Over 140 Parents and Community Members Pack the House for Commerce City School Board Candidate Forum

Submitted to Gateway News by Padres Unidos

On Friday, October 30, 2009 over 140 parents, community members, representatives of the school board and candidates for Commerce City Council gathered at Our Lady Mother of the Church for a community forum with Adams 14 incoming School Board Representatives Robert Vashaw and Adrian Schimpf.

The community forum, organized and led by parent members of Padres Unidos, gave parents the opportunity to share their concerns with Representatives Vashaw and Schimpf. Parents asked the candidates for their positions on the issues of quality education, equal opportunity, fair and just discipline, accountability to the community, respect and access for all parents and organizations, bilingual education and immigrant student rights.

Some examples of questions include: What practical and effective strategies need to be implemented in order to increase the graduation rate and fully prepare all students for college? Currently, Adams 14 has a graduation rate of 42%. (Source: Education Week Research Center). This is one of the lowest rates in the state

With respect to fair discipline, last year, almost 1,500 students were suspended, which is 27% of the student population. Adams 14 suspends 3 times more students than that of the state average of 8%. Most of these students are Latino and Black (Source: Colorado Department of Education). Parents asked the candidates what solutions they had to the high level of suspensions.

In regards to community respect and access, the district announces they want parent involvement but do not create a welcoming environment. In some schools, teachers are not allowed to speak Spanish. During parent conferences, which are opportunities for parents to be involved in their children’s education, Spanish-speaking parents feel left out when there is no translation. Parents asked the candidates for their solutions in addressing this issue.

On the issue of bilingual education, both candidates agreed with parents on the benefits of learning two languages and agreed all students should become fully bilingual by mastering English and learning a second language. The dilemma is what model to use.
Concerning immigrant student rights, both Vashaw and Schimpf stated their support for in-state tuition for all students, regardless of immigration status.

On the issue of equal opportunity, while both candidates agreed on the need for more diversity among Adams 14 personnel, they were not clear on how to achieve this goal (currently, Latinos make up 77% of the student population, but only 9% of administrators). For more details on the issues presented at the community forum please visit http://www.padresunidos.org/newsletters/CC Pledge 09.pdf. For detailed responses, visit www.GatewayNews.org to watch the video of the event.

The community forum culminated in a standing ovation for Amy, an elementary school student who presented over 400 pledges signed by community members to the absent Superintendent Sue Chandler.

“For the past month that we have been planning this event, my job was to give these petitions from people who are interested in seeing a change in Commerce City’s education, a change that will allow us to be better prepared for college,” announced Amy.

For more information or to get involved with Padres Unidos in Commerce City call, 303-458-6545.