New School Called Solution to Gang Problem : Education: Students who feared Serra High was hostile territory are expected to be more at home at San Clemente facility.

When the gang rivalry between San Clemente’s Varrio Chico and San Juan Capistrano’s San Juan Boys started becoming more violent several years ago, school officials noted something odd happening.

Many San Clemente High School students who were transferred to the continuation school in San Juan Capistrano never made it to Serra High School’s front door. They stayed away, fearing, among other things, that they would be in hostile gang territory and might get hurt.

“There’s a lot of gang stuff going on there. That’s not where I want to be at,” said Fanta Lyle, 16, of San Clemente.

School officials realized they had a problem to solve if they expected students to attend continuation school.

“Any student or former student who has anything to do with the Varrio Chicos cannot come to school here because we are right in the heart of the San Juan Boys territory,” acknowledged Don Jeisy, principal of Serra High School. “A normal (non-gang) student can transfer with no problem. But when they are affiliated with the Varrio Chicos, they can’t come. Those kids just drop out of school.”

But a solution is on the way.

In February, a new continuation school called Serra South will open in San Clemente, where it will not only be more convenient but will serve as a “safe haven” for San Clemente students who are afraid to go to San Juan Capistrano, according to school officials.

“We are ensuring that we are not losing any kids through the cracks,” said Tom Anthony, the district’s assistant superintendent for secondary education. “Our goal is to get them out of the gangs and work with them.”

School district officials are deciding between two locations for the new school in San Clemente, which they hope to open with about 30 students in late February. The school will be set up in rented office space.

“It’s going to make it a lot more convenient in the southern part of the district,” Anthony said. “There is no transportation directly from San Clemente to San Juan Capistrano so we’re hoping that (a new school) will eliminate the transportation problem. We know we are losing them in that arena.”

In addition, the school district’s enrollment has doubled from 16,000 to 32,000 over the last seven years, resulting in crowded classrooms at Serra, he said. “We don’t have a square inch of space left” for expansion, he said.

Chronic truancy, behavioral problems, drug use, or simply a deficiency in credits can mean a transfer from San Clemente High to Serra, where a better student-teacher ratio (about eight to one) helps a quarter of its 244 students graduate each year.

Another quarter return to their original school, a quarter drop out, and a quarter go on to adult education or return to Serra the following year, Jeisy said.

But attendance has been a problem, and even some students from San Clemente who are not associated with gangs have chosen not to go to Serra for various reasons.

Lyle was transferred from San Clemente High after too many absences and began attending Serra at the end of the 10th grade.

“I had a problem with the people at that school,” said Lyle, dressed in jeans and a work shirt with a pack of cigarettes in one pocket. “They just think they’re cool. It’s hard to explain.”

She dropped out and began attending Horizon Education Center in San Clemente, a county-run alternative school, where she will study until she catches up academically. The school is for students on probation but it also temporarily accepts San Clemente students reluctant to go to Serra, said Kim Marshall, county coordinator of child welfare and school attendance programs.

Anthony Medina, 16, was recently transferred to Serra from San Clemente High after he missed a week of school to care for his 4-year-old sister and pregnant single mother at home.

He didn’t want to go to Serra because he had heard that there is a lot of socializing in the school. He preferred to go where he could work independently, he said. He grew up with many of the gang members at Serra and also knows gang members in San Clemente. “They’re all like family and friends,” said Medina, who said he is not a gang member.

But being from San Clemente, Anthony said he isn’t sure what would have happened if he went to Serra. “I’m pretty sure I could get on their cool side . . . I don’t know what would have happened.”

Some students from outside San Juan Capistrano are worried about taking the bus to Serra because they fear being attacked or that their cars would be vandalized in the school parking lot.

“Those kind of kids don’t have any place to go,” Jeisy said. “There is such a fear with those gang members. They can’t even come to a show here at night. They come over and go to movies and get beat up.”

Jeisy said about 30 dropouts would be going to school now if they didn’t feel threatened by the tense gang situation. “We’re losing them as far as society is concerned,” he said. “They’re getting a street-type education.”

However, school officials hope the new school will keep students off the streets.

Former San Clemente High student Raleigh Roberts, 17, welcomed the idea of a new continuation school. “I think it would be a cool idea,” said Roberts, who attends Horizon.

At the same time, Roberts thinks that a Serra South would become a haven for gang members in San Clemente.

“I have a feeling that all of the gang people would try to get kicked out (of San Clemente High) so that they can take over that school,” said Roberts, who said she is not associated with gangs.

Local officials view the new school with a more optimism.

Chris Cairns, principal of San Clemente High, which has about 2,000 students, hopes the new school will prevent more students from dropping out because they are afraid to go to Serra. “We want to ensure that all students can avail themselves of an education and not be deterred by gang (activity),” he said.