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Cages to classrooms: an examination of the school to prison pipeline

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Cages to classrooms: an examination of the school to prison pipeline

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CAGES TO CLASSROOM
AN EXAMINATION OF THE SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE

by

Priyanka Suryaneni

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ANNENBER SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION AND
JOURNALISM
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements of the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM

December 2020

Copyrigth 2020 Priyanka Suryaneni

ii
Acknowledgements
I would like to first and foremost thank Alex Ayala and Jacob Jackson for allowing me
into their lives, sharing the most personal details, and allowing me to film them. I also thank their
families for letting me into their homes. I owe a lot to the Youth Justice Coalition and Free LA
High School's administration for giving me unrestricted access to the school. I thank Kim
McGill, Stacy Cook, and various other staff, youth organizers, and students who helped during
the filming process. I acknowledge the privilege that came with the kind of access I gained.
Deepest thanks to my thesis committee chair, Professor Daniel Birman, for recruiting me
into USC Annenberg and building my documentary production skillset. I sincerely thank him for
the constant support, always being a call away on production days and the many hours of
feedback to shape my stories. Above all, thank you for helping me transition from a video
producer and evolve into a storyteller.
Thank you to my thesis committee member, Professor Gabriel Kahn, who introduced me
to the topic of criminal justice reform in the United States. It is in his class that I first started
working on this story. Thank you for exposing me to a subject that would help me immensely in
my future career.
Thank you, also, to my committee member, Professor Sandy Tolan, who supported me
through the difficult phases of getting this project done during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally,
I would like to thank my family, who instilled in me the love to pursue social justice reporting.

iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………ii
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………iv
Background…………………………………………………………………………………….1
Structure and methodology ………………………………….....................................................4
Key findings…………………………………………………………….....................................5
Challenges……………………………………………………………………………………...11
Conclusion……………………………………………………………......................................11
Documentary Script……………………………………………………………………………13
References……………………………………………………………......................................25

iv

Abstract
This short documentary thesis aims to observe the students' experiences in an alternative school
called Free LA High School in South LA. The school caters to system-impacted youth, expelled,
suspended, or non-performing students in traditional public schools between 16 to 24 years. With
a project-based curriculum rooted in social justice programs, the school hopes to help youth from
low-income backgrounds graduate high school and build community leaders. The film follows
two students, Alex Ayala, from a Mexican immigrant family and Jacob Jackson, a Black
teenager, to document their experiences through the spring semester. It captures the students in
classrooms, at their homes and while taking part in social justice campaigns. This story attempts
to give a glimpse into these teenagers' life struggles and high school journeys.

1
Background
At first glance, they were typical teenagers, energetic and boisterous, warm, full of life,
sometimes easily distracted, and almost always engaged with their phones.
Alex Ayala (17) and Jacob Jackson (18) are system-impacted students at Free LA High
School, an alternative school in South Los Angeles. I first met them while researching the racial
disparities in exclusionary disciplinary measures like suspensions and expulsions in the public-
school system. Ayala and Jackson, both students of color, repeatedly got into trouble with their
respective traditional high schools, bringing them into contact with school police on multiple
occasions.
The American Civil Liberties Union refers to this issue as the "school-to-prison-
pipeline." ACLU calls it a disturbing national trend wherein children are pushed out of public
schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems
1
. Known as zero-tolerance policies, the
public schools in the 1980s and 1990s started adapting strict disciplinary measures to address
growing concerns about drug use and violence in schools. But, soon, these policies were used to
handle even minor infractions. It went beyond the possession of weapons and drugs. It also led to
increased police presence on school campuses. Gradually, issues dealt with by the school
management began to be referred to law enforcement. All this led to an upward trend in juvenile
incarcerations, detentions, and probations.
2

Instead of providing avenues out of poverty in low-income neighborhoods, many schools
became highly policed environments that reinforce racial inequality and distrust of authority.
3

1
American Civil Liberties Union. “School to Prison Pipeline” aclu.org. web
2
Naomi E Pitlick. Alternatives to Zero Tolerance Policies Affecting Students of Color: A Systematic Review. 2015. St.
Catherine University

3
American Civil Liberties Union. “School to Prison Pipeline” aclu.org. web
2
According to a review published by the American Psychological Association Zero
Tolerance Task Force in 2008 there is very little evidence suggesting that these harsh methods
work.
4

