In defense of TeWinkle administrators

I was shocked and dismayed by the claims that were made by the group

of five Latina women at the Newport-Mesa Unified School District

Board of Trustees meeting last week.

It has taken me some time to really comprehend the gravity of the

claims made. I must thank Humberto Caspa for bringing the situation

to my, and others’, attention.

Once again certain adults in our community have thrown the race

and discrimination card onto the table to achieve an end that I can,

at this time, neither foresee nor comprehend.

To make such outrageous claims in such a public forum as the

school board meeting and the front page of the Daily Pilot must mean

that this group has some real evidence to present and not simply the

opinion of a few disgruntled parents.

As a parent of students at both Adams and Te Winkle, I can tell

you that the claims are false and misleading.

As someone who has been an outspoken advocate for our public

schools for the past nine years, I can tell you for a fact that there

isn’t a more dedicated group of administrators and faculty members

then those at Te Winkle Middle School.

I watched for months as TeWinkle principal Dan Diehl spent hours

of his own free time working with a group of dedicated students to

train and prepare for the Los Angeles Marathon.

To Diehl, they were simply students: not black, white or Latino

students, just students. He saw an opportunity to do something

positive for his students, and he did it.

I watched, with some personal disappointment, as Diehl and the

members of the administrative staff responded to the concerns of a

few disgruntled parents that the girls’ soccer team didn’t have

enough Latina girls on it.

So the school decided to not have cuts on the team and the coach

was left to deal with 30-plus athletes on the roster.

I didn’t agree with the decision, but I do respect the fact that

he listened to the concerns of the parents and responded with prompt

action.

I have watched as teachers and administrators at TeWinkle have

worked to create programs that will encourage all members of the

student body to excel academically.

These include after-school tutoring programs and field trips to UC

Irvine and other college campuses in the area that show students what

is possible if they set their sights high.

And there are programs, such as AVID, that teach students the

skills they will need if they are going be successful in high school

and beyond.

All these programs are taught and administered by the same group

of committed people who understand, appreciate and respect the

community they serve.

They understand the challenges faced by not only the Latino

community, but all in the community who struggle with long workdays

and the daily challenges of raising their children to be responsible

citizens.

If the parents would see the kids together, they would see how

wrong they are.

If you could see all the extra steps that are taken by the

administrators to make sure that all of the students within the

school body are represented in every area of school life you would

simply be amazed.

I think it is the parents’ own views that are wrong and

insensitive.

Speaking from personal experience as a coach and community

volunteer, I have learned that, typically, the parents who complained

the most are usually the ones with the problem.

They are also the ones that volunteer their own time to help the

least.

Are there complex and difficult issues being faced at TeWinkle?

Most certainly.

Are there those at the school that face additional hardships based

upon their socioeconomic status? Without a doubt.

Should parents be able to express their concerns to administrators

and the school board? Of course.

Should every problem be dealt with as a matter of race, as an

issue of “us versus them”? Not in any community that I want to live

in.

I don’t know to what end Caspa or Mirna Burciaga are working

toward with their latest campaign.

But before they start making such wild accusations, I would hope

that they spend a little more time thinking about the consequences of

their actions.

To try to make every issue and problem facing our community a

matter of race is a huge mistake. To constantly divide the community

along these lines simply works to defeat all the progress that others

are working so very hard to make.

I know it may help with the political aspirations of some, but it

usually only serves to divide the community.

Speaking as someone who was raised to measure a person by the

content of his or her character and not the color of his or her skin,

I am always amazed by those who are constantly using it as the basis

for every problem that ails them.

It is my hope that there will be others of the silent majority

within our community who will speak up in the defense of not only the

administrators at TeWinkle but for all those within the school

district who work so hard every day to make our schools the best they

can be.

ROBERT KNAPP

Costa Mesa