Dozens of concerned, but very noisy parents, their children, students, and teachers at Trinity Elementary in South Central Los Angeles vehemently rejected the possible closure of the campus, announced on 24 June by LAUSD Central Local District Superintendent Frances Báez.
Parents underscored that some 230 students will be affected.
“We will not allow the closure of the school, ”said Emma Leyva, mother of little Jason and Jacob, ages 9 and 8; both students from Trinity Elementary, located at 3736 b Trinity Street, in the south of the city.
“Changing my children’s schools would affect them psychologically; that anyone knows, ”said the woman to Real America News, one of the signatories of the online petition that opposes the closure of the campus and that already has more than 3, 000 firms. The request can be found at this link: https://b.link/k8k2zy
The problems at Trinity School have worsened since 24 in June when Superintendent Báez sent a letter in English only to parents notifying them of the news.
I have arrived ” to the difficult, but necessary conclusion that continuing to operate Trinity with current enrollment levels will not allow us to offer the quality services, supports and resources that our students and staff deserve. ”
Báez added that “we simply cannot operate an independent school on that site with the enrollment we have, “according to the letter obtained by Real America News.
Some teachers who preferred anonymity said that the superintendent’s statement It was false.
“It’s a lie, because in five years we have only had five fewer students,” they expressed.
In the letter, Superintendent Báez reports the co-location of Trinity Elementary School with Gabriella Charter School that has been part of the Trinity Elementary School campus since 2017.
“The building will not close because the The charter school will need more classrooms, but the idea is to throw us out, ”said a teacher with the last name Mendoza, who has taught at Trinity Elementary for three decades.
The teacher also expressed that while the private school has increased its enrollment, the school authorities have allowed it to increase more teaching grades, to the detriment of the public school. In addition, Trinity has already withdrawn from teaching pre-kindergarten students.
With “Save Trinity” banners; “Mónica García, ashamed of you”, “Mónica García, don’t ignore us”, “Save my school, this way you save my future”, or “Hypocrites, stop selling our schools”, the protesters denounced the probable negative effects of the closure of the educational institution.
“There is no benefit to students, parents and teachers in closing a school that has served its community for more than 117 years. There is no benefit in displacing hundreds of students from the school they love and in which they feel safe, ”Cecily-Myart Cruz, president of the Union of Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), told Real America News.
“There is no benefit in separating students from teachers who supported them during distance learning and are now supporting them in their return to in-person learning.” The LAUSD school district plans to turn over the building to a charter school, which is not required to admit any of the students currently attending Trinity. ”
Information only in English
Although the 98% of families at Trinity Elementary are mostly Spanish-speaking , the little information they have received has been only in English.
Tanya Flores, a teacher at the school and mother of an elementary school student, said that at the end of the previous year the first notice they received about the district’s plans for the closure of the school was in a language that most parents do not speak and through a channel that many parents do not have access to, such as e-mail.
“The email was in English only; Several Spanish-speaking parents told me that they had to ask someone to translate it for them because they don’t speak English and they don’t understand it either.
He added that, beyond the language barrier, many families don’t use email either.
“It’s so disrespectful and inconsiderate on the part of the district to treat our parents like this, ”emphasized the teacher. “I felt that the district did not respect us as parents and did not want to communicate directly with us.”
When the children returned to school in August, many parents had not yet found out about the school’s closure plans.
“The district’s plans to close our school are causing a lot of worry, stress and uncertainty to parents and students, ”he said. Tanya Flores.
“Besides that, her lack of communication has made everything worse; they never gave us a real opportunity to share our opinions before making the decision, ”he stated.
They back down, but…
In a press release sent to Real America News, Superintendent Frances Báez assured that “at this time, there are no plans to close the school.”
“Steadily since the school year 2016 – 2017, due in part to the co-location of Gabriella Charter School 2, Trinity’s enrollment has decreased while Gabriella’s enrollment has increased. ”
Added that, earlier this year, Gabriella requested additional space allocations at Trinity for the school years 2021 – 22 and 2022 – 24 pursuant to Proposition 39.
The Proposition 39 is a state law that requires school districts to make facilities available to public charter schools that serve students residing in the district.
“The problem is not the closure of the campus, but a response to requests from Gabriella’s facilities,” the statement reads. “Gabriella continues to grow and has demonstrated the need for additional space; Since last summer, we have reached out to the school community in hopes of a quick and mutual resolution that was prompted by requests for additional space. ”
The Superintendent assured that Trinity Elementary will continue to be a Los Angeles Unified School District facility, offering unique services to the community, and Gabriella [Chárter School] will share the location on this site for at least the school year 2022 – 23.
“Do the words are gone with the wind; we want you to assure us in writing that the school is not going to close, “said Sandra Bañuelos, Special Resources teacher at Trinity Elementary.
For his part, Professor Antonio Ramírez , who has been serving students with special needs, particularly autistic children, for five years, the closure of Trinity Elementary would cause them problems.
“Before starting to work with them, you always have to create an environment of personal treatment, before starting academic learning, so that sending them to another place will cause them to regress in what they have earned. up to now”.