Watts' Locke High School is getting whipped into shape

It's almost 8 a.m. on 111th Street in Watts, and here's a scene that could make a cynic faint:

A teenage boy is hustling across the street toward Locke High School while tucking a white shirt into his khaki uniform pants. He wants to pass inspection at the gate.

I'm visiting what might as well be called Dropout High to see if things have changed in the early going since Green Dot Public Schools took it over from Los Angeles Unified. Too soon to tell, for sure. We're only into the third week of summer school, which tends to be mellower than the regular school year and serves only 700 kids instead of the usual 3,000.

The first thing I see after I park and walk onto campus are roughly three dozen tardy kids lined up against a fence just a couple of minutes after the hour, with Assistant Principal Charles Boulden giving them what for. On a megaphone, no less.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he barks, "school starts at 8 o'clock; 8:02 is like 8:14 to us."

Two kids roll their eyes when I ask what they think of their new drill sergeant.

"Nothing's going to change," one tells me while the other nods in agreement.

But they're wearing uniforms. That's a change. And they're about to be marked tardy, then led to their classrooms in small groups.

Other students say this clearly is not the Locke they knew last year.

Sure it's different, says Charles Brown, who will be a senior this fall.

"It's very radical," he says of the uniforms and the discipline.

Senior Lee Jones agrees it's a new day. "There's tighter security and it's more strict" in classrooms and on the yard, with security people everywhere. "They won't even let you in without your shirt tucked in."

There hasn't been a fight yet, says Michael McElveen, another senior. Two weeks without a fight is a good sign at Locke, his pals admit, even if it is usually quieter in summer. The students also agree that the uniform has its advantages -- you don't have to waste time and money on the fashions of the day.

Zeus Cubias, who has taught at Locke for 14 years after graduating from the school and going on to UC Santa Barbara, says the early indicators are encouraging. There were skeptics who said the uniforms alone would doom the experiment. Not only has there been compliance, but only a couple of the boys seem to feel bold enough to test the ban on sagging pants.

But will higher pockets mean higher grades?

"Part of it is setting the right tone," says Cubias. Right off the bat, you step onto campus knowing there's control, discipline and high expectations, and the reality is that's something most kids wanted.

"We had to step up our game, too," Cubias says. "I'm wearing a tie every day now."

Cubias is one of the Locke teachers who originally felt insulted by Green Dot chief Steve Barr's claim that he could do a better job than L.A. Unified. Cubias spoke up about it, telling Barr he and other teachers had made strides despite great challenges.

"Steve Barr's response was that that was exactly the kind of passion he was looking for," says Cubias, who became a convert during the long, acrimonious battle that ended with Green Dot winning support for a takeover.

When school starts in September, only 40 of last year's 120 teachers will still be there. Some left of their own accord; others weren't hired back.