The campout to get the lemon out

Dolores Street parents and teachers keep up the fight to remove their administrator.

From United Teacher Volume XXXVIII, Number 13, August 15,2008.

It was a summer campout like no other. Sure, the tents were there, and the camp chairs and the camaraderie, but the sleepover by parents, teachers, and students on July 29 in front of Dolores Street Elementary had a serious purpose: to put pressure on LAUSD to remove their principal.

Since May, the school community has staged a number of actions—including weekly protests at District 8 headquarters every Wednesday in July—to let the District know that Anna Barraza’s leadership is hurting the school. The sleepover was timed to coincide with Barraza’s return to campus for the start of the new school year.

"We’re hoping that with us willing to give up our comfortable night’s sleep at our homes, that will send a message," said chapter chair Vanessa Olivo.

The protestors’ complaints center on what they say is Barraza’s dictatorial, uncollaborative leadership style, which isn’t a good fit for a family school like Dolores Street, where former students return as teachers and multiple generations cycle through its classrooms.

Bernice Esquivel, the mother of both a current and former Dolores student, is passionate enough about the school to fight for it.

"I wouldn’t choose a different school—the parents are involved, the community is involved," Esquivel says. "But this year is not like others. You can just feel it. The principal has created a hostile environment here."

Barraza was transferred to Dolores after facing similar complaints at her previous schools, Dena Elementary and Riordan Primary Center. Dolores teachers were aware of her past, but they say they didn’t let that influence them when she first arrived on campus.

"I read the article on her, but I thought we would show the District" that we can be the school that can work with her, says teacher Dorothy Ross, a 32-year veteran.

"I was on her side 100 percent," Ross says. "‘Give her a chance,’ I said, but she turned out to be a disaster."

Her detractors say that it didn’t take long for problems to emerge, such as Barraza not working collaboratively with parents and staff and inconsistently applying rules, designed to reward her favorites and divide the staff. They also say she is prone to making unilateral decisions, including trying to put through the school budget without the approval of the school-site council.

Barraza’s defense—that teachers are upset because they are unwilling to follow District policy—didn’t resonate with community members who know the school.

"The teachers here are so dedicated— they’re not just teachers," says Bob Levinson, whose children attended Dolores. "Education should come first, and bureaucrats should come last. We went from an A+ principal to an F-. It’s time for a change."

The next stop for this determined group is a September School Board meeting, where parents and teachers will urge the Board members to take action.

"This is a tight-knit community that is willing to fight for their school," said UTLA Area Organizer Mike Gipson, who has been working closely with the parents and teachers. "I don’t see them stopping until they get results."