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Retiring Principal Credited For Bringing Top LAUSD Grad Rate To Arleta

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A San Fernando Valley high school that opened to relieve overcrowding at neighboring schools has the highest graduation rate in the Los Angeles Unified School District, officials said Tuesday.

KNX 1070's Vytas Safronikas reports the achievement comes just as the highly-respected principal of Arleta High School is ready to call it a career.

Retiring Principal Credited For Bringing Top LAUSD Grad Rate To Arleta

After opening just seven years ago, Arleta High School boasts a 92 percent graduation rate, with nearly all of the school's 400 students preparing to go on to college.

Arleta also saw over 90 percent of its current sophomore class pass standardized testing this year, while the school's football team marked a cumulative 3.1 grade point average, the highest in the district.

Both LAUSD officials and students at Arleta - which opened in 2006 to ease overcrowding at Francis Poly, Monroe and San Fernando high schools - credit Principal Linda Calvo with creating an environment that treats students strictly while nurturing them at the same time.

"Linda's a remarkable principal, and Arleta is a flagship school in terms of student achievement, students feeling a sense of belonging and high expectations," Superintendent John Deasy said.

Calvo, who is set to retire after 37 years in the LAUSD, told reporters she expects the school's success to continue long after she steps down.

Deasy, on the other hand, said Calvo's departure is bittersweet.

"I am very happy for her to enjoy retirement," he said. "It's a very sad day for LAUSD though."

(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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