WOODLAND HILLS : Parents Fund Classes for Music, Computers

Creating a hybrid of public and private education, parents frustrated over cuts at the Calvert Street Elementary School hired a music teacher to begin a six-week program Tuesday and have set up a computer lab on their own.

The after-school music and computer courses, funded through donations and money from last month’s school carnival, will culminate in a performance in honor of outgoing Principal Gerald Dodge one week before the end of the school year.

The booster club, Calvert Enrichment Programs, is prepared to resume the program next year if public funds are still unavailable, said Rich Sperber, the club organizer and father of a Calvert Street fourth-grader.

“We’ve taken it upon ourselves to just give back to the kids the stuff we think they should have,” Sperber said. “Many of the things we think are important just aren’t available to them.”

The booster club also has supported one teacher’s art and literature lab and helped recruit volunteer aides from Pierce College. Parents are hoping to fund Spanish classes next year, Sperber said.

“Obviously, there’s a need here for parents and, hopefully, corporations to step in to help the public schools,” he said. Dodge said the parents’ involvement is especially welcome, since Calvert and other schools have lost funding for art, music and physical education teachers and some aides recently.