Gang Busters

For youthful gang members, the ways of the street have an imperative all their own, often at odds with the self-discipline needed to get an education. The Anaheim Union High School District has a program that is successfully enticing some of them back into the education system against heavy odds.

Its victories to date are modest, with small class sizes and small numbers of students managing to turn their lives around. But as one teacher says of her class, “If we can help four of these nine students, that’s four more students back in school.”

The program allows students who have dropped out of high school to study at their own pace and earn credits by meeting twice a week during after-school hours. The very idea of Project SAY, which is an acronym for Save A Youth, says something about the power of education to rescue lives. There are cases where members of as many as three rival gangs find themselves in the same classroom, but participants are made to understand that they are to leave their colors and turf battles outside.

Just getting gang members into the program can be trying. Some students are diverted by the problems of their lives, or they lack motivation. Others simply are afraid to cross gang lines to attend classes. Undaunted, the program director combs the barrio to recruit candidates.

It’s a tough-minded approach to a tough world. For its commitment to this valuable project, Anaheim deserves encouragement and support.