TeWinkle criticism rejected

Federal Office for Civil Rights rules that middle school administrators didn’t intimidate or discount Latino parents.The federal Office for Civil Rights has closed its investigation of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, ruling that administrators did not violate protocol during interview sessions with TeWinkle Middle School parents earlier this year.

On Nov. 30, the office sent a letter to Newport-Mesa Supt. Robert Barbot announcing that its research had turned up no signs of wrongdoing. The ruling capped a period of five months in which some parents accused TeWinkle administrators of slighting Latinos while others in the Westside community rallied to support the school’s leaders.

In June, then-TeWinkle parent Mirna Burciaga filed a complaint accusing the district of intimidating parents who had voiced concerns about racial disparities at the school. After a group of parents spoke at a June board meeting, the district held private meetings with the parents to discuss the problems. Among the administrators present at the meetings were Principal Dan Diehl and assistant principal Tim Tolzda, both of whom parents had cited in their complaints.

Burciaga called Diehl and Tolzda’s presence at the meetings an intimidation factor, but the Office for Civil Rights, which viewed videotapes of the sessions, ruled otherwise.

In his five-page decision, investigation leader James M. Wood wrote that the tapes “revealed that the parents spoke to District and School staff directly, and were not interrupted or cut off.... It did not appear that the parents were reluctant or hesitant to speak, or unable to share their concerns.”

Newport-Mesa administrators were pleased with the office’s decision, and they said they hadn’t been worried about a negative ruling.

The Office for Civil Rights’ “findings reflected our thoughts,” said Karen Kendall, Newport-Mesa’s director of English-learner programs, who participated in the meetings with Diehl and Tolzda. “We endeavored to have it be as welcoming, as friendly as possible. We took as much time as the parents needed. It was in Spanish, so they could express concerns in their primary language if that was more comfortable.”

Burciaga, a former parks and recreation commissioner and longtime activist, called the investigation inadequate. She said the federal office had relied mostly on her and on district officials for information and had not given the other parents a chance to speak.

“I believe the parents didn’t have a chance to talk to the Office for Civil Rights because the office didn’t call them,” Burciaga said. “They just made a decision based on what the district told them.”

A representative of the Office for Civil Rights could not be reached for comment.

Burciaga’s complaint, first filed in June and amended a month later, alleged nine counts of discrimination by TeWinkle administrators. The office agreed to investigate only one of her complaints, rejecting the other eight either due to lack of evidence or because they fell outside the office’s jurisdiction.

Shortly after Burciaga filed her complaint, Diehl released a 21-point “action plan” to boost morale at TeWinkle and to improve relations between the white and Latino communities. Diehl, who is in his second year at TeWinkle, said he had conceived the plan even before Burciaga’s filing.

Among the new developments at TeWinkle this fall are a parent resource center, a quarterly student newspaper, and meetings of the Parent Teacher Assn. and the English-language advisory committee scheduled on the same night. Another improvement, Diehl said, was the newly formed parent advisory council, a multicultural group that meets about once a month.

“I can tell you, through the parent advisory council, we’ve made a concerted effort to have parents of different backgrounds working together,” Diehl said. “The doors have always been open to all parents at TeWinkle, but the parent advisory council has given another avenue for parents to get involved.”

Burciaga, whose children have now graduated from TeWinkle, has a history of taking action against the 1,100-student school. In 2000, she successfully filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights and the state Department of Education accusing TeWinkle of providing inadequate education for English-learner students. The district signed a federal agreement in 2001 promising to modify its programs.

In April, Burciaga led a petition drive to retain then-assistant principal Tony Valenzuela, who many TeWinkle parents believed was being fired. The district denied the claims. Valenzuela currently works at TeWinkle as a community liaison and runs the parent resource center.

After the Office for Civil Rights’ latest ruling, Burciaga said she did not plan any further action against Newport-Mesa in the near future. She cited Diehl’s action plan -- which the federal office praised in its ruling -- as a possible catalyst for change.

“It’s more to see what the district will be doing from now on,” Burciaga said of her intentions. “The Office for Civil Rights saw the plan they have, and they expect the district will follow with the plan they designed.”