Principal Plays to Student Potential, Not Failure

Sitting on a school bench recently, Dhyan Lal recounted with pride a speech he gave nearly two years ago.

He had been principal of Jordan High School in Watts for just two months when he called an assembly for each grade--no parents, teachers or other administrators allowed--to introduce himself to the 2,200 students.

He tried to warn the students about perceptions, about how some people considered them “project kids” who would only commit crimes and end up on welfare.

“They say kids [here] don’t care, it’s gang-ridden, kids can’t read or write,” he recalled saying. “I don’t see that. I see potential, but you’ve got to meet me halfway.”’

It was an unusual start to a stewardship that has been called unconventional and, at times, imperfect.

Lal, 53, a native of Fiji who has been known to wear lava-lava skirts, Polynesian shirts and sandals on the job, took on the task of reforming Jordan High in February 2000. So far, under his leadership, there have been uplifting changes: The campus is cleaner, suspensions have dropped, and more students have graduated than before he took over. The academic decathlon team has been reinvigorated, and many students say their classmates are more unified.

“He loves these kids, and they love him,” said James Tomlinson, who has been dean for 17 years. “Dr. Lal has lifted the spirits of this place.”

Still, some staff members complain that he is too focused on superficial improvements and not enough on academic achievement.

The school has consistently scored at the bottom of the state academic performance index, which is based on Stanford 9 tests. And in October, the school’s performance slipped further, dropping 19 points, or 4.4%, from the previous year. Jordan tied with Manual Arts Senior High as the second-lowest-scoring high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Lisa Hernandez, a former Jordan High teacher, said she left in part because the curriculum was ineffective. Hernandez, who now teaches at the Los Angeles Academy, described the Jordan staff as “a dysfunctional family.”

“Everyone can smile and say it’s just great,” Hernandez said. But “those students are not getting prepared. The focus on academics is not there.”

She and others also complained that Lal makes belittling jokes about women and ethnic groups.

Lal responds that he does not intend to upset people. “I don’t see ethnic groups. I see people. I see kids and human beings,” Lal said. “I use humor as a way of easing tension.”

On a recent morning, he joked to a group of teachers: “You know all Asians look alike.” On another occasion, he asked a Latino staff member: “Did you eat your burritos today?”

Lal has come to Jordan at a crucial time for California high schools, which are feeling pressure to boost academic performance. Jordan, like many schools in poor urban areas, faces considerable obstacles. It is overcrowded, has many inexperienced teachers and serves many students who are still learning English.

If the school does not improve in coming years, it could face consequences as serious as a takeover by the state.

But rather than focusing on test scores right away, Lal said he first wants to boost students’ confidence by improving their self-esteem and their physical surroundings.

Upgrading Campus Was First Priority

Jordan High is located between two of the most crime-ridden housing projects in Los Angeles--Jordan Downs and Imperial Courts. It is in a neighborhood of abandoned stores with broken windows and graffiti-covered walls.

Lal’s priority when he arrived was to upgrade the dilapidated campus. Rian Turner, 16, described it like this: “We had benches with holes in them, dirt, no grass, gum all over the walls, graffiti all over the walls, holes in the sidewalks. You could step in them and break your ankle.”

Lal refurbished the courtyard, putting in new blue benches and lunch tables. He disciplined students for fighting or skipping class by making them spend their weekends painting campus walls. He turned an abandoned storage room into a computer lab, and created a center where students are taught how to repair used computers. The computers are then donated to local families.

Lal also instituted two-hour class periods four days a week, instead of the usual 54-minute periods. He believes that will prepare students better for college classes.

Many students and staff members applaud him.

Shannon Spires, 26, a teacher at Jordan, said Lal was her principal when she was a student at Carson High School, where he worked for three years. She took the job at Jordan because she remembered the compassion he had for students at Carson.

“He’s exactly the same today as he was then,” Spires said. Despite his joking, he is sensitive to racial issues, she said.

“Regardless of what ethnicity he is, he is a minority,” she said. “He has had to face some of the same issues and overcome some of the same obstacles as all of us.”

Assistant Principal Janet Salem, who has been at Jordan for nine years, said she is excited to be part of a positive change--something the school has needed for a long time.

“He doesn’t demean students,” she said. “He accepts [that] students make mistakes.”

One 16-year-old met Lal last year after he came upon her slashing her wrist with a box cutter in the gym. On a recent afternoon, she recounted how Lal visited her at the police station after the incident. He told her that he expected more out of her and that he believed in her.

Now, she confides in him all the time.

“I don’t want to let him down, because he didn’t let me down that day,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes. “I never thought that someone I didn’t know could care so much for me and trust me the way he did.”

Lal consoled Turner, a junior, last year after one of his basketball teammates was killed in a car accident. He also arranged for three school buses to take students to the funeral.

Then there’s Elizabeth Villarreal, 15, who lost her $200 eyeglasses one morning three months ago. Lal went on the school intercom to announce they were missing. Two hours later, the glasses were returned.

Relating as an Immigrant

Lal said he relates to many of his students because he is an immigrant too. He settled in Glendale at age 13 after an American family sponsored him to receive an education in the United States.

His introduction to American culture was harsh. He recalled his third week at the mostly white Roosevelt Middle School, when he stood in line for lunch and two girls glared at him, then took their trays and walked away.

“No one had ever seen a person like me,” he said. “I was the darkest person to graduate from Roosevelt and the darkest person to graduate from Glendale High.”

Lal said he realized the only way to get ahead, as a minority who spoke little English, was to get an education. He went on to become principal of Carson High and briefly was deputy superintendent for the state Department of Education.

Lal, who has a doctorate in education, often substitutes for absent teachers. During lunch or between classes, he patrols the campus.

On a recent afternoon, Lal made his way across the newly renovated courtyard. Students greeted him with “Hi, Doc” or “What’s up, Dr. Lal?” Others shook his hand or gave him a high five.

Stephani Escobar, 17, slipped a senior class photo into his hand. The handwriting on the back of the picture read: “To Dr. Lal, I really appreciate what you have done for our school. It has changed a lot. I hope that I’ll be able to work with you more throughout the years.”

Tomlinson said that although some may disagree with Lal’s aggressive tactics and his focus on social and environmental improvements, Lal connects with Jordan students. They know he believes in them.

“Dr. Lal has lifted the spirits of this place. But he is a no-nonsense guy,” Tomlinson said. “You’re either in his boat or you’re not. He’ll only tell you one time.”