SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Elvia Vasquez has three children that attended Sacramento City Unified School district schools and says she feels the district is not doing enough to include parents in the daily decisions made about their students.
“I wanted to be involved at McClatchy and they didn’t know what to do with me they said they didn’t have anything to do for me. I know there are many things to do there, but I guess it’s a culture where parents are not involved,” Vasquez said.
This is why Vasquez says she joined Parents Advocating for Student Success also known as The PASS Program
“I’m hoping a lot of parents, especially in low-income communities, get involved because we assume the school is doing everything, we trust the administrators are doing what they are supposed to, and a lot of times they are not,” Vasquez said.
Chett Hewit is the President of the Sierra Health Foundation which developed The Pass Program. Hewit says students from low-income families were not given the resources needed from the district to help their students succeed during the pandemic. Hewit blames the district's inability to come to a distance learning plan with the teacher's union.
“Those agreements are what stands up the rules of engagement for teachers as it relates to how they engage students those things are important," Hewit said.
According to a report by Capital of School Suspensions. Black boys are five times more likely to be suspended from SCUSD. That is the highest suspension rate in California.
Hewit says parents are also demanding more be done to help Black children who have fallen victim to suspensions.
“Making sure kids have the tools that they need to fully participate, to better understand the rules of engagement, and to make sure as we think about reentering school that the behavioral health issues that we know are going to present themselves aren’t going to make the disaster around expulsions even worse,” Hewit said.
In response to The PASS Programs concern, Sacramento City Unified says in a statement:
“We are grateful for the work of these community leaders and community-based organizations for helping to empower and engage our families through the PASS Project. We welcome this advocacy effort on behalf of our families, especially those who may not have an understanding of how to navigate our K-12 system. These families deserve a strong voice when it comes to the future of their students and our district."
