As National Poetry Month comes to a close, read below submissions from We ‘Ced youth.
If you could write a poem to COVID, what would you want to tell it?
Over the last decade, school districts throughout the state have begun to reevaluate “black-and-white policies that would discipline students automatically regardless of individual circumstances,” she said.
Much of this coincided with the passing of Assembly Bill 1729, which allowed superintendents and principals more discretion to provide alternatives to suspension and expulsion for students, said Mike Richter, associate principal at Golden Valley High School (GVHS) in Merced.
Teachers and staff are now encouraged to look at a student’s complete behavioral pattern before determining an appropriate course of action.
The event was a joint effort by BHC and partner groups like Cultiva La Salud, Healthy Equity Project and the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) that provided dozens of MCSD parents with a chance to air concerns over the district’s spending. In total, more than two-dozen families were in attendance, speaking four different languages and representing a wide swath of the community concerned over the lack of transparency in the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).
The LCAP is a statewide requirement for school districts that must show how each agency plans to spend money provided through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Like many districts, MCSD relies on LCFF dollars for a majority of its budget and the state funds accounted for 75 percent of the district’s $134 million 2016-2017 budget. About $21 million of those LCFF funds are considered equity-based and intended specifically for high-need populations like foster youth, low-income students and English Learners.
Unfortunately, there are many situations in schools throughout the country where students are discriminated against because of what they wear, who they love, and who they are. These students are bullied and they are humiliated, resulting in both physical and emotional scars that will haunt them for a long while.
It’s very upsetting to see schools turn away from the kind of progress made in recent years when it comes to things like LGBTQ+ rights and gender stereotypes. More and more, students are again becoming afraid, keeping their identities and their views in the shadows.
I remember standing in front of half the entire school and saying, “my name is Nathan Lopez and I am gay and I’m against bullying.” The guest speaker stopped me midway and said I was very brave for sharing this and after she said that I remember everyone started applauding and cheering.
That day I wanted to make a change, so I stood up for myself. Unfortunately, I’m now 22 and I still deal with bullying. I still see bullying.
