Jamie Gonzales got into fights; that's what got her expelled from high school in Santa Barbara and sent to El Puente Community School in Lompoc.

Most of the students at El Puente come from Los Prietos boys' camp, juvenile halls or counseling or education centers. They are probation-referred status offenders, social service referrals or, like Gonzales, they have been expelled.

Like many teenagers, Gonzales had a bad attitude about school and about listening to adults. After three fights in her first three years of high school, Gonzales was put on informal probation and sent to El Puente.

“They expelled me for a year and I couldn't go to a school in Santa Barbara because my mom had moved to Lompoc,” she said.

At El Puente, her attitude changed, and Tuesday Gonzales was one of 16 students who received a high school diploma from the school, which is under the umbrella of the Santa Barbara County Education Office.

Eleven of the 16 seniors were present for the graduation ceremony at Lompoc Foursquare Church. Fred Razo, administrator of Juvenile Court and Community Schools, and Bill Cirone, county school superintendent, praised the students for overcoming obstacles and taking advantage of the support offered them at El Puente.

“Life isn't always easy,” Cirone said. “But winners get up, brush themselves off, gather a support team and go on, and you've done that. We look forward to your future.”

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Gonzales and fellow graduate Eddie De Alba were the student speakers. Each read an essay about what their high school experience had been and what they had learned.

Gonzales credited teachers Trestina Leornas-Hurtado and Stacey Adams and assistant teacher Naomi Sanchez for playing a large role in her turn-around.

Before Leornas-Hurtado and Adams began teaching at El Puente, students worked primarily on their own, either completing work packets (worth half a credit each) or by completing credits via Cyber High, an accredited on-line high school sponsored by the Fresno Unified School District with curriculum aligned to the California Content Standards.

When they arrived, Gonzales' excitement at having new instructors quickly changed to disappointment.

“It was so the opposite,” Gonzales said of her feelings for the new teachers. “I hated Miss Loernas because she was so strict.”

But after she failed a drug test for marijuana, a judge gave her a deadline to complete her credits for graduation or she would be sent to Casa Floral School - a school operated inside the probationary facilities, so any infraction has immediate consequences.

“I didn't want to go there, so I stopped talking back to the teachers and started doing the work.”

Gonzales said that the teachers and staff helped her finish her credits: “They were pushing me a lot; like Miss Loernas

didn't want to see me go to Casa. And Naomi was pushing me too; she was always by my side,” said Gonzales.

“I know I said I hated the teachers, but now I'm really thankful for Miss Loeornas, Miss Adams and Naomi.”

In addition to getting their diplomas and handshakes, each graduate was also given a packet that included chocolate bars and gift certificates from the staff and from Morris Sobhani, the owner of the industrial complex where El Puente is housed.

Though Cyber High is still an important part of El Puente, the packets are gone. Instead, Leornas-Hurtado and Adams divided the students into two homeroom groups and now hold regular classes of math, English, science and history.

“All the kids have different needs,” Leornas-Hurtado said. “We offer them all the classes, and if they don't need a class, they go to Cyber High.”

Leornas-Hurtado said teamwork is the key to their success. “Before it was so separate, now we're all one.”

In addition to holding regular classes, the school also recently got two counselors who come twice a week.

Leornas-Hurtado said they have developed a very good relationship with the probation department and that they get a lot of support from various community organizations such as Allan Hancock College, the Community Action Commission, People Helping People and Casa Pacifica.

De Alba also went through some life-changing experiences at El Puente. He started getting into trouble in the 8th grade, but it was while a sophomore at Cabrillo High School that he started going back and forth between Los Prietos Boys' Camp and El Puente.

The biggest motivation for change came a year ago when his daughter Violet was born, De Alba said. “She made me think twice and made me decide to finish high school.”

Once De Alba decided it was time to change, he just focused on school.

“The Cyber High really helped me,” De Alba said. “It was easier for me because it was at my own pace.”

De Alba, who is on a five-year probation for felony possession of a knife, said that finding a job was tough, but he's looking. Like Gonzales, he wants to go back to school; in fact, he's already enrolled in summer classes at AHC.

“I'm into the law for some reason,” De Alba said. “Being a lawyer sounds good or working at juvenile hall.”

Gonzales said her attitude toward life, as well as school, has changed.

“I didn't want to hurt my mom anymore,” she said. “I want to make her proud of me.”

For now, she is living with her mom, riding her bike to her job - her first job - at McDonald's and discovering that she likes getting a paycheck.

“I actually want to go back to school,” Gonzales said. “I want to do two things: cosmetology and juvenile hall staffer.”

And watching friends graduate from Lompoc and Cabrillo high school has also had an affect: “I regret it. I wish I could have graduated from San Marcos (High School).”

Amanda Brooks can be reached at 737-1057 or abrooks@lompocrecord.com.

June 11, 2008