Ouchi High School in South L.A. named for Anderson professor and wife
By Kelly Zhou
Jan. 31, 2010 10:20 p.m.
William Ouchi, a UCLA Anderson School of Management professor, and his wife Carol recently presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new facility for a South Los Angeles charter school.
The high school was named after the couple in spring 2008, but the new facility was not inaugurated until this January, said Ena LaVan, principal of William & Carol Ouchi High School.
“I think it’s a very special thing to have a school named after you, … especially what an inner-city school represents,” Ouchi said. “(The school) represents future to these young students. It represents hope, and that’s a good thing.”
Formerly known as College-Ready Academy High School #6, the high school is one of 16 charters operated by the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools, a nonprofit dedicated to improving education in low-income, underachieving areas of Los Angeles.
At Ouchi High School, 93 percent of students qualify for subsidized lunches and are considered low income.
Ouchi, who has published two books and a variety of articles on improving the education system, said that over the last eight or nine years, he and his team have visited more than 700 inner-city public schools.
“(Ouchi) is constantly putting pressure on people … to follow a lot of the reforms he’s come up with,” said Richard Riordan, Anderson professor and former mayor of Los Angeles. “It’s just amazing to see when he goes onto the (Ouchi High) School ground ““ the kids love him.”
Although the school was only opened four years ago, it was recognized as a 2009 California Distinguished School and the entire senior class passed the California High School Exit Exam this year. Ouchi also anticipates that 100 percent will be accepted into a four-year college.
Riordan attributed part of the school’s success to Ouchi’s guidance and ideas about changing the school system. Ouchi even served as his chief of staff while Riordan was mayor, and the close friends are both on the alliance board of directors.
“I’ve been intrigued with (Ouchi) being a great reformist on education,” Riordan said. “When the chance came to put somebody’s name on the school, … I thought “˜Well this is a way to get Dr. Ouchi to put up or shut up on his thoughts on reforming schools.’ I guess the rest is history.”
Fellow professors agreed, emphasizing Ouchi’s 20 years of expertise in education reform.
“(His work) has been extremely influential and important and it’s pathbreaking,” said Corinne Bendersky, an Anderson assistant professor who has worked with Ouchi for years.
Aware of Ouchi’s involvement and his wife’s work helping inner-city students, Riordan wanted to name the school after the couple, a change the board approved unanimously.
“A school that can be a top school, have kids all below poverty and do that well ““ it seems impossible but Dr. Ouchi is capable of doing the impossible,” Riordan said.
LaVan applauded the name, citing Ouchi’s continuous support of the alliance.
“Even when we were in trailers at our old temporary site, Dr. Ouchi … visited a lot,” LaVan said. “I actually think that was just his way of being connected to what was going on in all of the alliance schools. I think he’s absolutely phenomenal.”
Despite the recognition given to him by the board, Ouchi remains dedicated and focused on the students at the school.
“I think the most important point about the schools is that the students who go there are succeeding ““ they’re graduating from high school and they’re going to college,” Ouchi said.
