Caps and gowns behind locked gates

Friday was graduation day for Brian Steven Hernandez, a goal that was never a sure thing growing up in his tough North Hollywood neighborhood.

At Jack B. Clarke High School, within the locked gates of a state youth correctional facility in Norwalk, Hernandez realized he could turn his life around.

But Hernandez and his 22 classmates, proudly wearing maroon caps and gowns, are the last graduates to receive diplomas at Clarke, which is closing at year’s end due to state budget cuts.

“This is the place where I learned I could change if I wanted to,” said Hernandez, 20, who has been in juvenile detention for 5 years after being convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. “It sucks for the other kids that have to go to other places that are much harder places to be in to learn.”

Operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Southern Youth Correctional Reception Center and Clinic will be the third such facility to close since 2009. Shuttering the facility will save the state about $44 million annually, officials said.

It is part of a continuing overhaul of California’s juvenile justice system, which has seen the number of youths in state facilities decline to about 1,200 from more than 10,000 in the mid 1990s. Except for those who commit the most serious and violent crimes, youthful offenders are now housed in county facilities, closer to their families, which experts say aids their rehabilitation.

Only three state juvenile justice facilities will remain, one in Camarillo and two side-by-side in Stockton. The Norwalk facility, founded in 1954 and tucked away in a business and residential neighborhood, had no room for expansion, officials said. The remaining 130 or so young men will be transferred to the facilities in Ventura and San Joaquin counties or paroled.

Besides a regular high school curriculum, the youths receive counseling and mental health services. California is one of the few states to retain oversight of juvenile offenders until the age of 25.

“We’re doing our best to house as many in Southern California as possible, but it’s inevitable that some will have to be housed in Stockton,” said Bill Sessa, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Friday’s graduation ceremony was especially bittersweet for many of the school’s staff and students, for whom a high school diploma or equivalent marks a signature success in an otherwise troubled life — and perhaps the dawning of a new maturity.

“There was a confluence of people brought together here who really believed in what they were doing,” said principal Leda Medearis.

The school had recently received a six-year accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and, with a nearly 95% graduation rate, was a top performer among the state’s juvenile facilities, which are under a court order to improve educational and other outcomes.

Stacy Lonnie Duffey praised many of the teachers and staff who helped him to achieve his diploma.

“This is something I can put to use for the future,” said Duffey, 22, who is being released in December after serving four years for assault with a deadly weapon. “I learned that I can make it and can succeed. Being in high school pushes you to want to go further.”

Diana Jackson whooped with joy when her son Jordan’s name was called out. She said she hopes that the guidance the 20-year-old has received will allow him to go to college one day. But he is being transferred to the Stockton facility and she’ll now be able to visit from Riverside only about once every two months.

“Up there it’s more like a prison, whereas here it’s much more family oriented,” Jackson said.

Some of the young men wore ties under their robes, but most wore T-shirts. They applauded and nodded when William Jones, the superintendent of the Norwalk facility told them: “ Take the mistakes you made and make them dreams.”

As a child in Santa Barbara, Ricardo Romero’s dream was to be a fireman. He’s not sure he will fulfill that goal when he is released in two months after five years at the Norwalk facility for assault with a deadly weapon. But the 18-year-old said he’s not looking back.

“This day,” Romero said, “starts a new chapter of my life.”

carla.rivera@latimes.com