It started with a controversial column exposing the learning gap between Latino and Asian students at a California high school. It's become a lesson in how teachers, administrators and students alike can work to improve communication and cultural awareness and how a newspaper can help facilitate.

"There's been a lot that has come from this story and it's been for the better," said Mark Padilla, adviser for the Moor, the student newspaper at Alhambra High School. "Everyone at the school has taken a hard look at what can we do to improve things for everyone...and we're still looking at it, almost a year later."

The "story" Padilla is referring to dates back to last February when administrators proudly announced the high school had made progress in bridging the gap on test scores between Asian and Latino students. But one student, Robin Zhou, then a columnist for the Moor, didn't see a reason to celebrate. Rather, he was concerned that there was such a large gap in the first place and he decided to write about it in his column.

According to school statistics reported in the Los Angeles Times, about 57 percent of Asian ninth-graders at the high school passed the English Language Arts standard test compared to 28 percent of Latino students. In Algebra, 49 percent of Asians passed compared to 12 percent of Latinos.

Zhou wrote about the gaps, offering his opinion as to why they were happening. Some read the article as an informative look at a very important subject. Others saw it as racist or at the very least, culturally insensitive. Editors expected the column would raise some eyebrows.

"Cultural differences in education is a touchy subject," Padilla said. "We knew it was important to write about, but we also know it would create a bit of a stir."

To say the least. When the column came out in a March issue of the paper, it created a storm. Latino students and parents alike condemned the column for being insensitive. Even some faculty members proclaimed that they thought the column showed hints of racism. Students staged protests and wore shirts that expressed Latino pride. There were whispers of threats against Zhou and worse.

Zhou, now a student at Stanford University, could not be reached for this story. However, in a previous article, he said the whole controversy actually surprised him, even though he felt writing the column still accomplished it's goal of shedding some light on an important issue.

"I did some soul searching as the controversy continued ... whether it was right to have confronted the issue head-on like that," he said. He apologized for offending students, but he did not apologize for the subject matter.

The column drew some national attention to education gaps in the American school system in general. At Alhambra, parents became very vocal, ensuring that the controversy would not simply go away. And administrators embraced it as an opportunity to re-examine not only the school's goals, but also its sense of identity and its handling of cultural issues.

"This controversy was tough for a lot of people here to swallow," said a teacher at the school who asked to remain anonymous. "But it did open a lot of eyes and I think the meetings show that."

Over the past year, Alhambra High School administrators have held a series of meetings with teachers, students, parents and the community to learn more about cultural and educational concerns. What started as a controversial article pointing out where the school is lacking has turned into a mission for the school: to better improve the education gap and address cultural issues.

"The idea is basically to look at the issue and ask how we can talk about it," Padilla said. "It's about setting up meetings to better facilitate communication."

And the newspaper has been there the whole time, reporting on meetings and discussing the issue. Through the meetings, everyone has learned a little more about struggles for Latino students, perceived differences in how Asian students and Latino students are treated and expectation levels for both, to name a few.

The meetings have also led to solutions, including student-led dialogues and assemblies discussing relationships between the different cultures, promoting programs to help better prepare students for college and encouraging students to get more involved in after-school activities. At the heart of all of these suggestions was an emphasis on cultural awareness and sensitivity.

"A student newspaper is supposed to address the topics affecting the school, including the controversial ones," said Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. "And hopefully solutions come out of the coverage."

The Moor has eased on back on coverage in recent months, though an impending state school review will put the issue back in the forefront.

"We'll be looking at how things have improved over the past year and what issues are still there," Padilla said. "We'll see what progress has been made."