By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
10-23-2008

The new superintendent of schools has put the hammer down at Jill Kinmont Booth School (JKBS) in an attempt to build structure, improve discipline and encourage students to return to other schools in the valley.
He’s moved the principal aside and taken her post, reduced enrollment to  under a dozen and tightened up on truancy so hard that parents could get fined up to $350.
Inyo County Superintendent of Schools Terry McAteer wrote in a letter sent home to students Oct. 14, that after a year of personal scrutiny he has become “increasingly dismayed at the lax standards and discipline at the school.”
McAteer, who just took over as the county’s education captain for the retiring George Lozito, has scribed some new, firm blueprints that he is certain will “raise the bar” for the school and “create a learning environment.”

McAteer explained by phone Monday the points he bulleted on the letter. The first thing he said he did was “close” the campus, so students cannot go off school grounds during lunch to wander the streets. The next step was to implement a “tough discipline program.”
“If students are late for class, or disrespectful – not on task – they could face suspension, or, their parents could join them in the classroom for moderation,” McAteer explained.
Penalties for truancy could result in fines levied on parents up to $350, or removal of the student’s driver’s license.
There will also be a probation officer on campus every morning.
“What is successful is structure,” he said Monday, adding he was concerned about the lack of education being offered and had decided to personally restructure and run JKBS himself to try and bring the school back to its intended purpose.
He admitted this is a bold move for a new superintendent, but, “It’s what’s best for the kids, and what is best is structure.” The betterment of the students is a sentiment McAteer has been expressing since his swearing-in in August.
JKBS students’ reactions to  McAteer’s new ideas were mixed on Tuesday, but not wholly unexpected.
“Donx,” a junior attending JKBS agreed with McAteer saying, “It’s crazy, a lot things changing. But, they wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t for the better.
“The truth is,” Donx said, then looked around and behind himself before adding, “the rules are hella strict, it’s hard to concentrate.” Donx was joined by a friend and the two agreed they were not happy with the closed campus or tightened discipline.
The two also said gym equipment had been taken away and the kids said they were told to, “walk around if they wanted to get some exercise.”
McAteer responded Wednesday by phone saying the school does not have a comprehensive physical education program, but reiterated that the school is a short-term program with the emphasis on reading, writing and arithmetic and getting kids back into the mainstream.
“I’m all for kids shooting a few hoops and stretching between classes, but students should be longing to go back to their regular schools where they can participate,” McAteer said.   
“I think the tighter discipline is great!” one student said before having to run and catch a bus. She was one of the only students interviewed to side with the new structure.
JKBS graduate Lauren Andreas, at the school Tuesday picking up a relative, said, “This is the 21st century, that kind of discipline doesn’t work anymore.
“JKBS used to be a safe house, a place to go because family life wasn’t safe,” Andreas explained with other students within earshot agreeing. “It doesn’t feel safe anymore.
“What’s going to happen to the next kids that come through here?” Andres continued. “If it’s just going to become more controlling and no one’s listening, what’s the point?
“These are misunderstood kids that didn’t have labels before, but now they feel judged,” Andreas added. 
“The only way I could have graduated was to go here,” she said before driving away.
“Kids are staying here way too long, it’s not good for them,” McAteer explained, referring to the school’s original intention as a short-term intervention, a rehabilitative school for teens in trouble with the law or with school.
McAteer added on Wednesday that he was sorry that anyone didn’t feel safe at the school, but he said his intention is to make the school safe, for everyone.
“Students should not want to go to JKBS. And when they’re in there they should be asking themselves ‘How do I get out of JKBS?’” McAteer said, adding that the students in JKBS are usually either on probation or have been expelled, or the student’s attendance record was so atrocious at another Inyo County school they were in danger of failing.
“The goal of JKBS is not to exist at all,” McAteer said and explained that if kids weren’t in trouble, in one way or another, the school wouldn’t be needed. He also said he understood that when the school is safe, maybe it can be a safe haven for students, but, “The school should not be a hide-out.”
Employees and faculty at JKBS are on board with McAteer, who noted, ‘The staff is thrilled by this move, the students aren’t running the school anymore.”

Terry McAteer