The school day at Jefferson High School passed without incident Tuesday. But it was far from typical.
After a surprise visit from Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Roy Romer, Mayor James K. Hahn showed up. At one point, school Police Chief Alan Kerstein, who was also there, said 29 school police officers patrolled the South Los Angeles campus and 12 more roamed nearby. Attendance at the 2,400-student school was down by almost half.
Administrators hoped to avoid a repeat of Monday, when more than 100 black and Latino students were involved in what was considered a racially- and gang-motivated brawl near Jefferson's cafeteria at lunchtime. Six students were detained and two of them arrested.
It was the campus' second melee in less than a week. On Thursday, three students were hurt in a brawl also involving about 100 students.
Despite the strong showing by police and district officials, many parents' fears were not alleviated. About 150 parents showed up at the school Tuesday morning, concerned about their children's safety. In response, school officials held an impromptu meeting in the school cafeteria. Another meeting for parents, faculty, students and neighborhood residents is scheduled for Thursday evening.
People who attended the morning meeting gave differing accounts.
"There was a lot of venting, a lot of fears," said Hilda Ramirez, a district spokeswoman. Reporters and photographers were barred from the meeting.
"There was a lot of emotion," said Raul Preciado, a Jefferson High student body president. "It was hard to get anything done."
Lorena Flores, a senior at Jefferson, described the meeting as positive -- because parents, students and administrators began talking. "It was great," she said.
But her friend, Liliana Sanchez, expressed frustration that "we didn't come to no conclusion."
The two girls had been caught up in the melee the day before. "It was scary," Liliana said.
According to school officials, a group of parents remained on the campus after the morning meeting to work with administrators on how to dissipate racial tensions. When Hahn arrived at the school about 11 a.m., he met with those parents and some student leaders.
"We want to let everyone know that this campus is for learning," Hahn told reporters outside the school. He acknowledged that there are "turf wars going on ... but I am going to be fighting for students who want to learn."
