Michael Hoy

What began as a construction project turned into an impromptu history lesson when workers unearthed an assortment of Indian artifacts on the playground of San Juan Elementary School. An assortment of 50 to 75 items, including shells, tile, fragments of bone and stone tools, were dug out of 20 holes about four feet deep, said Nick Magalousis, director of the nearby Mission San Juan Capistrano Museum, who was called to the school to help.

Lynn Takacs was concerned when she arrived at San Juan Elementary School this month from another school district and found parents of white students angry because their children were sharing classrooms with Latinos. With that introduction to the Capistrano Unified School District, where Latinos make up 70% of the student population, the sixth-grade teacher was one of the first to sign up for training in a classroom-based race relations program.

A writer from Dana Point (June 21) compares the free programs offered to schoolchildren by the Monterey Bay Aquarium to the fees for programs charged by the Orange County Marine Institute ("Keeping Marine Institute's Mission Afloat," op-ed, July 21). In fairness to the Marine Institute, I feel their contributions to our local schools should be also recognized. To all students with special needs at Richard Henry Dana Exceptional Needs Facility, the institute provides a free visiting classroom program.

With news of Gov. Pete Wilson's plan to hand a cash grant to every school in the state came a flood of dreams Monday about what the money might buy for schools in Orange County. The wish lists of administrators across the county covered the spectrum of needs, from patching heating ducts and repairing parking lots to touching up a new stage for a Santa Ana performing arts program. Most also dreamed of filling classrooms with more computers.

It wasn't even Christmas yet when Saddleback College received a $50,000 gift from an anonymous donor wanting to help students through the tough economic times. The gift not only brought some relief to the college's budget but brought a welcome morale boost to to the campus. "It's wonderful to get a gift like this because of the effect it's going to have on students," said Vern M. Hodge, vice president of student services. "Almost any gift we receive is wonderful.

From a doorway marked La Sala, a standing-room-only crowd had formed a line reaching to the street. They had come to hear Peruvian guitarist Ciro Hurtado perform at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library. Many were worried that they might not get a seat in the small, intimate auditorium. "I'm glad to see this happening here," said Cheryl Johnson, who drove from Los Angeles for the occasion. "People turn out because you certainly aren't going to see him on MTV."

As co-presidents of the San Juan Elementary PTA, Johnny and Martha Diaz have forged a new frontier in parent involvement at San Juan Elementary School--at the most recent back-to-school night, about 75% of the students' parents showed up. Getting parents involved in the Parent-Teacher Assn. has never been an easy task, but in a school whose students are primarily Latino, this has been a challenge.

Summertime, and the living is easy--unless you're the parent of an 11- or 12-year-old child. At that age, children usually start to feel the first stirrings of independence. They want more freedom to do as they please, away from the prying eyes of mom and dad. Summer camp, family vacations and any other activities orchestrated by adults suddenly have as much appeal as breaking rocks under the watchful gaze of armed guards.