Initially, I focused on producing a data-centric news-story about the need for reformative
methods in the juvenile justice system. However, my interactions with Ayala and Jackson
compelled me to go in a different direction. I realized the need to go beyond numbers and
humanize these kids. In my research, I came across a fair amount of literature, such as journals,
research papers, and articles about the school-to-prison pipeline trends, but I barely found any
coverage focused on personal narratives.
Therefore, I decided to produce a documentary that would capture their personal stories,
struggles with education, progress at school, or the lack thereof. It would also allow me to
document the Free LA High school's transformative justice methodology that focuses on reform
and repair instead of using exclusionary disciplinary methods and law enforcement in schools.
About the school
Free LA High School is an alternative high school for students pushed out of traditional
schools due to incarceration, probation, detention, suspensions, and expulsions. It was started by
the Youth Justice Coalition (YJC), a non-profit organization that lobbies the government on
youth justice issues. Their mission is to build a youth, family, and formerly and currently
incarcerated people's movement. YJC's goal is to dismantle policies and institutions leading to a
massive lock-up of people of color, challenge widespread law enforcement violence and

4
American Psychological Association. “Zero Tolerance Task Force
3
corruption, question Constitutional and human rights violations, and put an end to vicious
school-to-jail track and the build-up of the world's largest network of jails and prisons.
5

Ironically, the high school operates out of a former juvenile facility called David V
Kenyon Juvenile Justice Center. Kim McGill, the lead organizer at YJC, said that she had
witnessed many teenagers arrested or detained getting severe sentences at Kenyon, including life
sentences for people as young as 14 years. YJC led a campaign in 2013 to shut down the court.
McGill calls in a "mini-campaign" in their broader attempts to change "unjust laws" and stop
extreme sentencing.
6
Now, the same building is instrumental in educating and helping youth get
their lives back on track.
In 2018, YJC had to move out of the premises in which it operated until then, as the city
acquired the building as an eminent domain for metro construction. They ran a second campaign
to get possession of the vacant Kenyon court building. According to McGill, the school
figuratively and literally symbolized the struggle for reformative justice, a national movement to
push America away from the punitive methods that led to racial disparities.
7
Conversely, the
reformative justice theory propagates the idea that the object of punishment should be the
criminal's reform. It is based on the humanistic principle that even if an offender commits a
crime, he does not cease to be a human being.
8

5
Youth Justice Coalition. “Mission and History” youthjusticela.org
6
Kim McGill. Interview by Priyanka Suryaneni. Los Angeles, 3 March 2020
7
Ibid
8
Tanu Priya. Reformative Theory of Punishment. Acedemike, articles on legal issues. Web. Lawcoptus.com
4
The research that led me to Free LA High School revealed that there has been very little
media coverage on the school so far. All this made it the perfect topic for my thesis documentary
project.
Structure and Methodology
This documentary captures some of the story of Free LA in South Central Los Angeles,
as an alternative school. Part of the school’s mission is to dismantle the school-to-jail track. The
story approach was to build a character-driven narrative that profiled the school by taking a close
look at some of the students it served.
For this reason, I decided to follow the journeys of two students from diverse
backgrounds through their spring semester. The idea was to film them from the beginning of the
semester all the way to graduation. I hoped to capture the performance of the students in a school
that didn’t use suspensions and expulsions.
Both students come from complex pasts that inform their situations. Jacob Jackson, a black
teenager from the Crenshaw neighborhood, suffered traumatic loss at a young age. His older
brother was shot and killed in an incident by police, and he lost his father to cancer at the age of
nine.
9
Alex Ayala, on the other hand, got involved with gang activity. He joined a South L.A.
LatinX gang in his early teens. His parents immigrated from Mexico when he was a year old.
Jackson and Ayala represented the two most prominent demographics at Free LA: Black and
Hispanic.

9
Jacob Jackson. Interviewed by Priyanka Suryaneni, Los Angeles, 21 February 2020.
5
Key Findings
The documentary's focus was to highlight the efforts of Free LA High school in helping
Ayala and Jackson transform their lives. It also traces the school-to-prison pipeline history while
also presenting a big picture perspective on this issue through research, data and interviews.
History, Data, and Research
I interviewed Kim McGill the lead organizer at Youth Justice Coalition (YJC), who
oversees the legislative and policy lobbying work at the county and state levels. McGill
reflecting on the history, said that the war-on-drugs' extension into the public-school system and
the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, created strict school policies that led to the creation of
Zero-tolerance policies.
10
The definition of zero tolerance is a strict, uncompromising, automatic
punishment to eliminate undesirable behavior. The term zero tolerance can be traced back to the
1980s where it was first used in federal policies regarding drug use. This form of harsh school
discipline was soon used for even minor infractions. Issues dealt with at the school level were
now referred to law enforcement or school police officers.
11

Underscoring this point, in the 2009-10 academic year, over 3 million school students
were suspended in grades K-12, more than double this number from the 1970s
12
. Black students
are suspended or expelled at least 3.5 times more often than their white peers.
13
The suspensions

