RIALTO - Swarms of fashionable Southlanders clad in oversized sunglasses and form-fitting designer jeans descended on this modest Inland Empire city Wednesday. Although they tried to keep the nature of their important work secret - at times trying to expel members of the media from a public school campus - they apparently came to film an episode for an upcoming MTV show, "Jack My School," produced by "American Idol" and KIIS-FM (102.7) host Ryan Seacrest.
In the show, MTV takes over a school for three days, razzle dazzles the students and then "jacks" the school, which means it gives out a lot of free stuff. Two students annoyed with the school's dress code text-messaged Seacrest on the radio to see if he would take over the school, said Eisenhower High's principal, Reggie
"Everybody's always complaining about the rules," said freshman Donald Franklin. Students can't wear gang colors, shirts that say "LA" or "IE," plain white T-shirts, flip-flops - they have a tendency to fly off and hit people - or wild hair colors, Donald said. Girls' shirts also have to have straps that are at least 2 inches wide.
Students can wear jeans and shorts, however. On Monday, the show handed out flip-flops to the students, and now Thompkins has relented at least somewhat on the dress code. He said he'll ease up on the hair dye rule as long as it doesn't become a distraction.
The fun was a reward for improving test scores at the school, Rialto Unified School District spokeswoman Syeda Jafri said. "We'll do these types of things if you behave the way you have the last year and a half," Thompkins said. Last year, Eisenhower High improved by three times its target under the state's system of measuring achievement.
The three days of fun included Detroit-bred celebrity Brandon Jackson serving as the school's principal. On Monday, musician and actor Tyrese showed up at Eisenhower High. The next day, about 400 students went to Paramount Studios to see about 20 minutes of Tyrese's upcoming film, "Transformers.
" There they met Megan Fox and Josh Duhamel, who are also in the movie. When Tyrese came, girls were fainting and crying, Jafri said. "It was like a mini-rock concert," she said.
On Wednesday, all the students went to the back of the school where a rainbow-colored half pipe, cameras, a large van and DJ booth run by Power 106 FM DJ Felli Fel were set up. Well-known skaters and bikers showed off for the students. One of the school's teachers, Angel Curtis, said she was happy the area was getting positive attention.
"Everybody forgets that there are schools this side of Kellogg Hill," she said. It is not clear when the show will air, although one of the people helping with the production said it will be in June. The people running the production said they did not want the media to report on the day's filming because the show had not aired yet.
"I don't know where this will end up," a man involved in the production said, although Thompkins said the show has already been sold to MTV. OfficeMax also gave the school a new computer lab with all sorts of goodies. It gave Thompkins all new furniture for his office, redid the teachers' lounge, and helped get new supplies for the classrooms.
The day did not go off without a hitch, however. Six students got into a fight in the afternoon, said Rialto police Lt. Kathy Thompson.
Students were asked to stay in the classrooms and then were dismissed on a staggered schedule so that they wouldn't all converge outside and get into more trouble. "The energy was so high from the event," Thompkins said. He said there's always a few bad apples.
The fun over the three-day period didn't disrupt class too much, said Sheryll Hite, who teaches physical education. "The kids have been really good. I think it's been really positive for them," she said.
When asked about the rules the students seem to find so onerous, she said,"I think it's part of why we have such a good campus."
A WEEK OF FUN AT EISENHOWER HIGH ..
. Monday: MTV begins its three-day takeover of the school. Musician and actor Tyrese shows up.
Tuesday: 400 students go to Paramount Studios to see a preview of the "Transformers" film with Tyrese and other actors in the movie. Wednesday: MTV brings a halfpipe to the school for skaters and BMX riders to perform. OfficeMax gives the school new office equipment and a computer lab.
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