Out of sight and out of mind.

For roughly 90 percent of the 120,000 people who reside in the Manteca Unified School District that is the case when it comes to Stockton’s Weston Ranch neighborhood.

It’s by design — literally. Most district residents don’t travel Interstate 5 frequently into Stockton. And if they do, extensive trees and other buildings such as the county hospital complex block whatever glimpses you can get of the teeming neighborhood as you whiz by at 65 mph.

Weston Ranch is part of Stockton. The neighborhood itself has some shopping, a few parks and Weston Ranch High along with three elementary campuses. It’s nudged up against the San Joaquin River and French Camp Slough levees and bordered by Interstate 5 on the east. It is as close as you can get to being tucked away from Stockton and still be in the city limits.

The problems facing young people in Weston Ranch are similar to elsewhere in the district with one big caveat — there really aren’t a lot of  safe diversions especially for teens who can get bored, restless, and long to belong.

It is against that backdrop that Manteca Unified trustees Sam Frant and Ashley Drain labored this past week to calm two groups of teens down following an incident near the high school campus. Stockton Police believe it may have led to a follow-up drive-by shooting at a home. And before you go, “drive by shooting and Stockton, it figures”, don’t forget Manteca and Lathrop have more than their share of such ugly incidents.

The two trustees who take their role as both school board members and community leaders seriously believe more effective communication between young people as well as young people and adults is key to keeping things calm.

They are pushing to organize an assembly to have teens discuss cultural differences. By that they mean the different perspective people have that can often be misinterpreted and lead to unintended misunderstands and conflict. Respect, Fant noted, is a two-way street whether it is between people of the same age or between young and old.

Fant wants to take it one step further. 

He’d like to see the district add counselors at all schools starting with the high school level. The counselors wouldn’t be guidance counselors in the traditional vein helping direct students into various learning paths and life beyond high school.

Instead they’d be what Fant calls “emotional development” counselors. The goal would be to help young people learn to interact, communicate better, understand others, and address personal issues that not only undermine their ability to be effective learners but can make it hard if not impossible to lead productive and happy lives.

Fant isn’t just talking. He’s walking the walk.

There was an incident at Weston Ranch High where a student wearing a beanie in class was asked to take it off by the teacher. An exchange ensued and the student “blew up and cursed” the teacher. He ended up in the principal’s office where he got a one-day suspension.

The teen asked the principal if he could have Fant — whom he knew — come by.

Fant did just that. He sat down with the teen and asked what happened. The young man started to reference the teacher by using impolite words and Fant stopped him. Fant insisted that the teacher be referred to with respect even if he wasn’t in the room. The young man complied. He then asked why he was wearing the beanie which did not reflect any gang colors nor did it create a visual impairment for anyone seated behind him.  The reply was simple: It was a way that he could feel comfortable in his own shell. A case probably could have been made that he it helped keep him warm as well given Manteca Unified is no longer in the habit of burning through energy.

Fant had the teen compose a letter to the principal explaining his viewpoint.

Fant is going to take it one step further. He plans on having the young man appear before the school board and read the letter to make a pitch to change the dress code to include beanies.

It comes down to two things: Empowering young people to understand how they can constructively work to try and change things and to teach them how to communicate.

Fant is all too aware of the fact that there are parents that either aren’t able to or lack the time to give their children all of the skills needed to succeed in life.

“(In many cases) schools are raising a child,” Fant said.

It is why he wants Manteca Unified to pursue an even more holistic approach when it comes to the development of young people.

“It’s a trickle down effect,” Fant said. “We are only as strong as our weakest link.”

Fant, as a board member, believes he has an obligation to step up as a community leader.

“When we lose a kid to a penitentiary, to gangs, or drugs I take it personally,” Fant said.

That should be true for all of us whether we live in Manteca, Lathrop, French Camp, or Stockton.

We are all in this together.