By Anna Lee Mraz Bartra
Correction: This story has been revised to reflect the original version as it appeared on Peninsula 360 Press. An earlier version incorrectly included the name of a staff member. We regret the error.
Amid growing hostility toward migrant and Latino communities in the United States, an incident at a Bay Area school has raised concerns among parents and community organizations.
The mother of a 10-year-old has filed a complaint over what she described as discrimination and racist aggression by a teacher at Orion Elementary School in Redwood City, some 30 miles south of San Francisco.
The incident has deeply angered the city’s sizable Latinx community, about 35% of the population in Redwood City.
“My son came home with swollen eyes from crying and a sad little face,” said Belén Salazar, recalling a March 24 exchange between her son and his teacher, whose name is being withheld amid an ongoing investigation. “My teacher hurt me a lot,” she said, recounting her son’s words in a radio interview with Peninsula 360 Press. “She told me she was going to send me back to my country with my family.”
According to Salazar, an altercation erupted between her son and his teacher that morning after he attempted to defend his classmates, whom the teacher allegedly referred to as “losers.” Salazar’s son accused the teacher of being racist, at which point, said Salazar, the educator allegedly took the minor by the shoulders, sat him down on a chair against his will, and replied, “Yes, I am racist, and I am going to send you back to your country with your family.”
Afraid to go to school
The exchange comes amid heightened fear and anxiety in immigrant communities nationwide as the Trump administration pursues its campaign of mass deportations. Earlier this year the administration ended long-standing policy that prevented ICE agents from conducting enforcement activities in locations including churches, hospitals and schools.
Reports of ICE raids and detentions, meanwhile, continue to circulate across social media, with children especially vulnerable. Reporting shows a drop in school attendance as students share their fear of encountering immigration agents.
Salazar stressed that her son was traumatized by the encounter and now says he is “afraid to go back to school.” Classmates, meanwhile, related the incident to their parents, who later submitted a report to the school.
Peninsula 360 Press spoke by telephone with the mothers of two classmates who requested that their identities be withheld to protect their children’s privacy. The mothers confirmed that their children witnessed the events described and that they had been impacted, both emotionally and psychologically.
Parents report their children also described feeling “intimidated” by another staff member, who addressed the class immediately after the exchange.
District offers no real solutions
Peninsula 360 Press reporters visited Orion to interview staff but were directed to the Redwood City School District, which issued a statement in response, noting that “a thorough investigation into the matter was conducted. Following the investigation, appropriate action has been taken with the staff member in question. In addition, the school administration has met with concerned parents to address their questions and provide the necessary support.”
The statement continued, “due to staff confidentiality, specific details about the investigation cannot be disclosed.”
Parents insist the response falls far short of expectations and are demanding an apology from both the accused and the corresponding authorities. “The teacher was reinstated in the classroom as if nothing had happened,” noted Salazar. “We haven’t received any real solutions.”
A nearby after-school care center reported that the child arrived crying inconsolably on the day of the incident. Days later, the child, feeling unsafe, left his classroom and went to the care center, which related that no authorities had been aware of the child’s absence during school hours.
“I requested that they provide a teaching assistant in the classroom while they conducted their investigation,” explained Salazar, “but they informed me that there were no available funds for that. The only option they offered me was to join my son as a chaperone on an upcoming field trip.”
Salazar’s mother, Alma, stressed the school was failing to put students’ emotional health first. “They should prioritize the emotional safety of the children rather than allowing the teacher to remain in front of the class,” she told Peninsula 360 Press.
None of the parents interviewed for this story see this as an isolated incident. Many say that with Trump back in the White House, the racism that has long simmered beneath the surface is now on full display.
“They are telling us that we are fewer in number and that we don’t even have the right to speak our language,” said Salazar. “Before, it was hidden; now it seems normalized.”
This story was first published in Spanish by Peninsula 360 Press.
