District needs to open up about criminal activity at high schools
As long as there've been teachers teaching, there've been students misbehaving. Simply put, there's no school district on this planet immune to pupil misconduct, because, after all, going against authority can be part of growing up.

Showing up late, talking back, even the occasional physical altercation, are rebellious activities that require disciplinary action but, at the same time, are not cause for great concern. Unless, of course, they become habitual or begin to interfere with other students' learning. Or if they are in any way linked to involvement in gangs.

News that the Simi Valley Unified board of trustees recently reworded its policy on the use of surveillance cameras to catch incidents of wrong-doing, such as vandalism or theft, is far from earth-shattering, but it is a reminder that our halls of education are not sheltered from the violence which occurs in the world around them.

Yet when called repeatedly to address the occurrence of gang activity on campus- as part of a Simi Valley Acorn article on the subject in May- at least one Simi high school did not return repeated phone calls and another said the problem was "not a serious issue." School district officials had a similar response when asked the same question.

But when students themselves are approached, most of them Hispanic, the Acorn repeatedly hears stories of reoccurring violence, sometimes racial, that involves students claiming a link with one of Simi Valley's two documented, primarily Hispanic, street gangs. So why no parent outcry? Could it be because some of the parents of the students, both those involved in the gangs and those intimidated by them, do not have the grasp of the English language needed to communicate their concerns?

It's time for the school district to open up a serious dialogue on this issue and begin to consider that if even one student feels the need to join a gang rather get an education, that's enough cause for a gang-specific prevention program for at-risk students like those found in Los Angeles Unified. As indicated by its dwindling popularity, the DARE program alone is not enough.

Ninety-five percent of Simi students simply want to attend school to learn, socialize and succeed without incident. Let's not allow apathy to let the other 5 percent ruin it for any of them.