Graffiti marred the walls and students ignored class bells. Things were so bad, Lappin recalled, that the state threatened to take it over. Lappin, often working with USC, has brought in grants to fund new technology and reshape the curriculum, making Foshay a model for public education in an urban, multi-ethnic community. With help from USC,, the schools has been fully on-line for the past year and a half. The walls are clean.
Kids are in uniform, and they respond to the bell.
In May 1997, the first 12 th-grade class graduated from the Foshay high school program, which began in 1994. Sixty-two students graduated out of a class of 65. Foshay Learning Center's principal, Howard Lappin, was named California Principal of the Year. That came as no surprise to those who know his work, but Lappin is quick to give credit to others. You don't see that kind of support very often from private universities or any university.