California Dreamer

By David Hill

This is the ninth in a series of profiles of teacher leaders underwritten by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Cudahy, Calif., is one of those small cities southeast of Los Angeles that even most Southern Californians are only vaguely aware of. Bordered by the city of Bell to the north, South Gate to the south, Huntington Park to the west, and Bell Gardens to the east, the city is part of an area characterized by The Los Angeles Times as "California in a microcosm: dead factories, a lot of immigrants, gangs, poverty, crowded schools.'' With a population of about 23,000 packed into 1.1 square miles, Cudahy ranks as the third densest city in Los Angeles County. It is also poor: According to the 1990 census, 27.4 percent of its residents live below the poverty level. From 1980 to 1990, Cudahy's Hispanic population increased by 62 percent, while its Anglo population decreased by 61 percent. It is now about 90 percent Hispanic. One could live a lifetime in Cudahy and not speak a word of English.

This is where Christine Gutierrez has come to help create a "break the mold'' school. As she arrives at the Elizabeth Street Learning Center, one of Cudahy's five schools (the city is served by the massive Los Angeles Unified School District), it is not yet 10 o'clock on an August morning and already the temperature is in the high 80s, and the air is in the "unhealthful'' range. Gutierrez is wearing a red blouse, faded black slacks, white socks, and black loafers--casual clothes that make her look younger than her 38 years. She has the kind of energy about her that can only be described as "boundless.'' Fresh from a two-week visit with her sister in Colorado, Gutierrez seems eager to get back to work. And make no mistake about it--there's plenty of...