Local districts react to Woodland Hills school shooting

By Michael Picarella Acorn Staff Writer

The recent gang-related shooting in front of Taft High School in nearby Woodland Hills that left three students critically wounded has put local school and law enforcement officials on their toes.

Gang-related shootings don’t happen in Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Oak Park and Westlake Village, according to local authorities, but the area isn’t immune to potential problems.

Preventive measures have protected Conejo Valley/Las Virgenes from gang violence, officials said. They also hope that such deterrents continue to work.

"We went to Calabasas High School today to make sure that they saw police presence to send a message that it’s safe here, and we’re there, in case there’s any (danger)," said Lost Hills Sheriff Station’s Sgt. Phil Morris in an interview last week. Morris heads the station’s juvenile intervention unit.

Frequently in gang-related shootings, there’s retaliation, Morris said. Violence could erupt here, he said, because gangs are territorial. Calabasas High School is a geographic rival to Taft, so anything is possible.

"(Gang violence) is a vicious circle. . . . For me to say that that would never happen in Calabasas that would be pretty arrogant on my part," Morris said.

Local school officials aren’t naïve, either, about the potential for gang violence.

"In today’s world, anything can happen to anybody," said Las Virgenes Unified School District Superintendent John Fitzpatrick, Ed.D. "We work very closely with the sheriff’s department and the J-team, and quite frequently they’re on our campuses."

School adminstrators and others also serve public safety, he said, because they’re constantly moving throughout the campuses.

"Our schools are somewhat protected from (drive-by shooting-type activity) because we have, for example, at Calabasas High School a parking lot, which is between the school and the street, and students are back inside the building area," Fitzpatrick said.

A similar situation exists at Agoura High School, he said.

"We do all that we can to try and maintain the safe record that we have at our schools," Fitzpatrick said. "We try to make students aware of the fact that you don’t want to loiter around campus––you want to get home safely."

Last week’s gang shooting heightened the concern of just about everyone in Las Virgenes Unified School District, he said.

"We’re communicating that concern to the sheriff’s department, and I’m sure that they will be more attentive to our schools over the next week or so. We’re taking it very seriously."

As in the past, local administrators and teachers will work proactively to prevent problems.

In addition to campus security, Oak Park High School provides an office for a Ventura County deputy, according to Oak Park Unified School District Superintendent Gary G. Richards, Ed.D.

A major deterrent to gang violence in Oak Park, he said, is communication––between students, teachers and law enforcement.

"I also think we try to create a culture on our campus that says if somebody is worried about someone else being very upset and angry, and saying things that are inappropriate, that they need to let a responsible adult know, so that you can hopefully do some preventative work," Richards said.

Conejo Valley schools are also on top of gang violence, according to Conejo Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Robert Fraisse.

"We check very closely with the law enforcement special officers in town who deal with gang-related issues, and we take our leads from them," Fraisse said. "They have a pretty good antenna as to whether there’s going to be retaliation or something that would come into our area."

The L.A. County Sheriff Department’s STAR (Success Through Awareness and Resistance) program tries to address gang violence at local schools, according to Lt. Trudy Wilson, who’s in charge of the program.

"Some of our lessons revolve around violence and gangs, but we tailor it to fit the community. So it depends on what the schools want," Wilson said. Kids are taught about alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, and how to make healthy choices, she said.

"But when you’re talking to kids about life skills, it applies to everything," Wilson said, including gang violence. Sometimes, school administrators want to emphasize intervention on bullying, which also addresses gangs, Wilson said.

Teachers in Las Virgenes are effective at dealing with bullying and gang violence, according to Fitzpatrick. It’s important, he said, to emphasize prevention of problems because things can quickly spiral out of control. That’s probably what happened at Taft.

The juvenile intervention unit tries to attack violence proactively, according to Morris. If a juvenile gets in a fight, for example, and he’s caught, the J-team will suggest an anger management program. It’s often successful, Morris said.

Regarding the shooting at Taft High School, some parents will probably seek transfers to other schools for their children.

"I have some concerns that a lot of parents will want to bring their kids from Taft High School into a safer environment," Morris said. "That sounds like a good idea. But my biggest concern is that if we get an influx of Taft students—in order to police that correctly—the J-team is going to end up being outside of the city jurisdiction. That means not being able to police our own here."

To keep this area safe, he said, deputies need to stay here.