10
Kim McGill. Interview by Priyanka Suryaneni. Los Angeles, 3 March 2020
11
Naomi E Pitlick. Alternatives to Zero Tolerance Policies Affecting Students of Color: A Systematic Review. 2015. St.
Catherine University

12
Civil Rights Data Collection, “Revealing New Truths About Our Nation’s School, ocrdata.ed.gov. Web, 12 March, 2012
13
Ibid
6
and expulsion data from the California Department of Education shows that similar trends exist
in the county of Los Angeles as well.
14

Students removed from the classroom environment are more likely to fall behind in their
studies, drop out of school, interact with the juvenile justice system, and, ultimately, may end up
committing crimes in their communities that result in some type of incarceration.
15

McGill, speaking from her experience having worked with hundreds of youth filtered into
the justice system, confirms seeing similar trends. Concerned about seeing these teenagers in
dangerous situations from being removed from the classroom environment, YJC founded the
school to dismantle the pipelines into incarceration. They cater to students between the ages of
16 to 24.
Further, McGill speaks about the adverse effects of law enforcement on school campuses.
Random searches, regular locker searches, backpack searches, being accused of gang
membership, are some of the things students in under-resourced schools face regularly.
16

According to the U.S. Department of Education statistics, about 2,000 students were
arrested in school during the 2011-2012 school year.
17
Most of those are low-level violations: 74
percent of arrests in New York City public schools in 2012, according to a report published by
the state courts, were for misdemeanors or civil violations.
18

14
California Department of Education. “Education Data Partnership” ed-data.org/
15
Nowicki Jacqueline M. “K-12 Education: Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities.
Report to Congressional Requesters. GAO-18-258. US Government Accountability Office, March 2018

16
Kim McGill. Interview by Priyanka Suryaneni. Los Angeles, 3 March 2020

17
U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights “Data Snapshot: School Discipline, Issue Brief No . 1, March 2014

18
New York City School-Justice Partnership Task Force. “Keeping Students, I School and Out of Court Report and
Recommendations.” May 2013
7
Experiences of Alex Ayala and Jacob Jackson
While Ayala and Jackson come from different backgrounds, their experiences, like many
other students I interacted with, are strikingly similar. I spent most of the time filming them at
school and in their homes. I gained access to interview their family members and looked at their
day-to-day lives at home.
Jackson, in the course of multiple interviews, revealed that he faced bullying in
elementary and middle school. He said that his classmates made fun of him for being Black.
Eventually, it led to his decision to join Crenshaw High School, with a predominantly Black and
Hispanic population. It was also an underperforming school. While a student at Crenshaw,
Jackson was referred to the school law-enforcement officers for an altercation with a teacher.
The school police approached him the following day. Jackson claims that they handcuffed him,
searched him, and let him go with a warning. Another time, the principal called the school police
for suspicion of drug possession. Once again, he was patted down and searched. Jackson said
that he was found clean and let go.
A few months later, the school recommended that he should leave the school. The
administration told his mother that Crenshaw was not suitable for Jackson. Mistaking this for an
expulsion, Jackson stopped attending classes. Within a month after that, he got caught attempting
a burglary. Consequently, he was put on probation. On his lawyer's advice, he researched and
found Free LA. He enrolled the same day of his first visit.
19

19
Jacob Jackson. Interviewed by Priyanka Suryaneni, Los Angeles, 21 February 2020.
8
At the age of thirteen, Ayala faced incarnation for the first time for street vandalism in
the form of graffiti tagging. His first suspension in high school came over a quarrel with his
classmate. They both wanted to sit on the same chair. An argument erupted, and the boys were
sent to the principal's office and disciplined. By the end of ninth grade, he was expelled for
"some drama over a female," in his words. Thereafter, he was repeatedly suspended and
expelled from schools. Before coming to Free LA, he changed six schools. The schools often
called the police for "the smallest talk back to a teacher," Ayala claimed. "That was their first
option." He was also arrested multiple times for petty crimes and once even for a burglary.
20

Ayala and Jackson both say that the lack of jobs and resources pushed them to commit
thefts.
21
Jackson said he also tried to make a resume and apply for jobs in and around his
neighborhood. Lack of success and seeing his mother's struggle to pay bills pushed him to rob a
house.
22
Jackson joined the Free LA High School in 2017, while Ayala has been attending for
less than a year (in Spring 2020, when I was filming).
Organizing and activism work
Free LA students are engaged in several different campaigns organized by the YJC
23
.
These campaigns aim to change laws and work on youth justice issues like dismantling the
school-to-prison pipeline, probation, abolishing extreme sentencing, etc. The non-profit works
closely with government officials to change laws and public policy at the county and state levels.

