Building a bridge, one would think, is quite simple: pour cement, weld and hook up some cables.
Well, not exactly.
The March 6 incident at Everett High School is an example of “not exactly.” Students gathered in numbers to see a fight between two girls which turned into a case of perceived finger pointing. Local police walk into a situation where kids were shouting profanities (which was wrong) and where one officer was checked to the ground. Imagine walking into a crowd where tension had been building for months and you’re the first officer on the scene, not knowing that you’re walking into a boiling caldron. Chaos filled the air that afternoon and we forget that officers are human as well and have families at home. I trust that after the investigation the lessons learned will lead to building a bridge that is beyond “not exactly.” Our community is better than the picture being perceived today.
Everett High and district leadership need to identify and understand the underlying causes of insufficient diversity among parent volunteers and recommend ways that this situation can be remedied. “Not exactly” has fogged the school system; it doesn’t realize it has problems.
When school administrators, parents and mentors become involved, we all increase the understanding of child development and the educational process. Another effect of parent-school cooperation is that parents become better teachers of their children at home and use more positive forms of reinforcement. Therefore, it is imperative schools find ways to include minority and disadvantaged parents in school programs and parent leadership.
Bringing more parents into the school, and having meetings (breaking bread) will help the school understand how it can reach out to minority parents. Instead we are denying that we have a problem by not providing access or reaching out to the community. Now more than ever parents and community leaders need to play an active role in building and improving community schools. Overwhelmingly, studies show the positive effects of parent involvement, mentors and local inclusion. They increase awareness and simply bring people together. I and other community advocates are raising our hand to be an asset.
Can we avoid another March 6 incident? Yes we can, if the school district and administrators will get out from behind their blinders and be true educators. The students who expressed disrespect and violent aggression were wrong and need to understand it is not acceptable.
In closing, I recall going through this when I was in ninth grade growing up in south Texas. I experienced the true meaning of segregation when we (Hispanic students) were segregated from the white high school. Even something as simple as swinging in the city park was off limits to Hispanic kids. I also remember being bused to the main high school when the two schools were consolidated.
As a migrant worker in Texas, Indiana, California and Florida, I recall being cut from the football team in Florida because I was a migrant worker. Talk about obstacles! As an athlete it seemed that we played harder because we had something to prove. That was 35 years ago.
As a person of color, I have had a choice. Mine was to build a bridge that is beyond basic by embracing a stronger foundation and an empowerment to those who choose to be part of a solution. As a father of two sons and now a grandfather of three, it is my desire to somehow reshape our thinking today so that generations to come never feel the pain of race discrimination.
Carlos Veliz is president and CEO of PCSI Design in Everett. He also chairs the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Diversity and serves on the Everett Community College Board of Trustees.
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