EVERETT – A much-anticipated report looking into claims of harassment and discrimination against Hispanic students at Everett High School has yet to be written.
But three minority advocates who addressed the Everett School Board this week said they don’t need a report to know that “strong action” is needed.
“Regardless of what the report says, the students’ perception is their reality,” said J.J. Frank of Stanwood, an Everett High School graduate.
About a dozen Hispanic students, with the support of parents and a local businessman, filed a complaint in February. An outside consultant hired in April to look into the claims is finishing her report.
Superintendent Carol Whitehead said the district will craft a plan of action after receiving the report. She said it’s important that all students and staff be treated with respect.
Those speaking at Tuesday’s school board meeting said they have been saddened by what they hear through conversations with minority students, including students not involved in the complaint.
Frank, who has helped organize local race-relations talks, said he has mentored a girl for five years who now attends Everett High School. “She said to me last Monday that she wants to quit,” he said.
Winnie Corral said she is horrified by similar stories from parents and students she speaks with as program manager of Familias Unidas, a Hispanic outreach program of Lutheran Community Services in Everett.
“I really don’t think a report is going to give you an answer,” Corral said.
School board President Roy Yates said after the meeting that he and his colleagues are waiting to see the consultant’s report.
“We’ll take that information, digest it and move on from there,” Yates said. “We take it very seriously.”
Still, some students see the investigation and report as “kissing off” their concerns, said Ed Glazer, a father of two Everett High School graduates who also addressed the board.
A teacher at North Middle School, he recalled his sons’ complaints of being treated differently by some Everett High School staff compared with white classmates.
Now that he’s hearing similar concerns from his sons’ friends and other minority teens, Glazer said he is increasingly worried.
“We are losing students,” he said.
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