3173 Kerry Street
San Bernardino, CA 92407
Tel: (909) 887-6305, ext 1502
Principal: Mr. Jake Gordon
jake.gordon@siatech.org
Overview
The Inland Empire SIATech high school program is located at the Inland Empire Job Corps Center. Originally constructed for use as Fremont Jr. High School in 1953, the Inland Empire Job Corps was established on this site in San Bernardino in 1978. The facility and grounds cover 17.5 acres and include: dormitories, a gymnasium, academic classrooms and vocational shops, administrative offices, a softball field and a swimming pool.
Recent additions to the grounds include: a new safety and security building, renovated front entry with security gate, new admissions and placement offices, new dormitory, new greenhouse and carpentry shops, a culinary arts modular building, and a newly constructed health and wellness clinic.
The average student at Inland Empire SIATech is 19 years old and comes to our program with less than 80 high school credits. There are a total of 320 students enrolled at the Job Corps Center and approximately 210 of these students are working to complete their diploma requirements in the SIATech high school program. All high school classrooms are equipped with attractive, professional furnishings that create a pleasant business environment for students and staff members.
Principal Profile
Jake Gordon became principal of the Inland Empire site in 2007. Mr. Gordon brings a wealth of experience with the SIATech program. Prior to joining SIATech, Mr. Gordon worked as a history teacher at a high school in San Jose with a predominately at-promise population. Mr. Gordon has been a social science, creative technology, and senior projects teacher at the SIATech Long Beach site, and was recognized as an Employee of the Year at the site. Mr. Gordon earned his masters in Educational Administration from California State University Long Beach.
Success Stories
Music Provides a Welcome Release for Students at SIATech Inland Empire by Liz Hessom
Five young men huddle around a table deep in discussion. One stands up and begins to speak with an animated cadence that moves his arms and torso. The other young men listen to him and bend their heads to the task at hand. An outside observer may think this is a board room or a think tank in action. In actuality, it is a collaborative group of young men who are working on writing a positive song about respect.
The students at SIATech Inland Empire (IE) like music a lot. In an effort to reach students through means that interest them, the staff at IE decided to implement a music writing and recording program that uses industry standard software and equipment. The SIATech IE principal, Jake Gordon, tapped into available funding for the arts and acquired industry-standard software for music production: Pro Tools® and Reason. These applications are what recording engineers and producers use in music production studios both pre- and post-production.
Students can only participate in the music program if they are in a positive status at Job Corps. Word about the new program quickly spread throughout the Job Corps Center, and when the Men’s Conference being held at the center needed a theme song about respect, they knew where to go. (View video excerpt)
SIATech student Terrell Frank describes music as his passion. He knew that in order for their song to be successful they had to have a hook. A hook is commonly referred to as the chorus or that part of the song that is repeated. Once the hook was established, each member of the group wrote a piece of the song that focused on what respect means to him. Terrell reflected his religious upbringing by referencing the kiss of Judas as a betrayal that represented what happens when you have a lack of respect. He also paid homage to Harriett Tubman for her role in leading slaves to freedom as a woman of respect.
This wasn’t Terell’s first time creating positive rap music. At his previous high school he helped rewrite their alma mater as a rap song. At SIATech, Terell likes the fact that he knows if he does well he can participate in the music program and he also gets credit for some of his coursework. When their song was played at the men’s conference, Terrell was proud and he was happy to get feedback from the adults in the audience.
Jeffrey “Alex” Harris is a high school graduate whose love for music inspired him to volunteer to help write a song that would promote respect in a positive way. Even though he considered it a challenge to write positive lyrics without profanity, he took on the project with enthusiasm and drew from his knowledge of history in writing his lyrics. His stanza focused on how Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez fought to gain respect for their people. He also focuses on respecting yourself and taking care of yourself physically.
The cornerstone to any good rap song is the beat. Ryan White, a.k.a. Mississippi, composed the beat for Respect. Ryan wants to pursue a career in music and plans to attend the Musical Institution when he graduates from high school and completes his plumbing training. Normally a loner, he learned about working in a team, a skill that will come in handy in the future.
SIATech staff members Manny Sanchez and Gibran Carter supported the students in their development of the song. Students Maurice and Malik contributed to the project. The staff also works with other students creating music and hope to grow the program to provide alternate ways for students to fulfill curriculum requirements. Manny has found that providing this creative outlet enables students to tackle difficult issues and release some of their anger through poetry and music.
View an excerpt of the student video of the Inland Empire Job Corps Center's recording of Respect on November 13, 2009:
The average student at Inland Empire SIATech is 19 years old and comes to our program with less than 80 high school credits. There are a total of 320 students enrolled at the Job Corps Center and approximately 210 of these students are working to complete their diploma requirements in the SIATech high school program. All high school classrooms are equipped with attractive, professional furnishings that create a pleasant business environment for students and staff members.
Jake Gordon became principal of the Inland Empire site in 2007. Mr. Gordon brings a wealth of experience with the SIATech program. Prior to joining SIATech, Mr. Gordon worked as a history teacher at a high school in San Jose with a predominately at-promise population. Mr. Gordon has been a social science, creative technology, and senior projects teacher at the SIATech Long Beach site, and was recognized as an Employee of the Year at the site. Mr. Gordon earned his masters in Educational Administration from California State University Long Beach. 
