School Is Not ‘Out of Control’

On Sept. 30, the educational process at Chatsworth High School was marred by a series of fights among students.

Following the incident, I was dismayed to read in the Oct. 20 edition of The Times a letter from Lisa Sciortino, a Chatsworth graduate, saying she was shocked by the lack of security on campus, the inability to control students and the administration’s inability to address an explosive situation. The letter was titled “High School Out of Control.”

Chatsworth High School is not “out of control.” No high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District is “out of control.”

There are programs, policies and people coordinated to prevent and address student conflicts. Conflict resolution groups, gang intervention techniques, human relations programs and ongoing student counseling are typical components of today’s high school. Despite the efforts of school staffs to prevent conflicts, problems do occasionally occur.

It is important for Sciortino and others to understand that the large urban high school reflects the greater community. As communities struggle to address concerns related to latchkey children, gang involvement, ethnic diversity and fragmented families, the school sometimes becomes the arena where such problems may take hold in the form of student unrest.

Schools today routinely address social, psychological and physical needs of students while striving to meet academic needs, all with fewer resources due to budget cuts.

The success of programs to prevent student unrest should be measured not on whether unrest occurs, but how infrequently such conflict arises. Despite reductions in funds and the recent occurrences at Chatsworth High, I would like to inform Sciortino that her alma mater is not “out of control.”

LARRY G. HIGGINS

Higgins is the principal at Canoga Park High School.