Shalimar Learning Center shuts down

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- After six years of providing after-school tutoring and

an academic refuge for students, the Shalimar Learning Center has closed

its doors.

And there is a question of whether the center will ever reopen -- at

least at its current location, said Randy Barth, volunteer chairman of

Think Together, the organization that oversees Shalimar and five other

learning centers.

“We felt physically threatened last week and we’re not going to put

center staff or volunteers in that position,” Barth said. “We’re going to

really take some time to look for a better long-term solution. At the

moment, I don’t see us reopening in the neighborhood any time soon.”

The closure stemmed from a heated demonstration Thursday when children

and parents rallied for hours to protest the Sept. 12 firing of longtime

Shalimar staff member Maria Alvarez.

Community leader Paty Madueno said she doubted that the protest had

been out of hand. But she said it was sad to see the situation at

Shalimar turn ugly.

Alvarez was fired because of a “deep difference of opinion” between

her and other staff members, Barth said.

Barth said protesters trapped staff members in one of the center’s

three apartments, banged on the windows and threw objects at them.

However, the police were not called.

“The kids are being victimized,” Barth said. “Maria has put herself

before the kids, which nobody here has ever done before. She is a

community organizer and the tragedy is that instead of using her skill

for good purposes, she’s using it for her own benefit. This center has

taken a lot of blood, sweat, toil and tears from a lot of people and this

[incident] has cost the children their opportunity to learn.”

Alvarez denied organizing the protest. She said she never put herself

before the children, and that her dedication sometimes translated into

sacrifice.

“They are saying I called the moms and set it up, but that’s not

true,” she said. “I’m really sad about everything, especially about the

kids, and I think now it’s time for me to go. I live in the same

apartment building as the center and I’m going to move because I love the

kids and I don’t want to cause any more problems.”

The learning center has been able to rent only three apartments to

house its program, which serves about 300 children, Barth said, limiting

the number of children that center volunteers can tutor at one time.

The program had established “teams” of students that were scheduled to

come to the center at different times, but Alvarez didn’t follow the new

schedule, Barth said.

Alvarez said she didn’t agree with the scheduling, but did not refuse

to go along with it. She did admit that she never turned children away if

they needed academic help because she wanted them to enjoy learning.

“When they started to come to the center on their own and when they

started to like learning, that was what I liked,” she said. “I gave a lot

of love to those kids, and those six years were really a big present to

me.”

Shalimar was formed as an outreach ministry by St. Andrew’s

Presbyterian Church of Newport Beach, along with St. Joachim’s Church in

Costa Mesa and Women of Vision.

The center is planning a meeting with parents to discuss its future,

but has not yet decided on a date. Staff members are researching options

to continue services at school sites or other locations, Barth said.