School officials must not discriminate

HUMBERTO CASPA

It’s been about a week since five Latino mothers stood up in front of

the Newport-Mesa Board of Education to complain about racial and

ethnic discrimination at TeWinkle Middle School.

So far, our community has shown a perplexing response of silence,

as if nothing has happened.

There hasn’t been a spark of controversy. There has been no public

outcry; no opinion letters have made it into the Daily Pilot’s

mailbag, either supporting the five moms’ version or defending the

school’s principal Dan Diehl and his assistant Tim Tolzda against

discrimination charges.

For a high-ranking school administrator to state in front of

students that Latinos are “least likely to achieve (academic goals),”

or to mock them or make insensitive comments not only deserves an

immediate response from school authorities, it also deserves the

community’s attention. Fortunately, Supt. Robert Barbot said “there

would be an investigation into the matter.”

Our silence can be as devastating as finding both school

administrators guilty without due process of law.

We haven’t done our jobs as concerned citizens, residents, or

parents. Doing nothing may tacitly reinforce a fallacious notion that

Latinos aren’t capable of attaining successful careers. Although it

is well-known that they do lag behind Asian and white students in

terms of graduation levels, standardized exams and grade-point

average scores, the reasons lie beyond the individuals themselves.

Making scathing remarks against Latinos in front of a group of

students at a local school doesn’t help to ameliorate the problem. On

the contrary, it creates division and broadly affects the Latino

students’ psyche, especially with regard to their self-esteem.

The five mothers and the people who raised doubts about the

principal’s and his assistant’s leadership at TeWinkle have

legitimate concerns. They are aware of their own limitations at home;

that’s why public schools become an important element for their

children’s success.

In retrospect, many of them, particularly those coming from Mexico

and Central American rural areas, had a lower economic status in

their native countries. Their poor educational background usually

becomes an impediment when they reach the United States. They often

remain lower on the social scale, despite many years of work in this

country.

However, a few break away from language, economic and social

barriers, and are able to adjust well in America. Some of them even

acquire college degrees in the long run.

On a positive note, most Latino parents want a brighter future for

their American offspring, and so they work longer hours to support

them economically. For instance, Martha Uribe, who defended her

child’s rights at the school board meeting last week, holds two jobs

to support her family. Besides her daily errands at home, she cleans

houses on a full-time basis during the week. In addition, she runs a

little shop on the weekends at the Orange Coast College swap meet.

Likewise, Martina Calixto, an aunt of one TeWinkle student who

also complained at the meeting, works full-time at Balboa Bay Club in

Newport Beach. Like Uribe, as soon as Calixto gets home from work,

she gets ready to start her part-time job, also cleaning houses in

the Newport-Mesa area.

These hardworking individuals usually have a positive mindset

toward their children. In spite of all the responsibilities, Calixto,

Uribe and other people -- regardless of their ethnic backgrounds --

believe their children’s future will be better with adequate

financial support. That is why they work two jobs.

It is simply too bad that a couple of local school administrators

aren’t able to reach out to the Latino community and understand their

issues. Last week in my column, I mentioned that a healthy

environment is necessary to raise successful individuals. So far,

school administrators at TeWinkle haven’t provided viable mechanisms

for students to even feel comfortable on campus.

By contrast, according to the parents who testified at the recent

school board meeting, administrators have reportedly called students

scornful names. “We are being humiliated,” a parent said.

School administrators in the district office must not condone such

behavior, particularly from a principal and his assistant. They must

set up a credible probe, one that includes prominent members of the

Latino community.

If these officials are found liable for their actions, we should

expect nothing less than their immediate removal from their posts.

* HUMBERTO CASPA is a Costa Mesa resident and bilingual writer. He

can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].