Checking out library safety

That's the message the director of a charter school in South Los Angeles sent the parents of her 340 students last week, warning them that Hyde Park--Miriam Matthews Public Library, a few yards from the school campus, was not safe for their children.

"Many students have complained about being taunted, harassed and intimidated by some of the other students [from nearby schools] who frequent the library," wrote Mikelle Willis, who also founded KIPP Academy of Opportunity, a charter school specializing in college preparation.

"Our students often return to school because they are scared to remain," she wrote in the April 18 letter, adding, "The bottom line is that the library is not safe for our children."

Willis said librarians were doing all they could to keep children under control, but "handling the level of disrespect and violence that some children bring to that establishment is beyond their expertise."

More security is needed, she said, and she encouraged parents to write letters to Los Angeles Public Library officials expressing their concerns.

Willis, who said her students regularly report being verbally and physically abused at the library, said she finally decided to take action last week after a group of boys said they were physically attacked while working on a project after school. In her letter, she discouraged all students from going to the library without adult supervision.

She said she believes students from the charter academy are being targeted by children from other neighborhood schools because the charter students shoulder a heavy academic load and abide by a strict uniform dress code that makes them stand out.

"In our environment it's OK to be a nerd and focus on your studies," Willis said. "At the library they should be comfortable to concentrate on academics, but lately they have been ridiculed and teased."

When the academy took over St. Anselm Elementary, a closed Catholic school near 70th Street and South Van Ness Avenue more than a year ago, the new library, a few doors down, seemed like an ideal place for students to spend time after school working on projects -- and many did. Public libraries have long been considered a haven for students bent on academic success.

But last week, two students reported that they were slapped and choked by children from nearby middle schools who boasted of gang affiliations.