20
Alex Ayala. Interviewed by Priyanka Suryaneni, Los Angeles, 27 February 2020.
21
Ibid
22
Jacob Jackson. Interviewed by Priyanka Suryaneni, Los Angeles, 21 February 2020.
23
Stacy Cook. Interview by Priyanka Suryaneni. Los Angeles, 17 March 2020
9
Students get to observe, participate, and learn under the guidance of YJC's organizers. They were
instrumental in challenging L.A. County's jail expansion plan and played a part in the recent
defunding of school police in the L.A. Unified School District. McGill explains that they are not
just educating and helping students get their lives back on track but also to become change
agents. At YJC, she said that they believe youth are today's leaders.
The students, along with YJC organizers, go to Sacramento, the Board of Supervisors,
police commission, sheriff's oversight commission, etc., for this work.
24

I filmed Jackson testifying at a Board of Supervisors meeting for a campaign that
attempted to abolish court fees and fines, which negatively impact people from low-income
backgrounds and becomes a barrier for those reentering society after incarceration. It places a
financial hurdle that becomes a significant impediment for those trying to get back on their feet.
Jackson spoke about his experience and the kind of burden his probation fee placed on his
mother, who worked two jobs to make ends meet.
During the filming of this documentary, I also came across many youth leaders and
organizers who were former students at Free LA High School, with similar life struggles as
Ayala and Jackson.
Jackson said that he could perform better in an environment that involves practical
learning. Through this work, he feels he is more informed about issues that impact him.
25

24
Kim McGill. Interview by Priyanka Suryaneni. Los Angeles, 3 March 2020
25
Jacob Jackson. Interviewed by Priyanka Suryaneni, Los Angeles, 21 February 2020.
10
Transformative Justice
At Free LA High School, transformative justice circles replace suspensions, and
peacebuilders replace police officers.
I interviewed Stacy Cook, the transformative justice coordinator, and the counselor, to
better understand its restorative justice approach. Restorative justice is a theory of justice that
emphasizes repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior. It is best accomplished through
cooperative processes that allow all willing stakeholders to meet, although other approaches are
available when that is impossible. It can lead to the transformation of people, relationships, and
communities.
26

Cook explains that they deal with a "communication-first" philosophy. The students
must get into a discussion circle with her, which might even involve fellow students, teachers,
family members, or other stakeholders. Cook helps them arrive at solutions rather than punishing
them.
27

The peacebuilders, who are also system-impacted, are in charge of the security at school.
They ensure that the students are in classes and not loitering in hallways. They also check the
student's backpacks every morning for drugs and guns to ensure students' safety at school.
28

Ayala was caught with contraband on one such search. It required him to stay away from school
until he could get into a circle with Cook and resolve the matter. The following week, the school
administration had to shut down as the City of Los Angeles L.A.'s city went into lockdown due

26
Center for Justice and Reconciliation.” Lesson 1: What is Restorative Justice?” restorstivejustice.org. Web
27
Stacy Cook. Interview by Priyanka Suryaneni. Los Angeles, 17 March 2020
28
Kim McGill. Interview by Priyanka Suryaneni. Los Angeles, 3 March 2020
11
to the on-going Coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, Ayala never got to do the transformative
justice circle.
Challenges
In March 2019, the world witnessed the advent of the global health crisis in the form of
COVID-19. It led to cities, counties, states, and countries issuing stay at home orders. The
University of Southern California and Free LA High School switched to online education. These
closures limited my opportunities to continue the production. I could no longer work directly
with Ayala and Jackson. I explored the use of video interview via zoom, but neither student was
able to do this.
Ayala briefly got locked up after the shutdown. Now, he is back at home and taking online
classes. The school authorities shared a phone video of Jackson's graduation ceremony that I
used.
Conclusion
The School to Prison pipeline is a complex issue with serious life implications for students of
color from an early stage in life. Through this documentary, I have attempted to give the viewers
a glimpse into the individuals' lives impacted by the zero-tolerance policies.
It is essential to note the students' accounts of the harsh school discipline they faced in this
documentary are a one-sided narrative. There is a good chance that they might not be entirely
accurate or carry errors of omission or memory typical of recalling past events. However, in
Ayala and Jackson's story, the overlapping theme of harsh punishment in their schools and an
environment that leaves students behind is evident. I also spoke to many other students who
mentioned very similar experiences. The futility of these disciplinary measures, meant to help
the students in the first place, is undeniable. It only seems to get the students into more trouble.
12
I acknowledge that my time spent at Free LA was limited. Therefore, I cannot say with
absolute authority that the transformative justice approach is a complete success. But the things I
witnessed in this short time make a strong case in their favor:
• Jacob Jackson, who almost dropped out of school, regained interest in education and
graduated. His mother, who was previously worried, is now proud of him. Jackson's
performance in school positively impacted his relationship with his mother.
• Jackson is now a construction worker and a youth leader at YJC.
• Many youth leaders at YJC were former Free LA High School, students.
• Ayala is still struggling. But he hasn't given up yet. It is the longest time he has been
enrolled in a single school and expressed interest in graduating.

