Whittier

COSTA MESA - It's a pride thing for Jason Ayala. Ayala played for Whittier Elementary in the Daily Pilot Cup years ago, and now the Newport Harbor High sophomore is in his first year coaching for Whittier. One of the best players for this year's Whittier girls' fifth- and sixth-grade bronze division team is Ayala's younger sister, Katherine. "Especially since it's my sister's team, it feels pretty good coaching," said Jason Ayala, who coaches the team with fellow Harbor sophomore Jason Arroyo and Estancia sophomore Stephanie Madrigal.

New curriculum at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa is beginning to pay off with significantly more students passing California's bar exam, school officials announced Thursday. In July 2012, 99 out of 141 first-time test takers from Whittier passed. That 70% is compared to 56% in 2011 and 54% in 2010. This year represented the highest passage rate since 2008. According to the State Bar of California, the average pass rate for first-time test takers who graduated from American Bar Assn.-approved schools like Whittier was 77%. The overall pass rate was 55%. Whittier improved by analyzing where its students needed help on the test, said Tina Schindler, director of bar preparation at Whittier.

-- Deirdre Newman Some Costa Mesa students received a literary valentine gift from Newport Beach students Thursday. Students from Newport Coast Elementary School collected books and delivered them to Whittier Elementary School as part of the first Books from the Heart program. The students also attached notes in the books about why they enjoyed them. The book exchange was suggested by Maya Ziegler, a parent at Newport Coast who wanted children at the school to be aware that other students in the district do not have the same advantages.

Jessica Garrison COSTA MESA -- Whittier Elementary School will get hundreds of thousands of additional state dollars to raise test scores over the next two years. But if scores do not go up, the school faces a state takeover. Whittier, which posted substantial gains on its Stanford-9 test scores this year but still lags far below national averages, is one of 430 schools in the state -- and five in Orange County -- to be accepted into a new state intervention program this week.

School test scores improved for the second year in a row in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, according to state data released Thursday. The districtwide average on the Academic Performance Index (API) improved 11 points to 838 out of 1,000. "I think for the district to [increase 11 points] is very, very good," said Board President Dave Brooks. "I'm very proud of all the work our teachers, administrators, staff and students - especially the students - have done. " Two high schools, Corona del Mar and Early College, broke 900 for the first time, according to the data, which is released by California's Department of Education.

Photos COSTA MESA — One by one, the third-grade boys from Whittier Elementary ran through the tunnel the parents made at midfield standing side by side, arms pointing toward the sky. It seemed to be a fitting ending to an extraordinary run through the ninth annual Daily Pilot Cup soccer tournament. The Whittier boys, who went 5-0 in the tournament and outscored opponents, 24-10, captured the silver division championship playing against teams that had fourth-graders. Whittier has grades kindergarten through third.

On Thursday at Whittier Elementary School in Costa Mesa, 60 third-graders sat in the multipurpose room and sang a song about sharks. The lyrics were written by Ken Watson, a science teacher who visits schools around Southern California, and the students wanted to learn the song before he came to visit them the following week. It was a pretty wordy song, too — especially considering that most of the students were English-learners. At one point, the lyrics addressed the fact that sharks were becoming an endangered species: Misunderstood and misaligned, your numbers dwindle fast/From shark-fin soup to cowboy boots/You're marketed and taxed/Teeth and jaws and cartilage, stacked and sold as jewels/The food chain breaks, the top end shakes/No conscience and no rules.

CYPRESS - The Newport Harbor Baseball Association Corona del Mar 14-year-old Pony All-Star team pulled out a 5-1 win over Whittier II at the Cypress Invitational Tournament at Oak Knoll Park Thursday night. CdM jumped out to a 3-1 lead, thanks to key hits from Wess Presson, Tyler Lance and Matt Bush. Lance was also strong on the mound. He pitched a complete game and allowed one unearned run. With a runner on first base and two outs in the fifth inning, Lance lined an RBI-double to right and scored on an error by the right-fielder.

Newport Harbor High sophomore tennis player Reese Stalder won the boys' 16s title at the Gene Jung Whittier Midwinter Junior Tournament on Sunday. Stalder was the No. 2 seed. He went 7-0 in the tournament, dropping just two sets. In the championship match, he defeated No. 17-seeded Jacob Brumm, 7-5, 6-2. It is the second big tournament win in three months for Stalder. In November, he and partner Billy Rowe won the boys' 16s at the 110th annual Southern California Junior Sectional Doubles Championships.

The Newport Lightning Basketball Club's Green 12U/sixth-grade team won the Edge Summer Showcase Tournament last weekend at the Next Level Sports Complex in Garden Grove. The NLBC beat Jr. Hoops, OC Premier and I Am Rockfish in pool play on Saturday to advance to the semifinals where they beat Dominators on Sunday and went on to face Whittier Hawks in the championship game where the Lightning prevailed, 38-33. The Lightning were led in scoring by the big four of Adam Flood, Bryce Motal, Will Hanna and Tre Villalpando.