LULAC and Middle Schools

Now my blood is really boiling-LULAC is going to jump into this thing to defend a "HINO" (Hispanic in Name Only)? I am what you might call an honorary Hispanic-Anglo. Setting my Hispanic friends and family as examples, bullying people as if they are in a lower caste than you are, spending taxpayers money on non-approved or unnecessary expenditures, firing good employees for personal (not personnel) reasons and replacing them with unindicted co-conspirators from fraud cases---do NOT seem to be Hispanic values!!! And as for Martinez, leadership incompetencies, control and abuse issues drove him to a stand off that lost him his job, not being Hispanic. And for Heaven's sake--Gonzalez conspired with board members to rip off the school district for over a hundred thousand dollars while forcing all our kids to wear uniforms in his war on Hispanic gangs!!! Since Las Cruces is 65/30 Hispanic/Anglo, I would call all three of these losers discriminators against the very people LULAC claims as constituents. LULAC, lets get someone who REALLY cares about and loves the Hispanics in this community, and shows it in word and deed, regardless of ethnicity.
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I agree with the comments about abstract rants. If you are so immature that you have to resort to stupid Christmas jingles and vague dissertations then you should just shut up and get a life. Everytime these types of comments appear it just strengthens Ms. Diaz position that drastic change is needed. If you are not wise enough to understand that then maybe you should seek alternative employment outside of education and join an organization like LULAC. If this type of discourse continues to appear then maybe Sonja was right and this forum should be discontinued. In either case the children of this district are screwed.
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Good Morning: I am appalled that LULAC would jump into the fray over Sonia's firing. An interesting thing to remember is that the board is NOT able to disclose the reasons for her dismissal as per law but SHE (Sonia) IS able to disclose them because she is not bound under law as the board is. So, if the infractions were SO minor and involved race, discrimination, etc. why isn't SHE going public with the "extensive list"? I have said and still say there is more to this story than meets the eye. It is easy for legislators and organizations to take sides when they haven't been subjected to this woman's abuses. She IS very clever and knows how to play the game. She courts those most influential in our community and abuses those she considers subordinate. Also, LULAC, Jesse wasn't fired as I remember, he opted to leave and take another job. Maybe I'm wrong, but that is my recollection. As to this blog, you blogger have had a tremendous influence in the outcome of the situation. For the blog to go down, in my opinion, would be a tremendous disaster. It has given those most vulnerable an avenue of recourse that they would not otherwise have had. Way to go and thanks for your hard work! Anybody understand Paul Jarmillo's editorial? Clearly its easy to make assumptions when you don't have all the facts. With that comment, I rest.
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As a longtime Latino in this community, I am disgusted that LULAC has come to Dr. Diaz' defense. LULAC should concentrate on ensuring Hispanics have equal opportunities and that's EXACTLY what she had - an opportunity to do a good job. She failed miserably and was let go. And, why is LULAC talking about the last 3 superintendent's? Jesse Gonzales was not dismissed from this district. He was recruited by Compton California schools and he resigned on his own accord. LULAC - get your facts straight! I'm disappointed in you.
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Middle school in Las Cruces is a disaster waiting to happen. The teachers are trying to do their best. The administration turns a blind eye to what is happening. You see students out of control, not ranting and raving, just not listening or working. I know. I substitute in almost every middle school in Las Cruces. Lynn Middle School is the best school to be a substitute. I am not going to substitute in middle school any longer because I am tired of trying to teach and have students blow me off. High school is not much better. Students at Mayfield text message their friends in other classes. I asked another teacher about this and she said to let it go. " They are allowed to get away with it and we can do nothing about it." If a substitute complains about anything they are ignored. How is the subbing in elementary??
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If your children are coming home from school and telling you 'horror stories' maybe you should volunteer at their school. Or maybe you can get your sub license and substitute at their school. All the schools are understaffed and the district needs substitutes. We need more adults visible at all the schools to put a stop to the gang problems. Unfortunately the only parents at school on a regular basis are the gang-banger parents picking up their gang-banger kids.
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About the goings on at the middle schools. Yes, there is a huge problem with gangs, graffiti, fights, PDA, etc. The problem is not that teachers are not watching, the problem is not enough staff to watch everywhere. I work at a middle school. There are between 5-10 teachers out on any given day, for either training or sick leave. We are so short on EA's but they are pulled almost every day to substitute for the absent teachers. We have 2 administrators. We have 1 security guard. We also have over 800 students. Working for LCPS has become undesirable, especially at the rate security guards and EA's get paid. All of that combined means there is no possible way for staff to effectively monitor every area of the school while at the same time ensuring the best education for our students. I think that is one more reason the state should step in...obviously the current board can't fix the problem.
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Maybe if the district took better care of its employees we would have enough staff to keep an eye on the students. There is no longer any reason to work for the schools, unless you are close to retirement, just starting out, or need good insurance. Working for LCPS has turned into one of those 'another day another dollar' jobs that most people do only because they have to. There are some teachers who truly love teaching (I am one of them) but loving teaching takes a back seat to LCPS politics, jumping through hoops for no apparent reason, basically a lot of stress totally unrelated to curriculum. Basically, it's not worth risking physical and mental health for what little amount of money we make. (It is even worse for custodians, secretaries, EA's, security, and food service workers)
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