Change doesn't happen overnight. The school is not successful in transforming every student
who comes their way. Some of them do drop out. But, the efforts of the teachers, staff, and
administration are commendable. Since the school started, over 300 students graduated high
school. From what I could see, they believed and pushed the communication-first strategy. They
made an effort to reach out to every student.

13
Documentary Script

Text card: This used to be David Kenyon
Juvenile Justice Center

Visuals of the empty holding facility

MUSIC
VO KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
15.17

Continue sequence - Visuals of the empty
holding facility

It was one of the largest juvenile courts in
L.A. and a lot of young people in South
Central and Watts, Compton came through
this court.
VO KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
16.20

Continue sequence - Visuals of the empty
holding facility

It was also a place where lots of young people
were transferred into adult court and went
onto being sentenced even as young as 14 to
life sentences, 50 life, 60 life, 75 life.
SOT KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
17.30

About 6 six years ago now, there was going to
be budget cuts, so we pushed on the
administrative judge for the juvenile court to
close Kenyon.

Text on black:
The court shutdown in June 2013.

MUSIC
Text on black:
The building remained vacant till 2018

MUSIC
SOT SPEAKER_1
BOS_Publicrecords_footage

Board of Supervisors, March 28, 2018
footage
Today I am here in support of item 13 C, on
behalf of Youth Justice Coalition receiving a
lease of the David V Kenyon Juvenile facility
at no cost.
SOT SPEAKER_2
BOS_Publicrecords_footage

To continue, to advocate and organize,
prepare young people for a brighter future in
Los Angeles.

14
SOT SPEAKER_3
BOS_Publicrecords_footage

The young people we serve. They are directly
system-impacted. They have served time in
juvenile halls, jails, prisons, have grown up in
foster and group homes and are on probation
and parole.

SOT SPEAKER_4
BOS_Publicrecords_footage

Let’s transform this place that used to be used
for punishment and criminalization to uplift
and empower Los Angeles youth.

TITLE CARD: CAGES TO CLASSROOMS
NAT Sound
Traffic lights and sign boards

Traffic sounds
NAT Sound
TEXT CARD: In June 2018 Youth Justice
Coalition signed a ten-year lease for the David
V. Kenyon Juvenile Justice Facility.

Visuals of artists working on Graffiti and
murals on the school building
Traffic sounds
NAT Sound
Text Card: Graffiti artists from all over Los
Angeles are helping in the transformation of
this space

Continue sequence - Visuals of artists
working on Graffiti and murals on the school
building
Traffic sounds
VO KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
00.01

Continue sequence - Visuals of artists
working on Graffiti and murals on the school
building

Youth Justice Coalition was created by
formerly incarcerated people in our families
to challenge mass incarceration on black and
brown youth in California but especially here
in L.A.

VO GRAFFITTI ARTIST
Day 3_Murals

Continue sequence - Visuals of artists
working on Graffiti and murals on the school
building 07.10

And we call today as a title each one, teach
one. It is our responsibility to be able to give
back to the community but also pass down the
torch to the younger generation.
VO GRAFFITTI ARTIST
Day 3_Murals
07.10

15

Continue sequence - Visuals of artists
working on Graffiti and murals on the school
building
For those who are not within the actual public
schools, this is the center that gives them a
second chance to be able to once again
upgrade their mind, their spirits, to creativity,
to be being able to learn how to apply
themselves.

SOT GRAFFITTI ARTIST
Day 3_Murals
07.10

Our old center that we really loved it was a
converted factory and started to fix it up
almost from scratch and so when the metro
was getting built our whole block was taken
by eminent domain. We were pushed out

SOT KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
37.37

Then we pushed the county to give us this
space

VO KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
37.37

Continue sequence - Visuals of artists
working on Graffiti and murals on the school
building

Now we are converting this space into a
community space for all ages.

VO STACEY COOK
Day_19_Stacey+Charles_interview
00.20

Continue sequence - Visuals of Kim and team
painting “FREE LA HIGH SCHOOL”.
Establish interiors

We have a high school here on campus called
Free LA High School. Free LA stands for
fighting for the revolution to empower and
educate Los Angeles. It's a continuation
school.

