Our group visited the Employment Development Department located on the corner of Imperial Avenue and 61st Street. This facility offers career training, counseling, a job board, language improvement, education, legal problems, and disability. The building was typically bland civil architecture, located on a commercial strip. There was virtually no attempt to landscape the area, with very few trees.
The people that we encountered at this site included African American, Mexican American, and Caucasian. The activities included reading the job boards, waiting for appointments, and filling out forms. We heard Spanish and English spoken. We could smell a Mexican bakery and restaurant in the adjacent strip mall. The entire mall was located next to the San Diego Trolley tracks, so there was the occasional trolley passing by.
One of the people we encountered in the parking lot of the EDD was an African American woman in her thirties. She was going to the EDD to check the job board. The woman I interviewed was extremely friendly and willing to express her views about O'Farrell Community School and the surrounding community. She was very positive about the community and felt that it was a very safe, tight-knit area. The only problems that she spoke about were gangs and drugs. She believed that O'Farrell was a very good school. She told me that the school was very innovative and a great place to learn. She believed that the O'Farrell students were very intelligent and outgoing.
Another interview conducted at the site was with a young African-American male. He was waiting for his instructor from a private school in the area. He had an interesting view of the community, and had strong impressions of the local schools and residents. Despite his fears of gangs and drugs, he stated that he would have preferred to attend O'Farrell. He described those students he encountered as "interesting...motivated," and "regular." He expressed a keen interest in the idea of scholastic "families" and the idea of more student-teacher interaction. Throughout the interview, he was quite willing to talk, and often asked my opinions about topics as well.
A Caucasian gentleman approaching the building told of his experiences at O'Farrell in the 1970's. He spoke of racial tensions and that bussing students from other areas took place. His sisters were driven to another school because of violent attacks. His family eventually moved out of the area.
We were eventually approached by a security guard from the EDD and asked not to interview on the premises. So we moved to a strip center down the road and proceeded with our interviews.
We moved into a Mexican restaurant where we found the proprietor very outspoken and willing to confer about O'Farrell. He has been in business in the area for eleven years and likes it . He stated that the students and teachers of O'Farrell were like a family. He spoke of the mural that was dedicated to the memory of one of the teachers and said that the camaraderie was commendable. He says that the teachers and students frequent his restaurant and he is proud. He describes the school and its students as outstanding, achievement oriented, the best teachers, the best students, and that they think of each other as one international group trying to learn.
In contrast to the positive, one person we interviewed said that we should enforce a strict uniform program because she felt that the area was rife with drugs and gang problems. She indicated that she went here when O'Farrell was still a performing arts school and that she still lived in the area. She felt that Skyline street and the surrounding area was still a problem, but did cite that some of the positive areas included the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Club and the Parks and Recreation areas nearby.