11 x 2 Isn’t as Simple as It First Appears : School Does Double Take Over Its Numerous Twins

During a pickup football game at Sierra Intermediate School last year, Moroni Rodriguez burst into the clear and found himself wide open for a pass, ready to lead his team to victory.

But as he signaled for the ball, his team’s quarterback threw a perfect pass to a player on the opposite side. Though costly, the mistake was understandable: The opposing player was Rodriguez’s twin bother, Jared.

For Sierra eighth-grader Zuly Garcia, though, having a twin offered an opportunity for mischief rather than mishap. When Zuly didn’t feel like attending her history class one day last year, she sent her twin sister, Xochilt, in her place. The teacher didn’t detect the switch, much to the delight of several giggling students who did.

Such is life these days at Sierra Intermediate School, where 10 sets of identical twins and one pair of fraternal twins are enrolled, a circumstance that has students, teachers and administrators performing a year of double takes.

“We’re thinking of changing our name to ‘Twin Peaks,’ ” said Vice Principal Cathy Gach, herself a fraternal twin.

“I have never seen this many twins in one place,” Gach said. “It can get a little confusing when it comes time for grades. Teachers have to sort it all out and make sure credit is given to the right people. And when it comes to discipline, you sometimes have to say, ‘Now, which one are you?’ ”

Just having 11 sets of twins among 1,050 students is not by itself all that extraordinary, said Manuel Porto, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UC Irvine Medical Center. Porto cited statistics that show that one out of every 80 pregnancies in which fertility drugs are not used results in twins.

“But of those twins, only about 20% are identical,” Porto added. “Ten sets of identical twins in a school that size is very unusual,” Porto said. “At the most, you would expect to have maybe two or three sets of identical twins.”

Despite the occasional confusion, Sierra’s twins said they enjoy their unusual pairings because of the extra attention they get. And most, like Ricardo and Fernando Lopez, say they have learned to take the cases of mistaken identity in stride.

“I walked into music class on the first day of school and the teacher looked at me funny and said, ‘Why are you here again?’ ” said Ricardo, 13.

Unsurprisingly, the teacher had mistaken Ricardo for his brother, Fernando, who had been in her class an hour earlier.

The Lopez brothers say they not only look alike, but think alike as well.

“It’s weird being a twin,” Fernando said. “Like, if I’m hungry for french fries, I’ll walk in the kitchen and he’ll be making some. That happens all the time.”

Diana and Adriana Casimiro, 12, are so physically alike that their own father and siblings can’t tell them apart. Complicating their introduction to their twin-filled school is the fact that the girls are recent immigrants from Mexico and speak no English. School officials have departed from standard twin procedure and enrolled them in the same courses to avoid confusion for teachers.

“The only person who can tell them apart is their mother,” said school counselor Maria Colmenares.

Sixth-graders Marsha and Marlene Zazuetta may look alike, but the 11-year-olds say they are as different as night and day. One prefers the “Simpsons” while the other watches “Cosby.” One likes the music of MC Hammer while the other will listen only to Young MC.

“We never agree on anything,” Marsha said. “We even have different voices and carry different-colored folders.”

Patricia and Leticia Brito, 12, on the other hand, are so close that when one is punished, the other often cries.

“It hurts your feelings when your twin gets punished,” agreed Jorge Lopez, 11.

Colmenares, who has been a counselor at the school for eight years, said she is fascinated by the twins phenomenon at Sierra. After spotting the pairs throughout the first few weeks of the school year, she decided to find out just how many sets were enrolled at the school. She said she was astonished by her discovery.

Colmenares’ research also revealed that two pairs of identical twins graduated from the school last year and a pair of identical twins served as co-student body presidents during the school’s first year, 1983.

Those twins, Jeff and Christopher Pratt, went on to Santa Ana High School, where Christopher Pratt was student body president and Jeff was vice president. Both now are sophomores at UCLA.

“If I didn’t know better,” Colmenares said, “I would think that someone is cloning the students of Sierra.”