When junior Delilah Trujillo learned Spanish teacher Glenda Hurtado and music teacher Wes Hambright were being displaced, she joined her peers to plan a walkout. Through her efforts, she learned the power of collaborative action.
“I learned that everybody in the whole school can combine into a team,” Trujillo said. “We could power our voices and tell the district and all of them that we need both teachers.”
The displacement occurred on Sept. 13, on Norm Day. Norm day is an annual event by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) where schools submit their enrollment. From there, the district distributes resources based on enrollment rates. Because Daniel Pearl Magnet High School only has 188 students for this year, two teacher positions were not funded and needed to be displaced.
To protest this displacement, the students organized a walkout for Sept. 23. The walkout took place at 3 p.m. None of the students had prior experience organizing, so it was a big learning experience.
“I learned about bringing people together,” junior organizer Sebastian Olfatmanesh said. ”That was a big thing, bringing 100 people together.”
The organizers debated where the protest should take place. While some organizers wanted to remain on campus because it would be safer, others believed that they should walk out of school and march next door to the district’s Region North office. Many discussed having the protestors split off into separate groups in different locations as a compromise.
The students met during lunchtime, after school and talked over the phone to make the decision. They settled on walking out of the school and protesting in front of the district’s Region North office along Balboa Boulevard. The experience helped the students learn how to cooperate while handling disagreements.
“I was working a lot more on my cooperativity and being able to kind of accept other people’s viewpoints as part of my opinions,” said junior advocate Serena Elkins.
After the reinstatement of Hambright on Sept. 23, students felt empowered. Although organizing the walkout was challenging due to the organizers all being novices, students-activists like senior Leeron Naakash believes she gained a greater understanding and appreciation of collective advocacy.
“If you have a voice and you want to speak up about something, do it to the best of your ability,” said Nakaash. “Do it in a way that you’re sure that other people will listen to you.”
After the protests, no other active demonstrations have occurred. However, the organizers continue their demands for the reinstatement of Hurtado at DPMHS. Following her displacement, Hurtado was hired at Portola Middle School and began working there on Oct. 14.
During lunch on Sept. 23, before the walkout, the organizers met and discussed possible plans to raise their demands even further. Although some organizers like sophomore Nadia Buer are having trouble rallying the previous participants, they hope to combat Norm Day and repeal it at the state level.
“I think our work still isn’t over,” sophomore protest organizer Buer said. “There are so many issues regarding LAUSD beyond our school. We’re suffering from the displacement of teachers and we’re losing programs.”
