Cook St. School for Dropouts Draws Fire

The SF Unified School District (SFUSD) has announced that a district-owned site, located at 20 Cook St. in the Laurel Heights, will be used to house a high school re-entry program entitled "Get Out And Learn" (GOAL).

The County Community High School will host 25 students each semester who have either dropped out of high school or had great absenteeism. The aim of GOAL is to transition these students - who are referred to the program from school counselors and probation officers - back into a comprehensive high school program.

The County Community High School, now housed at 1950 Mission St., will have an emphasis on outdoor/off-campus activities much like its predecessor, Urban Pioneer, which used rope courses and wilderness training to develop personal confidence, closed last year after two students died on an overnight trip. According to the district, the students will spend a good deal of their time off-site.

Reaction in Laurel Heights to the school has been mixed.

"It's just really inappropriate," said Brett Michel, 42, in the "San Francisco Independent" newspaper. "I see problems with trash and teenagers hanging out."

Michel lives near the lot where portable classrooms are being put in to hold classes for the upcoming school year. He voiced concerns about traffic congestion and nuisances from students at an Aug. 12 school board meeting.

An elderly woman, who lives across the street from the school and did not want to be identified, had fewer concerns.

"If they behave themselves, who gives a darn?" she said in the Independent story. "But I don't want to see graffiti in my hallway."