Lynwood High School

One youth was arrested but no one was hurt in a spate of fights between students at Lynwood High School Wednesday, the last day of the school year, authorities said. Of the about 3,000 students on campus, an estimated 100 were involved in the approximately 15 brawls that erupted about 1 p.m. outside classes at the school, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Don Slawson said. No reason for the violence was immediately clear. "I think some people were just feeling their oats," Slawson said.

A Lynwood High School teacher has been nominated by state schools chief Jack O'Connell to participate in the national teacher of the year competition. English teacher Alan Sitomer was selected because of a program he initiated in which he used hip-hop to engage students in the classics. He was one of five named California teachers of the year for 2007.

Officials closed Lynwood High School two hours early Thursday after racial tensions that have rocked Los Angeles schools spilled into Lynwood. Administrators shut down the campus after students refused to return to class after lunch and some groups of belligerent black and Latino students milled around the grounds. Sheriff's deputies later arrested three youths on suspicion of throwing rocks at cars about half a block from the school. No one was injured during the incident, authorities said.

A visitor wandering into Alan Sitomer's English literature class at Lynwood High School could be forgiven for wondering when Elmore Leonard became required reading for 10th graders. In the course of leading a lively discussion about a work of fiction, Sitomer described one character as a whore and another as a gold-digger. One's a hanger-on, the type who'd take advantage of his best friend, the rap star. And then there's the "regular dude," a guy who just "wants things to be good in his 'hood."

A team of Lynwood High School students has earned first place in the Los Angeles County Mock Trial Competition, an annual event in which students take on the roles of attorneys, witnesses, court clerks and bailiffs in a hypothetical court case. The 16 Lynwood High students, who will go on to a statewide competition in April, beat out 1,300 students from 65 schools. A team from Polytechnic High School in Long Beach was the runner-up.

The rough days of fear and poor prognoses are a distant memory for Shawn Powell. Although still paralyzed, the former Lynwood High School football player, now 23, proceeds with customary determination toward goals he has confidently set. Sitting in his wheelchair--he has progressed from an electric model to a manual Quickie--Powell pulled down the bar of a weight machine in a physical therapy room at Cal State Long Beach on Monday afternoon. "And I'm supposed to be an invalid . . .

Nine student nurses have graduated from a joint program operated by Lynwood High School and St. Francis Medical Center. The graduates were presented vocational nursing certificates during a recent ceremonial dinner at the hospital. They are now eligible to take the state examination for licensed vocational nurses after successful completion of the one-year pilot program.

A 17-year-old Lynwood High School student was fatally stabbed on campus Thursday in an apparent gang-related fight with another student, who wielded a "dagger-like instrument" and then fled, authorities said. The victim died late Thursday afternoon at Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized with a head wound. His name was not released.

A former school board member pleaded no contest Wednesday to molesting a 15-year-old boy whom he picked up after class at Lynwood High School. Errick Rozell Lee, 37, must register as a sex offender and serve three years' probation under terms of the plea agreement, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Decio Rangel Jr. Lee is the director of the Lynwood Chamber of Commerce.

About 200 students walked out of their classes at Lynwood High School for the third consecutive day to protest a decision to start year-round programs July 1. The students walked out Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Parents and supporters also held a protest rally Monday. Parents said they believe the year-round system will interfere with family vacations and create additional child-care costs.

Davon Jefferson has lost count of how many times he has felt like walking out of practice and quitting the boys' basketball team at Lynwood. It's probably about the same number of times Coach Mike Acheanpong has felt like kicking Jefferson off the team. The two make no secret of their occasional disagreements, but the coach and star player have learned to live with one another and, in doing so, have elevated Lynwood to elite status among teams in Southern California.

There is nothing extraordinary about the girls' tennis team at Lynwood. Unlike the school's girls' basketball team, which has won four Southern Section and two state championships in the last four years, these Knights have never won a section championship and probably never will. After all, these are not savvy players who have been on the court since they were old enough to hold a racket, and there is not a singular talent among them who can carry a program.

Maybe Sade Wiley-Gatewood is just getting warmed up. Maybe at Tennessee, under a national spotlight and intense scrutiny, she'll rise to a higher level. Maybe she was destined for something greater than high school heroics. But while in Southern California, there were heroics aplenty in a career that yielded four Southern Section championships, two state titles and one No. 1 national ranking for Lynwood High. She made teammates better. She showed poise under pressure.

A former school board member pleaded no contest Wednesday to molesting a 15-year-old boy whom he picked up after class at Lynwood High School. Errick Rozell Lee, 37, must register as a sex offender and serve three years' probation under terms of the plea agreement, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Decio Rangel Jr. Lee is the director of the Lynwood Chamber of Commerce.

A former school board member has pleaded not guilty to charges that he had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy. Errick Rozell Lee, 37, faces a potential five-year prison term if found guilty of three felony counts of child molestation. Lee allegedly started the relationship by picking the boy up after class at Lynwood High School. Lee was a member of the Lynwood Unified School District board from 1997 to 2001. He is the head of the Lynwood Chamber of Commerce.

Marlin Simmons was 10 when he watched his oldest brother, Melvin, play linebacker for Compton Dominguez in the 1996 Southern Section Division II championship game. The memory of that night, which ended with Dominguez celebrating a 42-16 victory over Chino Hills Ayala, remains a vivid and inspirational image for Marlin, now a senior linebacker at Lynwood. "I remember my brother making this tackle and the whole crowd saying, 'Oooooh!' " he recalled.

A Lynwood High School teacher has been nominated by state schools chief Jack O'Connell to participate in the national teacher of the year competition. English teacher Alan Sitomer was selected because of a program he initiated in which he used hip-hop to engage students in the classics. He was one of five named California teachers of the year for 2007.

A former school board member has pleaded not guilty to charges that he had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy. Errick Rozell Lee, 37, faces a potential five-year prison term if found guilty of three felony counts of child molestation. Lee allegedly started the relationship by picking the boy up after class at Lynwood High School. Lee was a member of the Lynwood Unified School District board from 1997 to 2001. He is the head of the Lynwood Chamber of Commerce.

A group of Lynwood High School students who petitioned school administrators to form a gospel choir won first place in their category Saturday night in the prestigious McDonald's Gospelfest. The 41-member group, called the Chosen Generation, was making its first appearance at the long-running gospel event after forming less than a year ago.

Two powerful governing bodies in Lynwood stand no farther apart than the width of the two-lane path that runs between their offices on Bullis Road. But when it comes to agreement on the location of a new high school, Lynwood City Hall and Lynwood Unified School District are miles apart. The core problem is a scarcity of open space in this 5-square-mile city of 69,000.