On February 16, 2017 students of Rubidoux High School in Jurupa Valley, CA (located about 50 miles east of Los Angeles and near the city of Riverside), participated in #ADayWithoutImmigrants, a nationwide known protest of the policies and practices targeting immigrants under the Trump era to depict the tremendous impact of immigrant presence and how a simple day of absence truly affects everyone. Teachers Geoffrey Greer, Rhonda Fuller, Robin Riggle, Claude Umbarger, Charles Baugh and counselor Patricia Crawford of Rubidoux High School were exposed to have commented degrading remarks of their “delight” in having immigrant students’ absent for a day, the excuse of their absence being to get “drunk”, be “lazy”, and needing for more implementation of #DayWithoutImmigrants for simple personal convenience [1].

In response to the mocking and stereotypical comments of these teachers and counselor, students walked out from their school, which led other high school students, parents, alumni, and community members to protest. Following these protests, the Jurupa Unified School District (JUSD) implemented a Safe Zone School District resolution, to reassure parents and students that their school would be a safe space for all students, including immigrants. However, it has been 6 months after the incident, the JUSD has yet to hold a public forum specifically for students and parents to have open and transparent dialogue. According to California Public Records Act documents, from February 17 through June 2, teachers and guidance counselor were paid out a combined total of $222,965 [2];  not including the amount that was paid out to the substitutes that replaced them in their own classrooms. From that time being until now there has been no public update to JUSD'S students and parents on the investigation or actions that district will take.

Hence, parents, students, and community members demand the following:

1. Replacement of Superintendent Elliott Duchon for declining to meet with parents and community organizations and not taking concrete actions against teachers and staff that made racist and disparaging comments about students.

2. IMMEDIATE disciplinary action or termination and replacement of all teachers and staff that publicly degraded students online for damaging their own effectiveness as teachers and disrupting the function of the school.

3. The increase in support for undocumented students through the opening of a DREAM Resource Center at each high school.

4. The increase in bullying/harassment trainings for teachers, staff, and students and the development of a process to report incidents without fear of retaliation from school staff, teachers, or district officials.

5. The increase of mental health support for students (i.e. talking circles).

6. An establishment of greater leadership and empowerment trainings for students/parents.

In addition, we want the school district to hold a public forum for students and parents to have open and transparent dialogue on the steps that can be taken to ensure that these incidents do not happen again.

It is unacceptable that it has been six months after the incident, and students, parents, and the community have not been publicly updated on this incident by the Jurupa Unified School District. Parents, students, alumni, and community members believe that in order for JUSD to build trust with students and teachers, the above mentioned actions must be taken immediately.

[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2017/02/19/these-california-teachers-mocked-students-for-skipping-school-on-immigrant-boycott-day/?utm_term=.6451afe10591

[2] http://www.pe.com/2017/08/04/rubidoux-high-teachers-still-on-leave-for-day-without-immigrants-posts/