Independence High School

On a September day 4 1/2 years ago, nearly 1,100 ninth-graders -- a little giddy, a little scared -- arrived at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys. They were fifth-generation Americans and new arrivals, straight arrows and gangbangers, scholars and class clowns.

Eight months after watching what was supposed to have been their high school graduation, four teenagers found themselves last week in the one place they had given up on: school. Independence High School Principal Cynthia Gladstone said she reached out to the boys after reading a Feb. 3 story in The Times on their group of 11 friends who called themselves the "Outsiders." They started together as freshmen at Birmingham High in 2001, but only three graduated with the class of 2005.

Independence High School won the Nevada State Wrestling championship the past two years, was runner-up in basketball in 1983 and has a competitive football and track team. Yet the Independence High Colts have no cheerleaders, no school song, no homecoming, no yearbook, no annual awards banquets, no letterman jackets. No college or university recruits its athletes. Parents seldom show up to see their sons play. No one at the school is on the team more than one season.

Isaac Castillo watched uneasily as a pack of 15 boys streamed out of a Van Nuys McDonald's. They paraded across Balboa Boulevard, ignoring four lanes of traffic. Isaac and four of his friends headed toward their car in the Del Taco parking lot. The other boys closed in. One faced Isaac. You wanna fight? All year, Isaac, 17, had dodged confrontations with this group of teenagers. A rivalry over a girl had escalated into a bitter grudge.

The Poway High School wrestling team overwhelmed the rest of the state's entries with sheer numbers at the State Wrestling Championships Saturday. The Titans ran away with the team title at Independence High School here, outscoring El Dorado of Placentia, an Anaheim suburb, 105-80.5. Vacaville was a distant third place with 55 points.

The golden anniversary celebration for Notre Dame High School kicked off this month when about 150 former varsity football lettermen, representing each year since 1947, appeared at the last regular season home game of the year on Nov. 14. Among the notable alumni who marched out on the field at halftime were former Oakland Raiders tackle John Vella (class of '68) and recent Fernando Award-winner Phillip "Flip" Smith ('64).

These are the dreams of Eric Loera: to attend College of the Canyons in the fall and, eventually, become an elementary schoolteacher. But dreams can fade when you earn $6.75 an hour and, at 18, are expecting the birth of a child. Now Loera's prospects are about to grow brighter. On Tuesday, the senior from Independence High School in Van Nuys will receive a scholarship to help pay for his first year of college, a gift from parent-turned-benefactor Fred Heim.

Eight months after watching what was supposed to have been their high school graduation, four teenagers found themselves last week in the one place they had given up on: school. Independence High School Principal Cynthia Gladstone said she reached out to the boys after reading a Feb. 3 story in The Times on their group of 11 friends who called themselves the "Outsiders." They started together as freshmen at Birmingham High in 2001, but only three graduated with the class of 2005.

* UNDERSTANDING THE NUMBERS / READING THE TABLES In California, nearly 4.5 million public school students in grades 2 through 11 took the Stanford 9 standardized tests in the spring, for the fourth year in a row. All of them were tested in reading, math and language skills such as grammar and punctuation. Students through eighth grade also took a spelling test, and students in higher grades took exams in science and history/social science.

Isaac Castillo watched uneasily as a pack of 15 boys streamed out of a Van Nuys McDonald's. They paraded across Balboa Boulevard, ignoring four lanes of traffic. Isaac and four of his friends headed toward their car in the Del Taco parking lot. The other boys closed in. One faced Isaac. You wanna fight? All year, Isaac, 17, had dodged confrontations with this group of teenagers. A rivalry over a girl had escalated into a bitter grudge.

On a September day 4 1/2 years ago, nearly 1,100 ninth-graders -- a little giddy, a little scared -- arrived at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys. They were fifth-generation Americans and new arrivals, straight arrows and gangbangers, scholars and class clowns.

* UNDERSTANDING THE NUMBERS / READING THE TABLES In California, nearly 4.5 million public school students in grades 2 through 11 took the Stanford 9 standardized tests in the spring, for the fourth year in a row. All of them were tested in reading, math and language skills such as grammar and punctuation. Students through eighth grade also took a spelling test, and students in higher grades took exams in science and history/social science.

These are the dreams of Eric Loera: to attend College of the Canyons in the fall and, eventually, become an elementary schoolteacher. But dreams can fade when you earn $6.75 an hour and, at 18, are expecting the birth of a child. Now Loera's prospects are about to grow brighter. On Tuesday, the senior from Independence High School in Van Nuys will receive a scholarship to help pay for his first year of college, a gift from parent-turned-benefactor Fred Heim.

The golden anniversary celebration for Notre Dame High School kicked off this month when about 150 former varsity football lettermen, representing each year since 1947, appeared at the last regular season home game of the year on Nov. 14. Among the notable alumni who marched out on the field at halftime were former Oakland Raiders tackle John Vella (class of '68) and recent Fernando Award-winner Phillip "Flip" Smith ('64).

The Poway High School wrestling team overwhelmed the rest of the state's entries with sheer numbers at the State Wrestling Championships Saturday. The Titans ran away with the team title at Independence High School here, outscoring El Dorado of Placentia, an Anaheim suburb, 105-80.5. Vacaville was a distant third place with 55 points.

Independence High School won the Nevada State Wrestling championship the past two years, was runner-up in basketball in 1983 and has a competitive football and track team. Yet the Independence High Colts have no cheerleaders, no school song, no homecoming, no yearbook, no annual awards banquets, no letterman jackets. No college or university recruits its athletes. Parents seldom show up to see their sons play. No one at the school is on the team more than one season.

Re "High School's 'Outsiders' Are Dropping Back In," Feb. 13 While I applaud Principal Cynthia Gladstone's sentiments, I absolutely reject her execution in enrolling the "outsiders" in Independence High School. The fact that this group of young men has had some recent publicity is no reason to allow them to enroll in the school ahead of the 30 students who had already placed themselves on the waiting list. This school is taxpayer funded; it is not Gladstone's private school. Her responsibility is to all students who are seeking a second chance, whatever their circumstances.

Concerned about the safety of an estimated 5,000 students, the Los Angeles Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to relocate 325 buses from a parking lot and maintenance facility within a block of five schools to a vacant parcel a few miles to the north.