SOT STACEY COOK
Day_19_Stacey+Charles_interview
18.15

Our students typically have been pushed out
high school or mistreated in high school or
have life struggles traumas such as being
incarcerated, being in camps, foster care.
TRANSITION

Pedestrian Signal turns green

VO JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent

16
00.06

Blacc walks to school and enters
I am in the 12
th
grade right now but I used to
go to Crenshaw High School about 2 to 3
years ago. After a while you get sidetracked,
there is not a lot of good things there.

SOT JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent
16.11

A whole month after getting out of school, I
got in trouble. I did a 459 burglary.

TRANSITION

Establish classroom

VO JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent
17.00

Cut away - student work pasted on walls

After getting caught up in that situation, I
wanted to do better. A lot of people had
doubts about me.

VO JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent
17. 29

Continue sequence - cutaways

I did my own research and found a school in
my community. They said I can enroll in the
same day.

VO VELTON JERMAINE JOHNSON
Day 13_Interviews/Card 2
26.44

Velton + Blacc classroom sequence

I was gonna get into social working, but I
decided I would become a teacher.

VO VELTON JERMAINE JOHNSON
Day 13_Interviews/Card 2
17.37

Continue Sequence - Velton + Blacc
classroom sequence

A lot of our students, they been degraded their
whole life and when they get that one on one
attention, and they know somebody actually
cares about them, they will totally open up
and shine.

VO VELTON JERMAINE JOHNSON
Day 13_Interviews/Card 1
3.42

Continue Sequence - Velton + Blacc
classroom sequence

I want to get them ready for things that they're
going to see out there in the real world. We do
taxes, have them open up a bank account,
have them evaluate check stubs.

17

VO ALEX AYALA
Day 13_Interviews/Card 2
04.02

Alex + Trigo classroom sequence

I came to Free LA after I got kicked out and I
was in and out of a bunch of high schools,
back to back.

VO SEUS TRIGO
Day 16_Trigo_interview
6.22

Continue Sequence - Alex + Trigo classroom
sequence

We have different students, from different
backgrounds, from different situations.

SOT SEUS TRIGO
Day 16_Trigo_interview
7.37

A lot of our students have been affiliated or
have been affected by gangs.

VO ALEX AYALA
Day 13_Interviews/Card 2
35.35

Continue Sequence - Alex + Trigo classroom
sequence

I remember the first day coming over here, I
came pumped up, I am ready to beat up on
anyone tripping on me because of all these
schools I have been to.

SOT ALEX AYALA
Day 13_Interviews/Card 2
35.35

I am like it’s going to be the same thing. I am
end up getting kicked out but it’s going to get
a little more credit.

VO SEUS TRIGO
Day 16_Trigo_interview
2.22

Continue Sequence - Alex + Trigo classroom
sequence

We don’t have the same punitive system that
schools normally do.
SOT SEUS TRIGO
Day 16_Trigo_interview
2.00

We basically don’t close our doors to any
students.
VO SEUS TRIGO
Day 16_Trigo_interview
2.59

Resolving issues with violence, right? That’s
street justice.

18
Continue Sequence - Alex + Trigo classroom
sequence

VO SEUS TRIGO
Day 16_Trigo_interview
2.34

Continue Sequence - Alex + Trigo classroom
sequence

We have to transform our students so instead
of the violence we talk about the issue.

VO SEUS TRIGO
Day 16_Trigo_interview
8.30

Continue Sequence - Alex + Trigo classroom
sequence

Alex has been here less than a year, so he is
still in the phase of transforming.

VO SEUS TRIGO
Day 16_Trigo_interview
9.48

Continue Sequence - Alex + Trigo classroom
sequence

You don’t expect transformation to happen
right away.
Transition:
President Nixon and President Regan speech
short excerpts

SOT KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
17.30

It really started under president Regan’s
administration.
Text on Black:
The zero-tolerance policies create a discipline
gap.

MUSIC
Text on Black:
Black, brown, LGBTQ youth and students
with disabilities were at the receiving end.

SOT KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
By the 70’s you started to see an increase in
police on schools.
19
17.30

SOT ALEX AYALA
Day 13_Interviews/Card 2
14.30
For the smallest things they would call the
police, for the smallest talk back to a teacher,
they would be like we’re calling the police.
That was their first option.

VO JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent
17.00

I got into two incidents at the school with the
school police.

