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Students at Liechty Middle School engaged in a silent protest during their graduation ceremony last week and it wound up costing them their diplomas.
"The students turned their backs on graduation speaker Monica Garcia, LAUSD Board President, to express their displeasure to teacher layoffs and cutbacks," press materials explain. Principal Jeanette Stevens then decided to withhold the protesting students' diplomas. "The students had completed all their graduation requirements and were within their free speech protected rights."
This morning, many of the students' mothers arrived at Liechty to demand an apology from Stevens, and to ask that their children's diplomas be given to them. Insiders on the campus believe that Stevens' decision to hold the diplomas is a result of her anger at the many faculty and students who are participating in many events of civil disobedience aimed at drawing attention to the impact of teacher layoffs and budget cuts on the community. Such campaigns include the recently concluded Hunger Strike and camp-outs held at Leichty and other LAUSD campuses.
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What a dumb move by that principal. Apparently someone doesn't like their job that much.
File that under "B" for "BS" -- !!
You get a diploma for completing middle school? Never knew.
I know, right? And if you don't receive it, it matters why?...
Board Member Garcia has done nothing to warrant these students' respect. Aside from voting for the crippling RIF notices to hard working teachers, Ms. Garcia has guaranteed hyper-inflated class sizes for next year. Instead of weekly lunches with reactionary neo-liberal privatizers Steve Barr and Ben Austin, Ms. Garcia should be fulfilling her promises to the working class parents and students of District 2. LAUSD had a chance to do the right thing and stand with the community and UTLA in fighting these draconian budget cuts. Instead Ms. Garcia's betrayal of her constituents, and more importantly, of these students is nothing short of astonishing. We promise the effort to recall her and replace her with a board member who won't sell out the children of color and poverty is going to be underway in our district.
Thank you Lindsay William-Ross for reporting on this! It's an outrage for students, parents and teachers to be so disrespected after all that their learning community has been through this year. Thanks for bringing light to this matter. James Ehrlich, co-founder, CutsHurtKids.org
I dont think they call them diplomas. When I finished Middle School back in aught-one we got "Certificates of Culmination". We got to wear a gown too... no cap though.
Great blogarticle.
*All* of the bloated LAUSD bureacracy needs a shake-up. They get paid *way* to much and a large percentage pull heinous stuff like this with impunity.
Can we perhaps *recall* these bloated bureacrats of the LAUSD? They truly are the bane of the school system.