Gabrielino High School

The bailiff was an earnest teenage boy. One attorney for the defendant was a 17-year-old girl. The witnesses were high-schoolers, their testimonies invented. But when Gabrielino High School of San Gabriel beat James Monroe High School of North Hills in the Los Angeles County Mock Trial Competition finals Thursday, the tears were real. "Our team completely flipped out, even the guys were crying, we were all so emotional," said Gabrielino team member Vanessa Menchaca, 17.

Re "Candidates Seek Lighter Load for School Counselors," April 24 Completing my 10th year as high school counselor (1,850 student population), I am fortunate to have a caseload of less than 475 students, unique for a public school in Los Angeles. Although this is not the greatest student-counselor ratio, I know every senior by his or her first name, and I have the ability to work with their families and teachers and to make referrals to community agencies to address family needs. Our counselors serve as advocates to students in the academic, personal/social and college/career areas, and they work hard for our students and their families.

Re "Numbers Aren't Everything," editorial, Oct. 13: Having put two sons into the University of California system in the last three years, I can tell you a hard and true fact. You do not get accepted to UC Berkeley with an SAT score under 1,000. In fact, you do not get into UC Berkeley with a score under 1,300. Under a fair and equal evaluation, it just does not happen. There are top high school students being rejected at Berkeley by the thousands. Top students! The fact that 381 students were accepted with below-average SAT scores is cause for an investigation in which more than a few heads should roll.

Teachers and students were celebrating in the halls of Gabrielino High School this week as Alhambra school officials decided to give up the fight to shut down the fledgling high school. "Students, teachers and parents are all very excited. I can hear them whooping down the halls," Dan Mooney, Gabrielino High School principal, said Monday. "Now we can get down to work without worrying about whether or not our school is going to disappear."