SOT KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
37.30

Young people also have come with a lot of
experience with the law enforcement as
negative. A lot of law enforcement in their
schools, so a lot of random searches, regular
locker searches, backpack searches, being
accused of gang membership or doing other
things at school that led them to be pushed
out

SOT KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
26.10

So young people here are engaged not just the
students but also our members are engaged in
several different campaigns

One campaign has worked to dismantle the
school to jail track

SOT KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
27.00

Young people ran a bill statewide to abolish
court fees

VO JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent
35.00

Blacc testifying in court

Throughout this work when I go to
Sacramento, to the Capitol, Board of
Supervisors, Downtown…
SOT JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent
35.20

…they tell me how to take notes, they tell me
how to speak out, always ask questions, do
not be afraid and also just read your
information.
Transition
Ext shots of Jacob’s house

20

VO JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent
35.00

Blacc making music

I live in the Crenshaw district.

VO JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent
48: 56

Continue sequence - Blacc making music

I was nine years old when my dad passed
away.

VO JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent
23:16

Continue sequence - Blacc making music

My mom is a single mother, she in her 60s,
she works two jobs.

VO MARY JACKSON
Day 12_blaccmom_interview
12.19

Continue sequence - Blacc making music

I think the problem started when my husband
passed away.
SOT MARY JACKSON
Day 12_blaccmom_interview
12.19

I still had to work so I had to trust them to be
here while I work. And things got out of
hand.

VO JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 12_blaccmom_interview
Clip 0053

Continue sequence - Blacc making music

My younger work was all about how I was
like bullied you feel me like how I would do a
lot myself when I was younger I couldn’t… I
almost committed suicide when I was
younger

SOT MARY JACKSON
Day 12_blaccmom_interview
10.00

He stayed in trouble. I tried to get him to
understand that he's messing this life up. And

VO MARY JACKSON
Day 12_blaccmom_interview

He has a record now. He's on probation
21
10.00

Continue sequence - Blacc making music

VO JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent
51.46

Continue sequence - Blacc making music

I had a brother, he died before I was born

SOT MARY JACKSON
Day 12_blaccmom_interview
35.52

He was shot by police. He was 19

He grew up in the same neighborhood.

I don’t want the same things to happen

VO MARY JACKSON
Day 12_blaccmom_interview
10.00

Blacc cleaning

But he has turned his life around now and I'm
very proud of him.

VO MARY JACKSON
Day 12_blaccmom_interview
16.12

Continue sequence -Blacc cleaning

Now we can sit down and actually have a
conversation we still get in arguments, but it
is better

VO ALEX AYALA
Day 13_Interviews/Card 2
22.06

Alex helping his dad clean the car

Growing up in a neighborhood like ours you
either join the hood or get out of the hood. In
younger days I used to go through so much
things, they would be ones like you know we
got you, like you roll with them. So yeah at
some point I ended up being affiliated to a
gang.

Transition

Text card over Black:

22
Alex shares a bedroom with his father in a
house where four other families live.

VO ALEX AYALA
Day 13_Interviews/Card 2
16.21

Alex watching TV with dad

My first time I really went to juvenile I was
probably like 13 for a small vandalism case

VO ALEX AYALA
Day 13_Interviews/Card 2
19.33

Continue Sequence - Alex watching TV with
dad

I caught another case when I was like 13 and
a half and I didn’t come out till like I was
fourteen and a half

I went back in and came out when I was 15

VO ALEX AYALA
Day 13_Interviews/Card 2
32.00

Continue Sequence - Alex watching TV with
dad

Because I lost so much time in the juvenile
system, I didn’t have enough time to really
catch up on my credits that I had missed out
throughout the tenth-grade year and eleventh
grade year

Transition

School building exterior

VO JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent
31.55

Blacc in music class

Even when I got here to the school I got here
late, and I was wasn't getting my full credit.

I studied harder. I worked more. Every work
that the teacher offered I took.

VO JACOB JACKSON (BLACC)
Day 9_musicevent
31.55

Continue sequence - Blacc in music class

The curriculum is very different. You still
learn what you learn in high school, but I
work faster in an area like this
VO KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
23. 53

Our first job is really to have young people
fall in love with education and fall in love
23

Sequence - Blacc wrapping in front on an
audience and judges
with their own ability to learn and progress
educationally.

To help them to dream to dream beyond the
streets to dream beyond what they have told is
their future.

VO STACEY COOK
Day_19_Stacey+Charles_interview
15.15

Stacey room

What I primarily do in my room is the
counselling.

VO STACEY COOK
Day_19_Stacey+Charles_interview
20.13

Stacey working

Young people come into school angry, not
trusting the system, not trusting schools, and
so very apprehensive.

SOT STACEY COOK
Day_19_Stacey+Charles_interview
20.50

So, if you have a problem, disagreement or
argument of fight drugs, alcohol…
VO STACEY COOK
Day_19_Stacey+Charles_interview
21.16

Continue Sequence - Stacey working
…any kind of problem, no matter how small
or large, we first resolved with a conversation.

