Community Commentary -- Sean Zich

I find Tim Cromwell’s letter, (“Close Estancia High and open a super

school,” Nov. 27) inaccurate and his reasoning quite illogical. Estancia

plus Costa Mesa High equals a “super school.” I would sure love to go to

that school. A school that excels in every sport, art and music,

academics and an ethnic mix that “is of equal percentage to the city in

which it lies.”

Wait a second, though. How does this logic make any sense?

First, of all the “solution” does not even address a real problem.

Cromwell’s “problem” is actually the symptom of the problem. What’s the

problem? I don’t know, does anybody? Find the problem with Estancia

before throwing a solution into the air that might not solve the problem.

Maybe we should ask why parents don’t send their kids to Estancia?

Maybe the student is Catholic or Lutheran and goes to a private

religious school. Maybe the kid is the next Jerry Rice, and he should be

at the school that would most likely get him a college football

scholarship. Maybe the parents don’t want to send their kids to a school

they think is substandard because of the kids that live on the Westside.

Once the problem has been established, then solve it.

My parents took me out of Christ Lutheran School in Costa Mesa after

fifth grade and put me into TeWinkle Middle School. After TeWinkle, I

moved on to Estancia. Are you calling Estancia substandard or are you

calling the students, therefore me, substandard? Maybe you have not

heard, but Estancia has the lowest crime, drug and violence rate of any

other school in the area. Also, Estancia has the best academic curriculum

in the area by offering the most Advanced Placement classes.

Does Cromwell have the solution or is he part of the problem? Does he

not contradict himself when he says that students should be sent to their

neighborhood school? Why send his kids across town to Mesa when he can

just send them up the hill to Estancia? If I had kids and lived in the

area, I’d love to send my kids to Estancia because they would be going to

the one of the best public schools in the area.

* SEAN ZICH is a Costa Mesa resident and a junior at Estancia.