Dropouts Drop Back In : Education: The Los Angeles school district sets aside a day to promote a program that gives former students a second chance.

Henry Castillo got right to the point in a brief conversation Thursday with his latest recruit, a 20-year-old Monroe High School dropout.

“If you want to come here to hang out, don’t come here,” Castillo said. “If you want a second chance, this is the place.”

Castillo--a former gang member, Vietnam veteran and 17-year upholstery teacher--advises prospective students in what he calls the “last chance” program.

It gives dropouts an opportunity to either earn their high school diploma or pass the state’s high school equivalency test.

The three-year-old Alternative Education Work Center operates at 15 community adult high schools and occupational centers throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District, including five in the San Fernando Valley.

Castillo for three years has been the program adviser at the West Valley Occupational Center in Woodland Hills, where he taught upholstery until completing a master’s degree in education.

The Los Angeles Unified School District declared Thursday a special “Drop-in for Dropouts Day.” District officials said counselors at community adult schools were being asked to make a special effort to recruit dropouts.

“It’s a day when people can come in, see a counselor and be directed to one of our adult education programs,” said Maxine Young, a supervisor in the district’s Community Outreach program.

“We want to show them that it’s not the same old high school stuff,” she added.

Castillo, like many in the trenches of education, said such special days are fine.

But what is really needed are more teachers and more counselors at the high schools where students are dropping out in the first place, he said.

“If the high schools could put me out of a job, that would be great,” said Castillo, who admits that is unlikely soon.

Between 40% and 50% of students in cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Chicago fail to finish high school, educators say.

Castillo explained the program Thursday to 20-year-old Rick Ulloa, who dropped out of Monroe High School when he was in the 10th grade.

Students attend school four hours a day, five days a week to complete math, English and social studies courses.

The burly Castillo then made clear the school’s three absolute rules: No gangs, no fights and no drugs. The time it takes to complete the work necessary for either a diploma or to pass the state’s equivalency test depends on how much school students have completed, Castillo said.

About 160 students are enrolled in the West Valley program.

After about five minutes with Castillo, Ulloa seemed convinced. “I’ll be here Monday,” he said.

Castillo was pleased. “If you don’t make it here, where the heck are you going to make it?” he said.