By SCOTT MERZBACH
Hampshire Gazette
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
AMHERST - As the Puerto Rican flag was raised over downtown Amherst Monday afternoon, members of the local Puerto Rican community used the annual celebration to announce plans to fight a recent elementary school redistricting plan.
Vladimir Morales, who organizes the ceremony celebrating cultural and ethnic diversity, said the town's Puerto Rican Association is deeply concerned with the socio-economic model used by the School Committee that will mean an equal proportion of low-income children attending each of the three remaining elementary schools. The School Committee received a legal opinion that clustering students by ethnicity was illegal; it sought to correct the situation via redistricting the town's elementary schools, timed with the closing at year's end of Mark's Meadow Elementary School.
The association will not be supporting the School Committee's actions, Morales said.
The theme of this year's celebration, which brought a dozen people to Town Hall and will be broadcast on ACTV, is "Democracy for all in Amherst."
Morales said he believes the School Committee's decision was not based on economics, but because the schools had not met annual yearly progress under the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System.
This meant breaking up the clusters of Latino and Cambodian students because their communities are not part of the political process and are generally not affluent, Morales said.
"Never did I think I'd be in the position, an adversary of Amherst public schools," said Morales, a former member of the School Committee.
Nelson Acosta, a community member and parent, said the redistricting plan is not about embracing the diversity of Amherst, but seems to be about putting forward a political agenda.
Citing the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, Acosta said the plan disproportionately affects Latino and other ethnic groups by ending the philosophy of clustering those students from similar cultural backgrounds and forcing busing. "It attacks the most vulnerable people in the community," Acosta said.
Acosta said it is unfortunate that this is happening in Amherst, where the spirit of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi are usually embraced.
With this spirit in mind, the Puerto Rican flag was being raised, Acosta said. Morales said Puerto Ricans enjoy flying their flag, noting that it has been displayed in solidarity in several other countries, including China and Australia. "We are very proud," Morales said.
The importance of Puerto Ricans to the U.S. is demonstrated, Acosta said, in that the percentage of island's population in military service is higher than in 34 states. The Puerto Rican flag goes up annually at the beginning of November and flies until Thanksgiving. It is meant to celebrate the Nov. 19 holiday on Puerto Rico, the day in 1493 that Christopher Columbus landed on the island.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis proclaimed Puerto Rican Day in Massachusetts in 1989.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
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8 comments:
I blame Mike Dukakis.
But seriously are there no words that can be spoken and believed by these terribly displeased town residents about actual laws and the actual principles involved in redistricting?
These people are unbeliavable:
"Nelson Acosta, a community member and parent, said the redistricting plan is not about embracing the diversity of Amherst, but seems to be about putting forward a political agenda."
How about transforming Puerto Rico day in a protest against th school committee? Doesn't that have a political agenda? If only they ofered ideas and alternatives...but all I hear is complaining.
This has probably been covered, but is it correct to say that whatever breakup of cultural groups is occurring is primarily due to ending open enrollment, not redistricting based on income? If so the article is misleading because it makes it sound like everything is due to redistricting based on income. Redistricting and ending open enrollment are related, but not the same thing.
Anon 8:32
"These people" !!!
I hope this article is incomplete or inaccurate in its coverage, as are so many Gazette articles. If it's not, this is one of those situations where I just can't understand the perspectives of Mr. Morales and Mr. Acosta, as hard as I try. Are we all just talking past each other or is there some common ground of facts and understanding somewhere?
I think Rick's right. It not the redistricting primarily, it the end of open enrollment, and end of second language clusters due to statutory compliance.
It may be time for the super and two board members to meet with Morales and Acosta. If this is a blood feud they're joining then better to address it directly rather than let it fester.
I don't think that Mr. Morales or Mr. Acosta can be reasoned with.
This is about two men who just aren't thinking clearly, who love the attention they're getting.
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