THE RATE OF THE LOCKE IMPROVEMENT:

Locke High School's progress: Three months into the school year, a troubled high school is making strides as a Green Dot charter. (December 1, 2008, LA Times)

Nearly three months into the school year, the changes at Locke are obvious. Last year, when it was still run by the Los Angeles Unified School District, Locke was known for student brawls, rampant graffiti, ditched classes and a dropout rate so high that the senior class was routinely one-fourth the size of the freshman class.

This year, the halls are virtually empty during class. Teachers and aides say the campus is almost graffiti-free, and fights have diminished from one a day or so to less than one a month. Tardiness and ditching are down, now that both of those bring detention. Student attendance for September and October averaged 92%, close to that at suburban high schools.

"The teachers care a lot more," chorused several juniors when asked about the changes at their school. "They ask you things," one boy added in an awed voice, as though this were a strange new behavior among teachers. What kinds of things? "Like whether you're OK, and do you understand what they taught."

Locke High School represents the kind of transformation that can take place practically overnight under committed, energetic new leadership. As the school struggles with crowding and early signs of student backsliding, however, it also illustrates the pervasive and persistent difficulties that challenge urban schools.