By S.A. REID, ANNA VARELA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/11/06
A Clayton County high school principal who told a group of Hispanic students they could face deportation if they caused trouble in school has agreed to step down at least through the end of the semester.

Principal Delphia Young of Forest Park High School had found herself at the center of controversy since she called the school's Hispanic ninth- and 10th-graders to a meeting in the cafeteria earlier this month.

Students reported that Young accused some of them of being gang members responsible for recent off-campus fights and said she told them she would call police and immigration officials into the school the next time a Latino student caused a problem.

Young will be away from her job as principal at least until Dec. 21, said Charles White, a district spokesman. Assistant principal Sandra Lewis will serve as interim principal beginning Monday.

Young and district officials reached the agreement Friday, which calls for suspension time, specialized training and reassignment of duties, White said. District officials declined to provide more details on the agreement, calling it a "personnel matter."

School superintendent Barbara Pulliam described Young as a proven academic leader and a solid professional who has a stellar record.

"This is a good administrator who has made a serious mistake, and while that mistake has serious consequences, this is not an administrator that our system needs to lose," Pulliam said. "We believe that she could provide valuable service to the school district in the future. I will be making decisions regarding that future based on her response to the suspension time, the training, and her conduct going forward."

It was unclear what her future assignment might be.

Zayra A. Fosse, Georgia director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) said a Latino parent contacted the civil rights organization this week to ask for help.

"Our main concern is for the kids because they're the victims here," said Fosse, who added that the issue has been reported to her organization's national office.

Immigration status should not have been injected into the discussion, she said.

"One thing is to go back and forth to adults and whether you feel they should be here or not," Fosse said. "That's fine to express to adults, but not to children."

Young, who has received recognition for raising academic achievement during her two years as Forest Park's principal, is not giving interviews.

On Friday, superintendent Pulliam was at Forest Park to announce the move and talk to staff about school climate at the district's most culturally diverse high school. Forest Park is 60 percent black, 20 percent Hispanic, 9 percent Asian and nearly 8 percent white. Systemwide, Hispanics make up 12.8 percent of the district's enrollment.

Young held a meeting Thursday evening to explain her actions, drawing more than 400 parents and students.

Invoking immigration officials appears to violate the spirit of a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that guarantees immigrant students, including illegal immigrants, the right to attend k-12 public schools. Under the ruling, known as Plyler vs. Doe, schools are barred from seeking information about a students' legal status or taking other action that could "chill" an immigrant student's right to attend school.

Jimmy Garcia Arispe attended the Thursday night meeting on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens, a national civil rights group. He said Young apologized for her actions.

"She explained that she was angry at the situation and wanted everyone to know that she did not excuse her behavior but that these were the circumstances around it," he said. "She also said she would take any consequences that resulted from her actions."

'You don't segregate students

Parents in the crowd appeared mixed in their reaction to Young's apology, with some calling for forgiveness and others saying she should be fired.

Arispe, a former middle school principal in DeKalb, said he sympathizes with Young's desire to keep her school safe. But he said she made a serious error by singling out one ethnic group for her message.

"Principal 101 is you don't segregate students for any reason," he said.

"She needed to either address the entire school population or she needed to do some investigating and narrow it down [to specific students]."

Arispe said the Latino parents he has spoken with already had concerns about Young's leadership of the school and felt they weren't welcome there. "According to the [Latino] parents, they have felt uncomfortable throughout the entire year with the administration."

Arispe said he has offered to serve as a bridge between the Clayton school system and the Latino community.

Sonia Salazar, whose daughter is a Forest Park ninth-grader, said she is pleased with the way the district handled the controversy.

"It looks like they are taking it seriously, said Salazar, adding that her daughter didn't attend the cafeteria meeting because it targeted mainly Hispanic males.

Salazar, however, doesn't want to see Young return to Forest Park. She believe's Young's inappropriate language and threat, though said in moment of frustration, reflects the principal's true feelings about Hispanic students and their place at Forest Park.

"With that type of mentality, I don't think she's fit to run this school or any other school, Salazar said."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.



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