Thread: Is San Juan campus 'a Mexican public school'?

Kim McCarthy is a parent who has had two children attend Marco Forster Middle School. She is concerned the school is being run like a mexican public school. As such, she has written a letter to the school board outlining some of her concerns. If you go to the link, you can review the response of Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter. Of course Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter has basically dismissed Carter's concerns..


TO: Trustees Ellen Addonizio, Anna Bryson, Larry Christensen, Ken Maddox, Sue Palazzo, Duane Stiff, Mike Darnold

Thank you to the trustees for omitting on the blue request to speak card, the requirement of stating your children's name and school they attended. I can tell you first hand my involvement in the original recall landed me and my family's names on the enemies list. As a result, I was reluctant to speak before the previous Board majority.


My concern tonight is this: For the last 2 years my daughter has attended Marco Forster Middle School , and before her my son attended Marco. Consequently, I have spent a significant amount of time at Marco, yet I have never been comfortable there. Why? Because this school is operated as if it is a Mexican Public School, not an American Public School.


• The Mexican flag is painted on the multi-purpose room wall next to the portrait of a Mexican man with a quote in Spanish.

• Many signs throughout the school at various events are in Spanish.

• Most everyone behind the office counter is often electing to speak Spanish.

• Many a time have I been sitting in the office when the principal walks in, Carrie Bertini, and she is choosing to speak in Spanish instead of English as well.

• The messages on the phones are in Spanish, all of the paperwork is in both Spanish and English.

• On parent teacher night when parents only are requested, many of the Latinos bring their children anyway, as interpretors.

• An awards ceremony at the end of the school year was given in English and then parents had to painstakingly sit through it interpreted by teachers in Spanish to the gasps of the many English-speaking parents.

• Subsequently, due to the way in which this school is run, my daughter and her friends say Spanish is spoken by the majority of Latino's in the hallway who are perfectly capable of speaking English. Why not, when the principle is doing it and no one is telling them any different! Is this promoting assimilation? NO, it promotes divisiveness!


There are 140 languages spoken by California's children, is the CUSD prepared to include them on all paperwork, the phone system, speak their language at awards ceremonies and represent their flags on the wall as well?


What happened to PROP. 227, "REQUIRING ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL INSTRUCTION TO BE CONDUCTED IN ENGLISH?" I consider anything that goes on in the public school system as some form of instruction.


Even more disturbing, why is the Catholic organization CHEC, allowed to promote themselves using our public school system? This is a religious organization targeting one race in our public school. Is this even legal? If so, why don't they make a check out to the CUSD Foundation for ALL of the children of CUSD?


Why is the principle of Marco, Carrie Bertini, getting involved in San Juan Capistrano's local politics and attending the 5/6/2008 City Council meeting to speak on behalf of the Catholic organization CHEC when residents of SJC were opposing the city renewing CHEC's license to operate in one of our residential neighborhoods? And let me make it very clear, because I have it on tape, she introduced herself as the principal of Marc Forster Middle School and identified herself once more during her speech that she was the principal. Miss Bertini gave out her own statistics, crediting her schools relationship with CHEC for a drop in expulsion.


The divisiveness at Marco is disturbingly out of control and it appears, is being perpetuated by the principal.


Bottom line:

• I am asking you, the board of trustees, to enforce the laws of The United States of America and PROP 227 at Marco and throughout the district.

• Please do not allow the Mexican flag to remain on the walls at Marco.

• Do not allow any one religion to single out one race of children and use our public school system to promote it and their organization.

• Please ask Marco Principal Carrie Bertini to stop promoting the use of the Spanish language thus enabling Latinos to create Mexico within our public school system. Maybe then these students will better assimilate, which in turn will foster better relations all around.


What is happening at Marco is unacceptable. I and many other parents and children are tired of it and want it to end but we need your help to do it. I'm asking for your intervention.


Thank you,

Kim McCarthy

Orange Country Register

MOD EDIT page scrolling. For information to shorten urls for the forum please see:

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-104354.html

I read the response and you could hear the violins in the background. I know for a fact that ENGLISH is the only language that students can use. It is discrimination pure and simple. I bet the mural with US flags had little bitty ones and the Mexican flag was huge. I hope these parents sue for violation of the statute.