Mendez High School students stage walkout to protest missing principal, vice principal
LOS ANGELES - More than a hundred students walked out of Mendez High School in Boyle Heights on Friday in protest of the mysterious absence of two faculty members.
According to students, the principal and vice principal at LAUSD's Mendez have been missing for weeks. However, no one knows why.
"They just take them out," said Yuleidy Escobar, a student. "They never bring them back. They don’t want to tell us why."
Cell phone video from Friday afternoon shows the students walking out of Mendez. Other kids from nearby Roosevelt and Lincoln joined the roughly 1.5-mile protest walk to Los Angeles City Hall.
"This isn’t the first time they’ve kept students, parents, and faculty out of decisions that impact us the most," said Kimberly Avalos, a student.
"We need transparency from LAUSD," said Escobar. "From anyone taking away faculty from us."
Parents joined the protest outside City Hall on Friday to support their students. Some say, with no official explanation for the departures, rumors are swirling about the generally well-liked faculty members.
"They’re already ruining the principal’s reputation," said one parent. "So many things have been said, just because LA Unified doesn’t want to give an answer."
"If there were anything wrong, I feel like they’d address that," said Jeremy Garcia, a student. "Student safety comes first. If these two men were to jeopardize student safety, I feel like that would come out already."
A spokesperson from LAUSD issued the following statement in response to the recent protests.
"Los Angeles Unified respects the rights of students to express their concerns and advocate for what they believe is best for their school," said a LAUSD spokesperson. "However, to maintain the safety of our school communities, we encourage students to participate in advocacy activities on campus. Additionally, we encourage parents and guardians to speak with their child and encourage them not to leave campus or take other actions that could derail their education or endanger their safety. Schools are the safest place for our students. While we cannot comment on specific personnel matters, we want to assure our students, families and employees that decisions regarding school leadership are made after careful consideration of various factors to ensure the continued success and well-being of everyone in the school community. Los Angeles Unified remains committed to providing a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environment for all students, and we value the input and involvement of everyone to achieve this goal."
Students say they will continue protesting until they receive answers.