Locke High in transition
Students walk along Saints Way, a main thoroughfare on the campus of Locke High School in South Los Angeles. Come July 1, Locke will be the first L.A. school operated by a private organization, Green Dot Public Schools. It is also the first school to undergo a form of reconstitution, meaning that every staff member must reapply for their jobs. Most won’t be returning. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Kelly Hurley is a cluster director for Green Dot Public Schools, which is set to take over the operation of Locke High in Watts. A racially tinged riot at the school this month was perhaps the most difficult moment in a trying year at the school, which is about to change profoundly. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Ronnie Coleman, center, incoming principal of one of several new charter schools based at Locke High School, talks with software sales rep Tom Chun, left, at her makeshift campus office. A year ago, a majority of Lockes tenured teachers signed a petition to convert the perennially struggling campus to a charter school, defying their union and the Los Angeles Unified School District. That rebellion prevailed and as of July 1, the district will hand over Locke to Green Dot. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Frank Wiley, dean of discipline at Locke High, locks the gate behind 9th-grade student Ricardo Mora, right, after writing a “boot camp ticket” requiring him to come to school on a Saturday. Junior Kayleon Westbrook, left, was also given a boot camp ticket for not being in class. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Wiley retrieves a marijuana cigarette after finding a group of students smoking under the bleachers. The students fled before Wiley could catch them, but dropped the joint on the ground. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Wiley walks the campus looking for students wandering between classes and encouraging them to return to their classrooms. At least 60% of the staff is expected to leave Locke High, including some who, like Wiley, signed the charter petition to hand the campus over to Green Dot. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
