Alpha Public Schools operates four charter schools in East San Jose where eighty percent of the student body is Latino. When ICE raids began earlier this year, fear drove many families to keep their students at home. Since then, the school has made efforts to address the fears and to help families and faculty feel prepared. Jorge Arellano is Senior Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement at Alpha Public Schools. Nelly Gutierrez is the school’s outreach manager. They say uncertainty and fear over the possibility of continued raids is making it hard for students to focus on learning.
This year has been a completely different back to school experience, hasn’t it? Are you worried things will continue like this, or possibly worsen?
Jorge Arellano: Definitely. When this started a few months ago, there was real fear throughout the city, including among my family personally, in the schools, many families in general were quite fearful about what they were going through because they didn’t really know at any moment whether there would be a raid here, a raid there, and so on. There were cases here where word got around, “Oh, ICE has arrived,” so everyone was terrified. It has been quite difficult for the community.
And how have you seen this fear reflected in the students and their families?
JA: Among students at our schools, there was a slight drop in attendance, which we saw in many schools serving immigrant communities. We heard students say they’re afraid ICE will take their parents if they come to school, or that they’ll be separated. Students were afraid. In other schools we saw up to 20% of students weren’t showing up to class, which means these schools lose money because in California, school funding is tied to attendance. So schools hire the teachers and suddenly the students aren’t showing up. It caused a lot of problems. We saw a little bit of that at the beginning, but now things have leveled out.
Nelly Gutiérrez, as a community outreach manager, what are parents saying to you? What is the atmosphere like right now?
Nelly Gutiérrez: At first there was fear; parents were hesitant to bring their children to school. Students would ask, “What will happen if my dad is taken away?” They were worried. But thanks to our work with community organizations like SIREN, we’ve been able to provide reliable information. The message we give parents is not to be afraid, but to be prepared for anything. Things are a little calmer now, but we don’t know what lies ahead.
This is a situation that impacts not only students but also parents and teachers. What kind of support are you providing to them?
JA: Working with SIREN we looked for different resources to reduce anxiety and educate parents about their rights. Teachers were and are also worried, asking, “What are we going to do if immigration comes to our class and asks me for the students or for information?” They wanted to know what we should do because just as they are watching the news, they are listening, so they were also quite anxious. I see it as a kind of training, like preparing for if a shooter comes to the classroom, or just as we prepare for earthquakes. We have to prepare for that situation.
Basically, teachers know that right now, if immigration agents come to the school, they need a warrant to enter. And it can’t be a general warrant; it has to be very specific. They can’t enter the classrooms; they have to go to the office first. In other words, all staff are trained that yes, in case they arrive, there is a process that must be followed to protect the students and our families as much as possible.
Nellly, what are you seeing at the community level?
NG: Well, of course, families come in with many concerns, but as Jorge said at the beginning, we communicate with the parents and let them know not to worry. When all this started, we provided training to the teachers and the administration, so with that we convey to the parents that their children are in good hands when they are here at school. The other thing about the teachers is that, yes, all that is happening affects them emotionally, but they have to be strong and also convey something positive to the students and parents.
There has been a lot of reporting about learning loss during the pandemic. Are you worried something similar is happening now?
JA: Yes. I saw how our students overcame the challenges they faced during the pandemic. Now, in this emotionally charged climate, it’s difficult for them to concentrate 100%, and that impacts the learning of students who already face other challenges that schools like ours are trying to solve.
The benefit here is that we’re a fairly close-knit community; we have a strong focus on the students and their development. So we look for ways to avoid excuses for letting them fail. We constantly say, “Hey, we’re struggling. We have challenges as a community, but our community has always been strong. We’ve always looked for ways to improve ourselves.” We try to remind them that it has to be done, I mean, there’s no other way.
Anything either of you want to add?
NG: Yes, when I’m in contact with families, with any questions or anything, I always remind them: don’t open the door, don’t answer any questions, don’t sign anything. You have your rights, too.
JA: To the families who are listening, if you’re in a situation where you might be deported or picked up or whatever, plan, plan. That’s going to calm some of your and your child’s anxiety. When there’s a plan, you can say, “Okay, well, if anything happens to me at work or anything happens to me while we’re driving, I know there’s a plan for reunification with my family.
This story is part of “Aquí Estamos/Here We Stand,” a collaborative reporting project of American Community Media and community news outlets statewide.
