The recent gang violence on the campus of Gilroy High School is
disturbing, mostly because there doesn’t seem to be any action from
the administration to prevent such incidents.
The recent gang violence on the campus of Gilroy High School is disturbing, mostly because there doesn’t seem to be any action from the administration to prevent such incidents.
High school students report that certain parts of the GHS campus are “gang territories.” And if students know about these territories, administrators and teachers surely do. We are amazed that gangs are allowed to claim parts of the school as theirs when the message – and enforcement – from the administration should be loud and clear that the school is neutral, safe territory for all.
The school administration has enough expertise with gang-involved students and those at risk for involvement to devise preventive measures. But if they’re stuck and need ideas that work, GHS officials should contact El Portal Leadership Academy, which faced significant gang problems in its first years.
Teachers and administrators there made a concerted effort to reclaim the students from the influence of gangs through a multi-pronged approach that included one-on-one counseling and intervention, group presentations from former gang members, and the consistent message that a life in gangs was a life that was going nowhere. The gang problems have abated. And what’s better: the older students, former gang members themselves, are alert to the signals of gang problems and address them before they explode into problems requiring police involvement. They do this by leading conflict-resolution sessions and mentoring younger students.
There is a current practice of “benign neglect” at GHS toward problems such as gangs that don’t receive attention until after something goes awry. Enforcing regulations about clothing color (no blue, no red, and now, no pink) barely scratches the surface of what must be done to effectively address this growing problem of gang activity on school grounds. Like El Portal, Gilroy High School officials must be alert to the signals and respond to them immediately.
The administration’s message must be clear and consistent so that all students have no question that a gang life is not a desirable one, and absolutely no part of the school is gang territory. Also, GHS has access to a number of community resources to help the kids avoid or extract themselves from gangs. It should use them.
The school must be a gang-free zone. All parents and students have a reasonable expectation to feel safe. School is out soon, giving GHS the summer to come up with a concrete gang-intervention and prevention plan for the next school year. We’re eager to see what the school comes up with.
