South Gate High Students Stage Sit-In

Nearly 500 South Gate High School students held a peaceful sit-in on the campus football field Thursday to demand more teachers, courses and books in classrooms that have been strained since the school returned to a traditional September-June calendar this fall.

South Gate High has been struggling since it switched from a controversial year-round schedule to the regular calendar this year. Many parents decided to keep their children at South Gate, instead of sending them to private schools or to other campuses.

As a result, South Gate enrolled nearly 340 unexpected students this fall. The influx left administrators scrambling to hire 23 additional teachers, order more books and find space.

Los Angeles Unified School District official Merle Price said the district has assigned 13 additional teachers to the school and hired 10 long-term substitutes.