HART HONORED FOR ITS EFFORTS TO END CONFLICT COUNTY AWARDS `ZERO HOUR' STATUS.

Byline: CONNIE LLANOS Staff Writer

NEWHALL -- Just six months after racial tensions peaked and a brawl broke out at Hart High School, county officials have honored the campus by making it a human-relations model for the region.

The County of Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations took notice of the campuswide efforts to quell racial tensions and advocate diversity, and last month named Hart its fifth ``Zero Hour School.''

The honor is for campuses such as Hart that have experienced some form of conflict and actively worked to resolve it.

After a racially motivated brawl in April -- which led to four arrests -- Hart students and staff members decided to wage a fight of their own.

Opening lines of communication between students and staffers and supporting groups that advocate tolerance for minorities on the Newhall campus became priorities.

Change of Hart was one of the first clubs to form on the Hart campus in the aftermath and has become the liaison between the human-relations committee and students.

``Before, when the riot happened, we had this negative image and now we have this great thing to be known for,'' said junior Tessa Sicotte-Kelly.

Kelly, president of the Gay and Straight Alliance on campus and a member of Change of Heart, remembers how happy she was to find Hart.

She had just moved from Portland, Ore., and felt threatened by the lack of diversity in predominantly white and conservative Santa Clarita.

``It was a big culture shock,'' she said.

Kelly is excited that Hart will now be associated with tolerance, instead of racism and violence.

``I want kids to know that if they are of a different race, gay or straight, and maybe they are worried about being accepted, they can think of Hart.''

Six months ago, when racial tensions on the culturally diverse campus hit a boiling point, 40 sheriff's deputies in riot gear were called to quell the fighting, Principal Gary Fuller said.

``At the end of last year, there was so much tension, we were all confused,'' said Aimee Robertson, senior and member of Change of Hart.

Adam Kerbel, a green-eyed, half-Mexican, half-Jewish senior, said the recognition is a way of moving forward and away from the ugly incident.

``That was the straw that broke the camel's back,'' he said.

Hart is joining Gardena, Artesia, Taft and Pomona high schools as ``zero hour'' schools.

Schools are chosen based on demographics, and past conflicts on campus. Administrators must be willing to work on resolutions.

``The school obviously has had some issues with interracial tension,'' said Joshua Parr, senior relations consultant for the county.

Parr, who will be the county representative on the Hart campus, said many of the issues relate to a change in demographics.

``The school is changing demographics, there is a large Latino majority in a school which has always been majority Caucasian and it is not simple to know what to do.

``By making Hart a Zero Hour campus we will work with Hart administrators, teachers, parents and students to create cultural understanding and academic equity.''

Assistant Principal Larry Oshodi, who came to Hart this school year, has been working with students and staffers on ways to improve communication and interpersonal relationships.

Oshodi is excited to have an established commission work alongside his campus and staff.

``The L.A. County Human Relations Commission has been around for ever working with human-relations issues,'' Oshodi said.

``They have accumulated a wealth of knowledge on how to deal with issues across the board, racial and social. Why should we try to invent ways to work on these issues if we can partner with someone who has been there, done that?''

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