Governor Gets Down to the Basics

IRVINE —  Gov. Pete Wilson touted his small-class initiative, rooted for Mission Viejo’s Little League championship team and said a deal is imminent for a new statewide standardized test in a Friday morning tour of an Irvine school.

In his brief Orange County stop during a swing through Southern California, Wilson toured Mary Anne McGlynn’s third-grade class at Vista Verde Elementary School to get feedback on what parents, kids and the teacher thought about having a class with only 20 students.

“How do you find the smaller class?” the governor asked. “Do you think you’re learning more?”

Matthew Donohue, 8, said he thought the smaller class size helped his teacher spend more time on each student. He added: “Being governor is a hard job. I’m thinking of trying to run for governor when I grow up.”

Wilson smiled and nodded.

In previous years, McGlynn’s class had 30 or more students. But Irvine Unified School District and several other Orange County districts now are deepening their commitment to smaller classes, boosted by $1.5 billion in the new state budget earmarked for a program that began last summer.

Wilson and state lawmakers predict efforts to reduce class size from kindergarten through third grade will pay off years later when students have sharper reading, writing and mathematics skills.

The governor saw and heard little Friday that would surprise him.

McGlynn, echoing teachers’ throughout California, said the small class has cut down on discipline problems, freeing her to focus on teaching as never before. “I don’t have to be a policewoman as much as I used to be,” she said.

Speaking later to an assembly of 200 elementary students, Wilson revealed that he, too, is captivated by the success of a South County all-star team at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

“Is anyone here excited about the South Mission Viejo Little League team?” the governor asked.

The kids cheered and raised their hands.

“Pretty excited,” the governor said, grinning. He said that the Mission Viejo team had set an example of hard-nosed discipline that students could follow in their reading and math studies.

“They were very good because they mastered all the basic skills--hitting, fielding,” Wilson said. “They knew how to play the game.”

On Friday, Wilson also addressed prospects for a new standardized test. The Republican governor told reporters he has reached agreement on “just about all the points” of a deal with Democratic lawmakers for a test that would begin next spring in grades two through 11.

The test, Wilson said, would be given in English to all students, though he has agreed to let educators use supplementary tests in other languages for students who have limited English skills.

“What we are really trying to do with a single test in English is have a benchmark, a basis of comparability,” Wilson said.