Lessons From a Different Sort of School

Iman Gezerse, 15, dips a sheet of plastic into a container of mashed potatoes crawling with worms and empties the mixture into an aquarium of angelfish.

The zebra-striped creatures know the splashing in their freshwater tank can only mean one thing--meal time--and rush to feed.

Gezerse returns to his seat at the Horizon Education Center, a county-funded continuation high school, and grabs a copy of “Moby Dick,” the classic struggle of man, whales and water.

Horizon students have a struggle of their own: making up class credits so they can graduate.

And the angelfish are helping the students succeed.

Horizon students have been breeding the fish at the storefront campus at Harbor Boulevard and Adams Avenue for about two years and trading surplus fish for store credit, supplies and scholarship money to a local pet store. The program offers both science credits and business experience.

“It gives the kids something to do, and you learn a lot,” said Gezerse, a ninth-grader from Newport Beach. “It keeps you responsible.”

The program also quiets classrooms. Several bubbling aquariums, fish screen savers and soft classical music set a tranquil tone where little is heard beyond clicking keyboards, turning pages and soft-spoken instruction.

“It started quite by accident, but we like what it does for the room environment,” said teacher Mike Hogan, 56.

There are about 20 Horizon schools countywide, many in similar commercial sites, that teach seventh to 12th graders. The year-round programs emphasize independent study and aim to restore academic records so students can return to local schools.

About 100 students a year go through the low-key Harbor Boulevard campus where art prints adorn the walls, kids call teachers by their first names and students walk out the front door on their lunch breaks.

Hogan added angelfish to the scholastic mix about three years ago. He brought in a spawning pair and students soon were raising fry.

Marty Koster sells Horizon-grown fish at her Green Reef Tropical Fish and Supplies store on Harbor Boulevard.

“They are far and beyond the quality that I can get from any of my wholesalers,” she said.

Freshwater angelfish are native to the Amazon River basin. They have thin oval bodies, long-pointed fins and patches, and vivid colors. The creatures are considered community fish that get along well with other breeds.

And peaceful fish seem to encourage calm kids, students and teachers said.

“When there’s nothing to do you can mess with the fish,” said ninth-grader Matthew Martinez, 15, of Santa Ana.