Rally Held to Reverse Board of Education Vote
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By Emily Thornburg
Video by Astrid Solorzano
Tuesday, September 24, 2013 | 4:00 p.m. PDT
Demonstrators rallied on Tuesday to protest the Los Angeles Board of Education's recent vote to pull the accreditation of Anahuacalmecac Indigenous Charter High School in El Sereno.
Anahuacalmecac Indigenous Charter High School will not be able to renew its accreditation. (ATVN)
Along with the rally, supporters of the high school also drew attention to the issue by holding a protest at LA County's Office of Education headquarters in Downey.
In June, LAUSD decided against renewing the accreditation for the charter high school due to financial issues and the school's test scores.
On May 7, 2014, the California State Board of Education voted unanimously to renew the charter of Anahuacalmecac International University Preparatory High School of North America. Board members expressed resounding support for Anahuacalmecac's innovative and academically successful bilingual and intercultural educational design recognizing the importance of the mission to serve the needs of Indigenous Peoples at a key time of national and statewide educational transformation. Students, parents and founders of Semillas Community Schools welcomed the California State Board of Education's unanimous vote to renew the charter of Anahuacalmecac. Serving students who reside in at least eighteen legislative districts around El Sereno, Anahuacalmecac's supporters included Senator Kevin De Leon, Senator Holly Mitchell and Senator Bob Huff. Thanks to the active intervention of State Boardmembers Trish Boyd Williams and Bruce Holaday, a strategy for future expansion was presented to and supported by the entire Board. Fellow Board member Patricia Ann Rucker and Dr. Carl Cohn also expressed their enthusiasm for the school's petition. At one point Ms. Rucker exclaimed, "When I heard they were authorized IB, they had me there!"
Semillas would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of our supporters and allies along this protracted struggle as we seek to establish the equitable demand for the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We welcome new supporters to donate to our nonprofit organization to help offset the costs of the battle. We look forward to seeking redress for the negative impact of the LAUSD's discriminatory actions and policies, while we work to expand access to maternal language, culturally relevant and autonomous education for all Indigenous Peoples.