Rio Vista Elementary

For anyone that will listen I like to sing the praises of what I call the “other elementary school in Studio City.”  Rio Vista Elementary is situated just on the boundary between Studio City and Toluca Lake, and this little school of about 400 students is a gem to the children who attend it.  A wonderful principal, excellent teachers, and involved parents mostly contribute to this wonderful school.  And like all schools in the LAUSD, Rio Vista has felt the wrath of budget cuts.  But these cuts can sometimes lead to an unexpected blessing.

In early April of 2011, three of Rio Vista Elementary’s fifth-graders were asked to participated in a new show for the Oxygen network called “The Glee Project.”  In the show, contestants competed for a grand prize—a seven-episode role on the hit TV show Glee.  From 40,000 applicants, the show aired with 12 finalists, ages 18 to 21 for the coveted prize.  In each episode, one of the contestants was eliminated and every one of the 10 episodes had a theme with a cast member from Glee.  The theme of the episode with the Rio Vista fifth-graders was called “Generosity.”  In the show the four final contestants were to mentor four fifth-graders.  (There was one other fifth grader from another school.)

One of the consequences of budget cuts is the elimination of programs like PE and music.  That’s where the non-profit organization called Education Through Music-Los Angeles (ETM-LA) steps in.  This organization’s mission is to bring music back into schools.  Rio Vista’s fourth and fifth graders—and a total of 4000 kids throughout Los Angeles—enjoy instruction in guitar, recorder, and the basics of music.

The producers of Glee have done a few things with ETM-LA in the past, and when The Glee Project was preparing their Generosity episode, the producers apparently thought it would be a good fit to have the final four contestants be generous with their talents and mentor the musically inclined fifth-graders.  The results were magical.  Even though the older contestants were supposed to be giving to the younger children, it seemed that the contestants themselves were the most touched.  The younger kids were even teaching their mentors a few things about music.

And the magic didn’t end with the August 14th airing of the show…now Rio Vista Elementary will receive some generosity too.  A check of $15,000 was presented to the school on behalf of Oxygen Media to ensure that every child, pre-K through fifth grade, will receive music instruction from ETM-LA for the 2011-2012 school year.  A gesture that principal Mr. McClay graciously accepts.

(Photo: Liam shows Cameron (left), Lindsay and The Glee Project winner Damian McGinty (right) a few things on the piano.)

In times of budget cuts and financial distress, it’s wonderful to see this kind of generosity expressed to our children.

If you missed the episode, you can catch it at HULU.  And if you want to learn more about Eduction Through Music-Los Angeles, you can find them at etmla.org.  To see all the links in one place, just go HERE.

The Glee Project is produced by Ryan Murphy Television and Embassy Row with Ryan Murphy, Dante Di Loreto, Michael Davies and Shauna Minoprio serving as executive producers.


Written by Todd Jones
Proud parent of one of the fifth graders on the show.

• Official Site of Rio Vista Elementary School
• PTA
  
• Homes in the Rio Vista Area (to be verified)
• LAUSD API Scores
• GreatSchools.net
• Carpenter Elementary
• Colfax Charter Elementary

This was no ordinary field trip!  My son and several other students in his fifth grade class at Rio Vista Elementary got to visit Paramount Studios.  One might think that this was special enough, but it got even better, the students did workshops with and performed for the cast of Glee!

It was all part of a non-profit program called Education Through Music.  With all of the budget cuts that LAUSD had been doing, the music program has been hit hard.  Thankfully, our little school was able to bring the guitar/recorder program back this year with the help of Education Through Music.  And with the help of people like the folks at Glee! there should be many more kids getting the gift of music.  Glee! donated $100,000 to Education Through Music the day my son performed.

Rio Vista Elementary is a school of about 400 students that serves students who live in North Hollywood, Toluca Lake, and Studio City.

If you would like to see a video of the performance, just go HERE.

That’s right, Carpenter Avenue is now Carpenter Charter.  Colfax Elementary switched to a charter school years ago and it has worked out nicely for them.  There are many reasons to become a Charter school.  Most of them have to do with the control of the money.  Funds given to a school by LAUSD are very restrictive and can only be spent in certain places.  A very interesting article explaining more can be found HERE.

Ultimately the decision for a school to become a Charter School is with the parents as it takes a great deal of commitment and effort.

I like to call Rio Vista the other school in Studio City.  Rio Vista Elementary was built in the 40’s and boasts an ever increasing API score of 830, a campus of just over 400 students and quaint Spanish architecture.  Undoubtedly you’ve heard of Carpenter Ave, but it’s likely you have never heard of this wonderful school nestled next to Weddington Park in a quiet little neighborhood only a hop, skip and a jump from Universal Studios.  Sometimes called the “island” because it is situated between Studio City and Toluca Lake, you’ll find this community bordered by Vineland on the West, Whipple on the North, Lankershim on the East and the 101 Freeway (buffered by the park) on the South.  Even the neighbors are confused, sometimes referring to their home being in Toluca Lake, sometimes Studio City and others North Hollywood.  In fact, the zip code of 91602 adds even more confusion, since some of North Hollywood falls within this zip.  And to top of the mystery of Rio Vista’s exact locale, you just have to look at the front of the school where it clearly states “North Hollywood.”  Then there’s the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn—only a stone’s throw away—that also boasts a North Hollywood (as well as Universal City) address.

Well I’m not a big fan of ambiguity so I decided to do some research.  Los Angeles is made up of many neighborhoods.  Unlike incorporated cities such as Burbank, Glendale and Beverly Hills, most of the “cities” in Los Angeles are really what is known as a Neighborhood Council (NC for short).  After a bit of online digging, I came across a map for the Studio City Neighborhood council.  Upon close inspection, you’ll find that Rio Vista Elementary clearly falls within the boundaries of Studio City.

Now boundaries are always prone to fluctuate at the influence of local residents and elected officials.  (A perfect example is that Sherman Oaks just extended their Northern boundary one more time.)  But as for now, from what I can tell, this sweet little school resides squarely in Studio City.

Written by Todd Jones