TUSTIN : School in West Point’s Spotlight

Roman Olivos, 14, knew he wanted to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

But after hearing Lt. Col. Lee Wyatt talk to an assembly at Columbus Tustin Middle School on Wednesday, Olivos said he “wanted to serve my country even more. The program enhanced my curiosity about West Point.”

Wyatt’s talk was intended to inspire just such curiosity. Columbus Tustin is one of only seven schools in the nation and two in the state selected by West Point as “spotlight” schools because of the high number of graduates who have gone on to attend West Point. Four or five of its graduates are at West Point now, Wyatt said.

“We seem to have hit a sensitive core here and we want to keep it going,” Wyatt said.

Columbus Tustin Principal Bob Boies said he thinks that the conservative, upper-middle-class character of the community has helped foster many West Point cadets from the area.

“In addition, there is lots of support for the academy and for the military in the community,” Boies said. “The other thing that is significant about this school is the number of military families we have.”

Tustin High School, to which Columbus Tustin graduates go, has produced nine West Point candidates since 1984. West Point officials particularly like to target middle schools, though, because it is important for youngsters to set goals and begin working toward them at an early age, Wyatt said.

Some bright students don’t think of going on to college until their junior or senior year, and by then they have missed opportunities to take the necessary classes, Boies said.

West Point and school officials say they hope the spotlight program encourages students to set academic goals early, whether or not that includes West Point.

“It doesn’t mean that West Point is for everyone but one of the things they’re saying to us is that now, when you’re in middle school, you should make those grades count,” said Columbus Tustin English teacher Bonnie Sharp, whose husband and son both attended West Point.

After the assembly Wednesday, to which eighth-graders from the district’s two other middle schools were invited, 14-year-old Nicole Hinshaw said, “I’m going to seriously look at this option when I get into high school.”

She wondered, though, if she would have to cut her long, dark hair.

West Point is appealing to Hinshaw because her mother cannot afford to send her through college, she said. Tuition, room and board along with the partial salary of a second lieutenant are provided to cadets at West Point.

After listening to Wyatt answer questions ranging from what a typical class load is like to whether the school has sororities and fraternities, Ricky Cherry, 14, the school’s student body president, said: “I’m intrigued about this. I have to talk to my mother about it.”