VO KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview
4.00

Sequence - Blacc wrapping in front on an
audience and judges

We use transformative justice instead of
suspensions, expulsions and harsh school
discipline.
VO STACEY COOK
Day_19_Stacey+Charles_interview
12.00

Continue Sequence - Stacey working

We try not to use punishment as a
consequence.

VO KIM MCGILL
Day 15_Interview

24
3. 20

Sequence - Blacc wrapping in front on an
audience and judges
We have youth builders here which are also
people who have been through the system.

VO CHARLES DAVID
Day_19_Stacey+Charles_interview
3.00

Peacebuilders sending students to class

My job as a peace builder is to ensure that
everyone is inside theory classrooms at all
times.

VO CHARLES DAVID
Day_19_Stacey+Charles_interview
3.05

Continue Sequence - Peacebuilders sending
students to class

The first thing we do when they check in is
check their back packs. We don’t allow drugs
on this campus. We don’t allow guns on this
campus. So that’s the main things we look
for.

Text on Black:
Alex got caught with contraband. He is
required to stay away till he can meet with a
counselor

Text on Black:
The following week, due to COVI-19
pandemic the school was shutdown

Text on Black:

Having lost touch with the school, Alex
briefly ended up in lock up

Footage of Blacc’s graduation
Text on Black:

Jacob aka Blacc had a drive through
graduation ceremony

Text on Black:

He now works as construction worker and a
youth leader

Text on Black:

Alex is back home attending classes online

END
25
References

American Civil Liberties Union. “School to Prison Pipeline” aclu.org. web
Naomi E Pitlick. Alternatives to Zero Tolerance Policies Affecting Students of Color: A
Systematic Review. 2015. St. Catherine University

American Psychological Association. “Zero Tolerance Task Force

Youth Justice Coalition. “Mission and History” youthjusticela.org
Tanu Priya. Reformative Theory of Punishment. Acedemike, articles on legal issues. Web.
Lawcoptus.com
Naomi E Pitlick. Alternatives to Zero Tolerance Policies Affecting Students of Color: A
Systematic Review. 2015. St. Catherine University

Civil Rights Data Collection, “Revealing New Truths About Our Nation’s School,
ocrdata.ed.gov. Web, 12 March 2012
California Department of Education. “Education Data Partnership” ed-data.org/
Nowicki Jacqueline M. “K-12 Education: Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and
Students with Disabilities. Report to Congressional Requesters. GAO-18-258. US Government
Accountability Office, March 2018

Kim McGill. Interview by Priyanka Suryaneni. Los Angeles, 3 March 2020

U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights “Data Snapshot: School Discipline, Issue
Brief No. 1, March 2014

New York City School-Justice Partnership Task Force. “Keeping Students In School and Out of
Court Report and Recommendations.” May 2013

Center for Justice and Reconciliation.” Lesson 1: What is Restorative Justice?”
restorstivejustice.org. Web
Kim McGill. Interview by Priyanka Suryaneni. Los Angeles, 3 March 2020
Jacob Jackson. Interviewed by Priyanka Suryaneni, Los Angeles, 21 February 2020.

Alex Ayala. Interviewed by Priyanka Suryaneni, Los Angeles, 27 February 2020.
26
Stacy Cook. Interview by Priyanka Suryaneni. Los Angeles, 17 March 2020

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This short documentary thesis aims to observe the students' experiences in an alternative school called Free LA High School in South LA. The school caters to system-impacted youth, expelled, suspended, or non-performing students in traditional public schools between the ages of 16 to 24 years. With a project-based curriculum rooted in social justice programs, the school hopes to help youth from low-income backgrounds graduate high school and build community leaders. The film follows two students, Alex Ayala, from a Mexican immigrant family and Jacob Jackson, a Black teenager, to document their experiences through the spring semester. It captures the students in classrooms, at their homes and while taking part in social justice campaigns. This story attempts to give a glimpse into these teenagers' life struggles and high school journeys.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Asset Metadata

Creator Suryaneni, Priyanka (author)

Core Title Cages to classrooms: an examination of the school to prison pipeline

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism

Publication Date 12/13/2020

Defense Date 12/11/2020

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,school to prison pipeline,system-impacted youth

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Birman, Daniel (committee chair), Kahn, Gabriel (committee member), Tolan, Sandy (committee member)

Creator Email priyanka.suryaneni@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-412855

Unique identifier UC11668686

Identifier etd-SuryaneniP-9209.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-412855 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-SuryaneniP-9209.pdf

Dmrecord 412855

Document Type Thesis

Rights Suryaneni, Priyanka

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA