Most children who live in the Hollywood Hills go to private schools, but a small group of parents from that affluent Los Angeles neighborhood decided two years ago that they might like to send their kids to the local public school. First, though, they wanted to make sure that it would be suitable for their sons and daughters, so they began meeting with the principal and teachers at this school, which then served mostly youngsters from the other side of the tracks, including the children of recent immigrants who work as gardeners, nannies, and housekeepers for families in the Hills. The wealthy parents hoped to launch a series of projects to improve the school, but found that its staff and some parents of kids attending it thought it was already doing a pretty good job, even though the school had received a ranking of just 2 (out of 10) on the latest state performance index. In a 6,000 word story that appeared on page 1 of The Wall Street Journal, Lisa Bannon described the culture clash that ensued. Read "What Happened When Well-to-Do Parents Tried to Prep a Public School for Their Kids," August 23, 2001, http://interactive.wsj.com/fr/emailthis/retrieve.cgi?id=SB998511295703108758.djm (may only be available to subscribers at this point).
