Continuation School Learns It’s Unwelcome

Sixteen-year-old Laura Kenan spent more afternoons last year watching soap operas at home than going to classes at Fountain Valley High School. She was making Fs.

“I wasn’t interested in school or much else while I was there,” Kenan said. “I was way behind most of the kids in class and wasn’t catching up, so I said why bother going.”

This year, Kenan is earning A’s, and she has not missed a day of class since she enrolled at Wintersburg Continuation High School.

About 177 students attend Wintersburg, a drab white, wood and brick building. The school has provided an emotional haven for youngsters with special needs for more than 20 years.

Some have low grades and learning disabilities, while others are there because of truancy or behavioral problems. All have a common goal: to earn a high school diploma.

But a proposal to move the school from its Golden West Avenue site to the campus of Fountain Valley High School in September has prompted some neighbors to question whether Wintersburg’s students are the kind of teen-agers they want in their community.

“What we are saying,” said Corli Guild, the leader of a group determined to halt the move, “is these children are obviously more than special kids; they’re problem kids, and that’s why they’re there in the first place.

“We’re concerned about what will happen when these kids are put directly next to the other high school students and allowed to mingle. What will happen to the kids that are already borderline kids at Fountain Valley High? They will go right over there.”

Guild said she and her 30-member opposition group also fear that the continuation school will bring crime, drugs and vandalism to the area.

“It can definitely happen when two groups of kids are put together,” said Terry Pastel, who teaches English in Anaheim and lives less than a block from Fountain Valley High. “Putting these kids next door to a school that many of them were thrown out of is going to result in labeling and name-calling. That in turn could result in crimes.

“Being an educator,” Pastel said, “my concern is that these kids are placed in a nurturing environment where they can succeed. I don’t feel that this is it.”

The proposed move is the result of a continuing decline in student enrollment that has plagued the Fountain Valley school system since late 1979, district officials said. The city has closed seven schools since then and is considering closing Fountain Valley Elementary School at the end of this school term.

With the leasing of Wintersburg and the 15 acres surrounding it, the district stands to receive more than $1 million a year for the next 60 years, according to district officials.

But for the students at Wintersburg, the highly charged debate over the relocation has left them with bruised feelings and mixed reactions.

“I don’t see where they get off judging us like that,” said Cain Fagan, 16, who was sent to Wintersburg from Huntington Beach High School after falling behind in his classes. “Some of the roughest friends I know don’t attend here, but (they attend) other so-called good schools. After being here, I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”

Stephanie Metzger, 17, a senior at the continuation high school, said she understands why many residents have doubts.

“Before I got here, I heard all kinds of rumors about ‘Losersburg,’ all kinds of things to make you really wonder about the place,” she said. “If I had never actually enrolled here, I wouldn’t have known what a nice, family-like situation this is and what kind of special attention you get.”

Each student is recommended by their home school to attend Wintersburg, where they then complete a weeklong orientation that measures their academic skills. Students are eligible to return to their home school after they meet academic goals.

“What we are offering these kids is a different way to learn,” Wintersburg Principal Dick Maynard said. “A large number of the kids here have academic problems that led to other problems, such as absenteeism and behavior problems. Many cannot function in large classroom settings, so we offer the same curriculum used in regular comprehensive high schools, but at a slower pace.”

The 12 teachers on staff provide a 15-to-1 student-instructor ratio, which ensures individual attention, Maynard said.

“I just really feel I am learning something here,” said Metzger, who plans to attend college after graduation in June. “At Fountain Valley High, I never got a chance to learn much because there were so many kids, and if you missed something you were out of luck. Here, there is always someone around to answer any question I have.”

But Guild and her group say they are not convinced that the Wintersburg students will not bring trouble. They have begun a drive to dissuade the school board from voting Feb. 27 to move the school to their neighborhood.

“We have petitions all around the community, along with signs encouraging people to come out and voice their opinion on this at the public hearing,” Guild said. “We know of eight different gangs at Wintersburg. Of course, the principal keeps changing his story about if it’s true or not. But he knows they’re there, and we think that is reason for concern.”

Maynard said there is no gang activity on his campus. And Huntington Beach police and neighbors around Wintersburg said they have experienced none of the crimes that opponents fear.

“We have no more problems at Wintersburg than any other high school,” Huntington Beach Police Lt. Ed McErlain said.

Lawrence Kemper, superintendent of the school district, said students attending Wintersburg are not criminals.

Students convicted of crimes or drug use are not sent to Wintersburg, he said, they’re expelled from the district. “These kids just want an education like anyone else,” Kemper said. “There are many reasons for them being there, from sickness to family problems. They are just kids trying to grow up.

“There is no reason for concern about this. If there were, the school board would not be considering it.”