Story by Sofia Alva
News Associate Editor
Photo by Ella Jayasekera
Photography Editor
Graphics by Charlotte Cohen
Associate Design Editor
The district’s annual School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) revealed evidence of racism and other inequities at SPHS. The data, which analyzes performance level across a variety of demographics, generated severe criticism from parents and students.
The SPSA included data from the 2018-2019 school year, which showed that the suspension rate for English learners at the high school is 4.9 percent, while the suspension rate for all students is only 1.5 percent.
“Obviously a BIPOC immigrant is going to be treated differently from somebody with no accent, or even a European immigrant,” sophomore Isu Park said. “When my mom first moved to the U.S. [in ninth grade], she knew very little English, was automatically put in the lowest classes, and was easily labeled a scapegoat in school classroom mishaps. This was multiple decades ago, but the narrative remains: English learners and having accents in general are racially discriminated against.”
The data also highlighted discrimination against Black students. The number of Black students at SPHS has declined from 32 to 25 over the last three years, compared to a decline in white students from 416 to 401. Meanwhile, the suspension rate for Black students is 7.1 percent, the highest out of any racial group, while the suspension rate for white students is only 1.0 percent.
“Black students make up only 1.75 percent of the enrollment percentage, but have the highest suspension rate in the district,” Park said. “[Teachers] are selective about their discipline, even unintentionally, because of the deeply ingrained white supremacy, fragility, and bias that [exists] in our heads. What the school board needs to do is offer more comprehensive [anti-bias] teacher training that is not optional.”
The structure of discipline at SPHS was also a topic of concern among students.
“The idea of suspension does not make much sense to me to begin with,” senior Andrea Zarazua said. “How would taking a student out of school change their behavior in the future? There is no discussion about how or why the behavior was wrong and taking children out of the situation doesn’t necessarily promote self growth. Seeing as suspension is also subject to racial bias, there doesn’t seem to be much reason for suspending students at all, besides making sure colleges are notified that there has been misbehavior.”
Based on the data, the district laid out four goals targeting specific student groups, including increasing students’ career and college readiness and narrowing the ELA and math achievement gaps for Latinx and disabled students.
To ensure all students are career and college ready, SPUSD offers SAT/ACT prep courses and test fee waivers, and provides student-run Veritas Club after-school tutoring in almost every subject. In addition, they hope to provide opportunities for ninth grade multicultural ELA class teachers and other interested faculty to attend multicultural conferences, and mandate counselor attendance at university and college admission meetings.
To narrow the ELA and math achievement gap, the district is working to better accommodate Title I students through after-school math tutoring, an information night for Title I parents, a specialized APEX program, and a commitment to expanding the use of the online article database Newsela district-wide.
Some feel that more action must be taken to address SPHS’ inequities. After the Black Lives Matter protests last September, SPHS students have called for anti-racist reforms including the hiring of more BIPOC teachers.
“I grew up in a Mexican family and understand the struggle of parents having to make sacrifices so that their children can graduate high school,” junior Jade Harris said. “Free counseling and tutoring should be offered [but] I think in general SPHS needs to make a better effort to welcome students who don’t have the privilege of growing up in a nice neighborhood or have parents who graduated from college.”
SPHS parents echoed the sentiment that further action is necessary to the wellbeing of BIPOC students.
“While it is great to see the district addressing these inequalities, there is still more to be done,” parent Richard Wong said. “The fact is that discrimination at SPHS is a direct result of years of systemic racism. It will take time but I have faith that equity for all students can be achieved.”
