FOCUS : Northwest Winds of Change in Santa Ana

When James Franklin, principal of Rosita School in northwest Santa Ana, arrives at work each day, he hopes he won’t find the school’s bright new coat of paint vandalized by gang graffiti.

“Lately we’ve been lucky,” he says. “They’ve left us alone in the past few months.”

At least four rival gangs are active near the school, where 600 children in kindergarten through sixth grade are enrolled. The youngsters at the school are mostly too young to join gangs, but most will ultimately face a decision about whether to become part of the counterculture.

Rosita’s students are vulnerable. And ironically, the school is near the corner of Hazard Avenue and Newhope Street.

According to Franklin, attendance fluctuates because of the transient local population. But he and his staff hope to reach the youngsters at an early age, offering alternatives to gang membership by teaching leadership skills and focusing on self-esteem.

The students are participating in Project Pride, developed by the Santa Ana Department of Parks and Recreation. The eight-week program is designed to teach the youngsters alternative ways to care about their neighborhood and claim it as their own, without marking buildings with graffiti or harming intruders on their turf.

“At this point, the kids are basically good. We don’t have a drug problem,” Franklin says.

But for some, gang membership is a family tradition, extending three generations. “For them, its almost impossible to avoid,” he says.

Raul Aguero, a community outreach specialist with the Garden Grove Unified School District, visits the school at least once a week, meeting individually with students referred to him by teachers.

“What they need most is someone to show them a little personal attention,” he says.

Aguero credits the local Little League for creating a positive atmosphere in the community, allowing neighbors to become involved with the children.

Pat Lemmons, who schedules the Little League games, says: “We used to have a terrible time keeping the snack bar stands free of gang graffiti. But things seem to be getting better. There are rival gang members on the high school and junior high teams, but we haven’t had any trouble. They seem to think of this as something of their own, to be protected.”

The games, which have become a neighborhood focal point, are held next to the school in Rosita Park. The all-American sounds of cheering, banter and pitches thumping into a catcher’s mitt are heard nearly every weeknight and all day Saturday.

Adults studying English at Rosita School on Tuesday and Thursday nights wander over during breaks to grab hot dogs and cheer the kids. The games and night classes have turned the school complex into a community center for families.

Franklin attributes the greater use of the facility for decreasing vandalism. He is wary of the hundreds of dayworkers who congregate on nearby street corners. But some of the men are supporting families and have children enrolled at the school.

Many of the workers return home each night to shared living quarters such as those on 3rd Street, filled with illegal immigrants trying to cope with local housing costs while making less than minimum wage.

Though new condominiums and single-family homes signal pockets of affluence, the neighborhood is mostly a mixture of ramshackle houses, converted garages and trailer parks. And overcrowded conditions make it impossible for children to study at home.

“So they flock here after school,” reports Donna Minnick, head librarian of Newhope Library. “You’d be surprised. Many of them are eager and enthusiastic learners.”

The library was recently awarded a $60,000 grant from the state, and plans to use part of the money to start after-school tutoring. Close contacts are maintained with local ethnic groups, and more bilingual materials in several languages have been added to the library’s stacks.

The multicultural aspects of the community are also reflected in its varied churches. A Vietnamese Buddhist temple has recently moved into quarters formerly occupied by Samoan Protestants. And on La Bonita Street, a tiny wooden structure surrounded by abandoned cars and graffiti-covered walls has been converted into a shrine, its candles illuminating a placid icon that faces the dark street like a sentinel, surrounded by offerings of flowers, fruit and incense.

Population Total: (1989 est.) 6,166 1980-89 change: +32.7% Median Age: 30.4

Racial/ethnic mix: White (non-Latino): 30% Latino: 55% Black: 2% Other: 13%

By sex and age: MALES Median age: 29.7 years FEMALES Median age: 31.1 years

Income Per capita: $13,398 Median household: $43,187 Average household: $46,821 Income Distribution: Less than $25,000: 25% $25,000-49,999: 35% $50,000-74,999: 27% $75,000-$99,999: 7% $100,000 and more: 6%