been taking classes with students at the dual language school in an immersion initiative that has been in place since last month. LAUSD officials say the two schools were planning this transformation since last year and by all accounts, the first month has gone well. Grand View is the fourth LAUSD school to have a full academic and social integration program that mixes special
needs students with children without special needs. All pupils are sharing the library, the cafeteria, the parents center, the school’s computer laboratory and many classes. LAUSD Executive Director of Special Education Sharyn Howell said the success of any new educational initiative, especially involving special needs students, requires organization and planning from the top of the organization, be it a school or a district. “One of the key elements that is necessary is a strong leader, and the leadership at Grand View is committed to making this a (Continued on page 10)