Birmingham Community Charter High School Welcomes Local, State and Federal Leaders to Grand Opening Ceremonies

LAKE BALBOA, CA--(Marketwire - August 17, 2009) - LAUSD conversion-charter Birmingham
Community Charter High School (BCCHS) today announced that Superintendent Jack O'Connell of the
California Department of Education, Congressman Brad Sherman of
California's 27th District, Supervisor
Zev Yaroslavsky of Los Angeles County's 3rd District and LAUSD 3rd
District Board Member Tamar
Galatzan are among the special guests the newly minted charter school
will host on its August 19th Grand Opening.

Two-term school superintendent Jack O'Connell, a strong and vocal proponent
of California Schools, will give the keynote address. "We are simply
thrilled to have the Superintendent in our corner," states Birmingham
Principal Marsha Coates. "This state leads the country in educational
innovation and reform, but with budgets crumbling and class sizes soaring,
students, parents and educators are scrambling to survive. Having Jack
O'Connell's support means an awful lot right now."

Working under the California Charter
Schools Act of 1992, BCCHS petitioned the LAUSD in January 2008. Following months of
contentious political wrangling between the school's many stakeholders, the
55-year old Van Nuys-area campus was granted charter status on July 2nd,
2009 in a 5-2 vote
by the LAUSD School Board.

With recent improvements in achievement and
graduation rates, graduation day at Birmingham's 2009 culmination was
the scene of hundreds of elated grads, scores of honor students as well as
the
national media. Birmingham now joins the ranks of other locally
controlled campuses such as Granada Hills Charter
High School, one of the nation's largest charter schools.

The five-year renewable charter effectively hands control of the LAUSD's
largest campus over to a Board of Governors where the school's academic,
professional and budgetary decision-making will occur. Composed of elected
school administrators, instructors and community members, the new board's
mission is to provide nearly 2900 students, their friends, families and
other stakeholders with an open, active voice in school governance. As one
of the most high-profile examples of the charter school movement in action,
BCCHS will serve as both a hub of academic and social activity and a model
for the future of California public schools.

BCCHS is at 17000 Haynes Street in Lake Balboa, CA, site of the former
Birmingham Senior High School. Grand Opening ceremonies are scheduled for
9:00 a.m. on August 19th in Birmingham Stadium. A VIP reception will be
held immediately afterward at 10:00 a.m. for special guests. Guests and
participants can enter the school from the Victory Boulevard gates, just
west of Balboa Boulevard. Ample parking is available.

Interested parties are encouraged to visit the school's web site at
http://birminghamhs.org. For the VIP reception, please contact Colleen
Milar at (818) 758-6546 or crm4019@lausd.net.