State Revives Schools for At-Risk Youths

Gov. Pete Wilson signed a bill late Wednesday that will revive a group of widely praised alternative schools based in East Los Angeles, allowing them to operate as a charter program.

Wilson praised the Soledad Enrichment Action program as a successful example of how to help high-risk students. His approval of the bill will allow the program to reopen at least eight sites by Aug. 1, program administrators said.

“It feels really good,” said Brother Modesto Leon, executive director of the program. “This has been 14 months of hard work, and I think it was a learning process for the community.”

The centers were shut down in December after the Los Angeles County office of education terminated their contract because the organization violated administrative regulations.

According to the state, the program had hired non-county employees as teachers and aides, among other violations.

Community members were upset by the loss of the 25-year-old organization and its focus on educating at-risk youths. Many students were on court-ordered probation and had been kicked out of high school.

Unlike a traditional classroom setting, the centers had three to five teachers per class. Regular classes were augmented with additional courses on job skills, parenting and family counseling.

At least 850 students were attending 16 centers around Los Angeles County when the doors closed in the winter.

Since then, the county employed some of the teachers and managed to keep classes going for about 225 students. Meanwhile, leaders of the centers applied for charter status.

Sponsored by state Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), the measure that authorized the charter program cleared the Legislature last month without a single vote of opposition.

Leon said the other locations will reopen, and new sites will be added. Eventually, program officials hope to have 1,200 students at 24 centers around the county.