Latina Mothers’ New Weapon in Fight for Education – California

“Of all the groups in California (including categories such as “low-income,” “Latino” and “African American”), it’s English language learners who are most drastically affected by poor school conditions. Eighty-five percent of English learners are Spanish speakers, largely from low-income communities. Little by little, Spanish-speaking parents””mothers in particular””are starting to use the Williams Settlement as an effective tool in their efforts to get high quality education for their children.

The group of mothers in Hayward initially came together to fight the school closures that were taking place in the district last year. Then they found out about the Williams Settlement after reading announcements about it at their kids’ schools.

“Before we got involved, (the district) only had one complaint,” says Araceli Orozco, one of the Hayward mothers. “We put together 45 more complaints,” she says, ranging from unqualified teachers to unheated classrooms and unsanitary bathrooms. Orozco, Heredia, and two other Mexican-American mothers collected complaints from concerned parents across the district. Armed with cell phones and notepads, they monitored the conditions in local schools and taught other parents to do the same.”

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