High Stakes Testing Ground Zero…And the Revolution that Followed
Norma de la Rosa didn’t sleep the night before because she was afraid. Norma is the president of the El Paso Teachers Association and she’s not afraid of much. Not politicians or reporters or giving speeches before hundreds of people, but she was about to do something no one in El Paso had done before. She had invited the entire community to come to what is being called their Ground Zero. She was afraid that no one would come.
Ground Zero is what we call the pit left after an explosion. After an attack. Bowie High School was Ground Zero for hundreds of students whose futures were attacked. The students at Bowie are smart, energetic teenagers with as much right to a future as anyone else’s kids. The school is located along the border. You can throw a rock and hit Mexico. There is a high poverty rate among families. High unemployment. Many students are English Language Learners. These boys and girls need an excellent education to meet the challenges that are part of their lives.