Schools See 'an Awakening' of Student Activism
Roosevelt High School's newly appointed principal, Cecilia Quemada, had barely been on the job for a month when a group of student activists approached her with a list of requests last October.
The teenagers, who are members of an organization called Youth Organizing Communities, spoke passionately about improving education for the 5,100 students who attend the severely overcrowded campus on Los Angeles' Eastside. The school is notorious for low test scores, and in 2001 it was one of 13 schools in California, and 10 in Los Angeles Unified, targeted for reform by the state.
The students wanted more information on college preparatory courses and graduation requirements, improved academic counseling and culturally relevant social studies classes emphasizing the history of Latinos, who make up the majority of the student body.
"The administration was making all of these rules we had to follow, but we didn't really know what was going on," said Rene Martinez, 16, a Roosevelt student. "It wasn't fair, so we decided we had to do something about it."
Quemada had been charged with the task of revitalizing the campus, after the controversial decision by the state and district to remove the previous principal, Henry Ronquillo. She was put off, at first, by the students' collective determination.
"I was really uneasy about it," she said. "That whole activism thing, you know, that can work in reverse sometimes."
Quemada didn't want to be pushed around, but she also didn't want to ignore the concerns of students. So she met with them and eventually agreed to some of their ideas. Within a few months, some of the students' wishes were met.
The school's tardy room was closed after the group complained that it was a waste of instructional time for students. Instead, tardy students remain in class and receive alternative punishment, such as after-school detention, as well as counseling.
Quemada agreed to add two Mexican American studies classes to the course list, hire three more guidance counselors and include mandatory counseling about graduation course requirements during homeroom.
"Here was a group that wanted to be in the loop, and I thought, 'Why not make something positive out of that?' " Quemada said.
