‘I’ve been here all 22 years . . . I hate to see it close’ : Peralta Junior High Bids Its Final Farewell

“Pomp and Circumstance” sounded a bit sadder as the 220 graduating ninth-graders filed to their outdoor seats in the sun-dappled schoolyard in Orange on Thursday.

For band director Phil Knoll, it was the final time on the podium before the Peralta Junior High band.

For Principal Jim Luft, it was the final speech to the final class.

And for the hundreds of parents and friends in the audience, it was something of a wake, as well as a celebration. After 22 years as an honored community institution in Orange, Peralta Junior High on Thursday was graduating its final class.

Victim of Declining Enrollment

The victim of declining enrollment--a common malady among once-booming Orange County schools--Peralta is being closed this summer by the Orange Unified School District.

In an interview before the graduation ceremony, band director Knoll reflected on the changing population in the past 22 years.

“When I first came here in September, 1963, this school had an enrollment of 1,600 students,” said Knoll. “Today, we’re down to 480. People in the neighborhood have raised their children and are staying in the same homes.

“I’ve been here all 22 years of the school’s existence, and I certainly hate to see it close. Peralta has a reputation for excellence in academics. There’s a good learning situation here, largely because we’ve had good school administration.”

Principal Luft said Peralta was folding its banners on a note of pride. “Our CAP (California Assessment Program) scores are always at the top, or among the tops,” he said. “Teachers really hit the academics here.

‘Lot of Pride’

“I noticed something different about this school when I first came in 1970 as a math teacher. What I noticed was that the kids had a lot of pride in their school. And I found out that the staff here is cohesive. Most of the teachers stay here forever--they don’t ever want to transfer. It’s like a family.”

Luft’s words were echoed by graduating ninth-grader Gionna Kastner, 15.

“It’s like a family--we all know each other,” she said when asked what she liked about Peralta. “I’m glad I got to be here. I didn’t want to graduate anywhere else.”

Scott Creagan, 15, who received the school’s outstanding athlete trophy at the graduation, said he regretted that the younger students at Peralta will now have to go to other junior highs. “I feel sorry for the seventh- and eighth-graders here,” he said. “As for me, I’m sorry there won’t be a school for me to come back and visit.”

Peralta’s buildings will remain on the school’s parklike, tree-shaded grounds. “A committee I was on recommended that the school buildings be leased for other educational uses, such as to church groups,” said Luft. “In coming years, maybe there will be more young people, and there might be a need to reopen the school.”

If another population boom comes for the Peralta area, it would fit a boom-or-bust pattern for the area surrounding the school. A historical marker in the center of the Peralta Junior High campus notes that the school stands on the site of the old town of St. James--a boom town that quickly became a ghost town.

Notes the historical marker: “Rampant land speculation swept Southern California in 1886 and 1887. Fertile fields were dotted with survey stakes. . . . St. James (Santiago), roughly bounded by Lincoln and Taft avenues, Canal Street and the Santa Fe Railroad tracks, was typical. Its lots sold well. A store and livery stable were built, and a hotel was planned. (But) in 1889, barley again grew in the streets.”

Never Be the Same

No one expects barley to again grow on Canal Street in front of the school, but spectators and students on Thursday said they knew the school scene would probably never be the same. Graduating ninth-graders thus looked fondly at yearbooks and made the rounds, getting signatures of classmates.

There were no appeals for tears or maudlin sentiment. Luft, in his brief, final graduation speech, said memories of the school will be proud ones.

“Whatever course your future takes,” said Luft, “it is my sincere hope that you will look back on your years at Peralta as having prepared you to meet and deal with the challenges that life will present. . . . For the past 22 years, students have graced our halls and helped build a tradition of academic excellence and athletic prowess that has been unsurpassed. Our high standards and traditions have helped our students develop into fine citizens and productive members of the community.

‘One of the Best Ever’

“You people are the last class to be promoted from Peralta, and you can be proud that you made this (class) one of the best ever.”

Cheryl Ashby, 14, a graduating ninth-grader who was awarded three trophies for academic achievements, made a brief speech to her classmates.

“In September, we will be sophomores at Villa Park or Canyon (high schools), and Peralta will only be pleasant memories,” she said. “But those memories of junior high will stay with us forever.”

A short time later, the ceremony concluded. Peralta’s last graduates--the girls dressed in formals, the boys in spotless shirts and neckties--prepared to march in recessional. But a jubilant note of graduation cheer spontaneously erupted from the graduates before they filed out, and handfuls of confetti were tossed into the air.

For Peralta Junior High, it was truly the last hurrah.