May 29, 2012
Defend Santee High School Teacher Ron Gochez!
Dear Friends of Justice,
Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party strongly urges you to participate in an important rally on Wednesday, May 30, at 7:00 am in front of the Santee Education Complex located at 1921 South Maple Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90011 to defend longtime community organizer and union teacher, Ron Gochez, from being removed from the school.
We have worked with Ron for several years to defend immigrant workers and their families from racist vigilantes and police checkpoints. He has worked at Santee for the past 7 years where he is the MEChA advisor on campus and is the only one who teaches Ethnic Studies classes. Ron has never received a negative teacher evaluation and his students scored higher on the California Standardized Tests than most of the students at Santee.
Santee is run by Mayor Villaraigosa's "Partnership for L.A. Schools”. The Partnership is trying to displace him with the excuse that it’s due to the budget cuts. The real reason is for his political activism inside and outside the school. The Partnership has already made special arrangements to keep other teachers who were being displaced and who have less seniority than he does. Ron knows for a fact that they CAN keep him at Santee - they simply do not want to. Ron is running for L.A. City Council in the same district that Santee is in and where Democratic Party candidates who are running against him are part of the Mayor’s machine.
The good news is Ron isn’t going without a fight! So bring your picket signs, noise makers and friends and raise your voices to defend this radical teacher.
Other ways you can support Ron are:
1) Email the Partnership and let them know Ron should remain at Santee.
Dr. Sergio Flores
sergio.flores@partnershipl?a.org
Ryan Smith
Ryan.Smith@partnershipla.o?rg
Patrick Sinclair
Patrick.Sinclair@partnersh?ipla.org
2) Send a message to the Partnership on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/?PartnershipLA 3) Call the Partnership for L.A. Schools and leave them messages as well.
(213) 201-2000
In Solidarity,
Yuisa Gimeno, Los Angeles Radical Women
Muffy Sunde, Freedom Socialist Party, Los Angeles Branch