Three Cheers, Maybe More, at St. Gen’s

An austere, 5th century saint, Genevieve is credited with protecting Paris from invasions and disasters. But in Panorama City she nearly sacrificed the high school that bears her name.

Four years ago, enrollment at St. Genevieve High School in the central San Fernando Valley had tumbled to 300 students--800 off its peak. The classrooms were relics from the 1950s. The trophy case had seen few additions since the early 1980s.

Coaches and teachers fled to escape St. Genevieve’s autocratic principal, who parents said made them feel unwelcome. Fighting among students had practically become an after-school club.

“With some bad decisions, we went to a nightmare,” said Tom Iaccino, who graduated from St. Gen’s in 1970, married his high school sweetheart and has sent seven children to the Catholic school.

“When St. Genevieve was having problems,” he said, “we took it very personal. People would say, ‘Why don’t you leave?’ Well, you don’t leave home.”

Now, Iaccino said, no one wants to leave St. Gen’s. The halls are bright and freshly painted. New computers have replaced the clunky keyboards that were missing letters. The football team won enough games this season to advance to the league finals.

Parents, now comfortable on campus, turn up for nighttime meetings with trays of homemade treats. And the students? It’s as if they didn’t hear the bell at the end of the day.

“You walk to school,” said senior Amber Serrato, “and you’re proud to be at school.”

St. Genevieve herself may have had a hand in the conversion, but most people credit the energetic faculty and charismatic Principal Dan Horn, who arrived at the school in 1999 and prodded St. Gen’s to “change the view.”

“We’re hoping people will take a closer look at us and their view of us will change,” Horn said. “We’re hoping to change the view of our students and how they see school and learning.”

Horn’s slogan shows up all over campus. Gone are schoolgirl skirts and pressed slacks for boys. Students, teachers and the principal walk the halls in wind pants and T-shirts--with the blue Valiants logo big and bold.

Let’s rethink PE class, Horn suggested. So yoga--led by the school’s only nun--salsa and break dancing now join soccer and jogging during schoolwide fitness periods.

Let’s teach character, the principal ordered, not just calculus. Seniors, don’t welcome freshmen with your fists. Serve them breakfast.

“The whole place is different,” said senior Andrew Alo. “When I was a freshman, everybody got punched. Now it’s like one class.”

Horn has a knack for promoting his school, and word is getting out that St. Genevieve High School might be worth a second look. Enrollment is up for the first time in a decade. It stands at 401. And the school’s reputation is improving in the eyes of parents whose children attend the elementary campus next door.

Over its 42 years, the face of St. Gen’s has changed with the neighborhood. Nearly half the students receive financial aid. When Iaccino and his wife, Joanny, attended the school in the late 1960s, they were typical students: white. Now their children’s classmates are mostly Latinos and Filipinos.

“It’s diverse, and everyone gets along,” said junior Vanessa Villegas, who moved to California from the Philippines and sings in the school choir.

On campus it is difficult, if not impossible, to find anyone with a bad word to say about St. Gen’s. Even with an average salary of $28,000, teachers say they have never had a better job. The mother of a 12th-grader gushes that when the $4,100 tuition bill arrives, “I’m very happy, and I say, ‘Here’s the money.’ ”

Manners at the Bowl, Fighting AIDS

Students describe Patrick Palmeter, the bear-sized man charged with punishing them, as “a nice person,” (perhaps because his title is dean of character formation).

Moral lessons, distinct from the religion classes and Masses, are woven into all aspects of St. Gen’s curriculum. To practice manners, the whole school went to the Hollywood Bowl. The students all walked to raise money to combat AIDS--in Valiants T-shirts, of course. Freshmen and seniors take classes on leadership, and assemblies for students and parents have addressed cheating, tolerance of homosexuality and the dangers of the drug Ecstasy.

“You can provide [students] with the best education as far as the three Rs are concerned, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to apply it in a wholesome, positive way that contributes to society,” Horn said.

For all the improvements at St. Gen’s, there are few frills. The art and music programs are limited. Classes tend to be no smaller than in public high schools, and most private schools offer many more advanced courses. All but six of St. Genevieve’s 25 teachers have arrived since Horn took over, and many had never taught before.

Even so, Iaccino is proud of his alma mater.

“Education is far more than just opening books and studying. It’s the whole package,” he said. “And right now St. Genevieve has the whole package.”