9486 in the collection
Worker: School banned Spanish
Ohanian Comment: Usually I refrain from posting single stupid acts by individuals--unless they are a Secretary of Education or a governor, whatever. But this tale bespeaks ongoing actions that are so detrimental to a school that it qualifies as going far beyond my policy against reporting single stupid acts.
I can't resist. Here is the Mission Statement of Devonshire Elementary School:
The Mission of Devonshire Elementary Academy of Cultural and Academic Diversity is to develop confident, self-directed, life-long learners who are mastering the development skills essential for successfully managing their lives and contributing to the quality of the life in a diverse society.
The school theme: Devonshire Elementary School's theme, "Academy of Cultural and Academic Diversity", focuses on the various academic programs that are in place to reach students from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Devonshire has special programs and activities such as quarterly honor-roll/character education ceremonies, bilingual Girl Scouts, Devonshire Investment Club (DIG), and chess club.
By Ann Doss Helms
A former school secretary has sued Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, saying she lost her job at Devonshire Elementary when a new principal banned her from speaking Spanish to parents who can't speak English.
Ana Ligia Mateo claims she was hired as a bilingual secretary for the east Charlotte school in 2006. But when Suzanne Gimenez took over as principal in 2008, the lawsuit says, Gimenez "announced in a staff meeting that she would no longer allow Spanish to be spoken to parents by any of the faculty or staff."
This year 42 percent of Devonshire's 500 students are Hispanic. The school's Web site says that the school theme is "Academy of Cultural and Academic Diversity."
When Mateo continued to use Spanish with parents who couldn't understand English, she was repeatedly told to stop, and was forced out in September 2008, the suit says. Mateo complained to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which ruled in June that there is "reasonable cause" to believe her civil rights were violated.
Mateo's civil-rights lawsuit, originally filed in state court, was moved to federal court last week.
Neither CMS officials nor Gimenez will comment on a pending lawsuit, spokeswoman LaTarzja Henry said. She would not say whether any schools ban employees from speaking Spanish or translating for parents.
CMS has a large international population; 10,700 of the 133,700 students come from homes where English isn't the first language. Almost 16 percent of all students - more than 21,000 kids - are Latino.
The district generally prides itself on accommodating Spanish-speaking families. Schools and the district often translate materials that are sent home, and events for families often have Spanish translators provided by CMS. More than 15 of the district's "Parent University" classes are offered in Spanish, including one on legal rights and responding to discrimination.
The Equity Committee, a group of volunteers appointed by the school board, spent the past year studying services for students and families who don't speak English well. In a report that will be presented Tuesday, that panel urges CMS to hire more bilingual "parent advocates" who can translate, noting that "parent involvement and parent support are key to a student's academic success." That report says nothing about schools refusing to let bilingual staff speak Spanish with parents.
Superintendent Peter Gorman sent Gimenez to Devonshire in summer 2008 as one of seven principals piloting his "strategic staffing" turnaround effort. Those principals, who make a three-year commitment to boost academic performance, get a 10 percent pay bump and money to recruit high-performing teachers.
Henry said Gimenez is married to a Latino but is not Hispanic herself.
Mateo's suit says the "no speaking Spanish" order came in September, soon after the school year began. It says Gimenez and other staff reminded Mateo to speak English on several occasions when Mateo spoke to Spanish-speaking parents in person or on the phone.
"During September 2008, a Spanish-speaking parent came to the school crying and stating in Spanish that someone at the school had placed a stick in her seven-year-old son's buttocks," the suit says. "(Mateo) asked Ms. Gimenez if she could translate for the parent. Ms. Gimenez refused and told the parent her seven-year-old son could translate. The parent continued to cry and eventually left without having her issue resolved because she could not understand Ms. Gimenez's responses."
The suit says after an encounter with another distraught parent who could not communicate, Gimenez "screamed at (Mateo) that she could not speak Spanish to any parents."
Mateo was sent to a conference room, the suit says, where Assistant Principal Kimberly Vaught told Mateo she knew Mateo could empathize with the parents because she "crossed the border just like them." Mateo, who is described in the suit as a U.S. citizen who is "Hispanic/Nicaraguan," said that was not true.
During that encounter, the suit says, Mateo told administrators she thought they were violating her civil rights, and Gimenez told her to "follow her policy of no Spanish speaking or she could leave." After Mateo complained to CMS's human resources office, she was told she couldn't return to Devonshire unless she agreed to the no-Spanish policy in writing, and was told she would not be transferred to another school, according to the suit.
After Mateo was "effectively terminated" on Sept. 24, 2008, the EEOC interviewed witnesses and reported that their evidence supported Mateo's report of discrimination, according to an EEOC letter included with the suit.
When the EEOC failed to resolve the matter through "conciliation" with CMS and Mateo, that agency referred the case to the U.S. Justice Department.
That office declined to file suit but notified Mateo that she had a right to do so.
Mateo's lawyers, Jenny Sharpe and Tamara Williams Brooks, said Mateo would not discuss the suit. They declined to identify parents involved in the incidents.
— Ann Doss Helms
Charlotte Observer
2010-02-07
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/education/v-print/story/1230320.html
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