The following a Letter to the Editor to the Mojave Desert News is in response to an article the newspaper published about CVMB partners (the Ca City Parents Students Association and Dolores Huerta Foundation) speaking at the Mojave Unified School District. Re: MUSD does the LCAP dance”
This response letter reflects the direct actions CVMB and our partners are taking to make demands and changes for African American students in California City public schools.
The Mojave Desert to publish our letter to the newspaper, which we’re reposting here.
Letter to the Editor
The recent article about Mojave Unified School District board should have appeared in the Opinion section of your paper rather than the News section. The article erroneously misreports the issues brought up by parents and supporters at the board meeting.
According to California law, school districts are required to hold public hearings, in which parents can give recommendations on how to allocate state funds for student achievement.
Our parent group, the Cal City-Parents Student Association (CCPSA), not the “District African American Parent Council” as reported, works to monitor and address problems faced by students of color, and particularly African American students, unfairly targeted in MUSD schools.
CCPSA is also supported by the Dolores Huerta Foundation (DHF) out of Kern County that helps parents advocate against discriminatory practices in the district, and which led to KHSD settling in a lawsuit in which they must implement Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to ensure they are not expelling or suspending students on racially implicit biases, just as African American students who are unfairly treated in the MUSD district.
DHF also spoke at the meeting to clarify the purpose of Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), which supports English Language Learners, foster youth and low-income students. LCAP funds must be used by the district to increase the services and resources of the aforementioned groups.
CCPSA is also concerned about the district turning students over to the police department for non-criminal behavior. These matters should be handled by school administrators, and parents should be called in when their child is involved in a fight, in order to comply with PBIS and responsibly utilize the $1 million MUSD is allocating for PBIS implementation.
The CCPSA invites Desert News to interview Black students and parents in the district to get our views and perspectives on these issues.
Update
Cal City-Parents Student Association (CCPSA) and the Dolores Huerta Foundation (DHF), along with the Central Valley Movement Building will continue to organize and push for changes in California City schools to affect changes.
Members of CPSA (supported by DHF and CVMB) will continue to attend and speak out at the district board meetings concerning the discriminatory policies and actions affecting African American students in the district. CVMB will write another blog post soon about the progress that has been made in California City, but also about what else needs to be done.
Members of CCPSA and DHF also attended the first valley convening of this year back in May in which CVMB presented information about the school-to-prison pipeline, and another presentation about knowing your legal rights regarding school discipline policies.
