Mission Viejo Elementary in Aurora, Colorado School Bans White Students From After-School Tutoring Program … Only for Children of Color, Whites Need Not Apply (Update: School Apologizes)

WHAT PART ABOUT DISCIMINATION DOES THIS SCHOOL NOT UNDERSTAND?

Just when you thought you had heard it all when it came to public education in the United States, along comes to following. A school principal for the Mission Viejo Elementary in Aurora, Colorado has stated that NO WHITE CHILDREN were allowed in an after-school tutoring program. WHAT!!! A student of color only tutoring program? Really? So what part about segregation and discrimination doesn’t this principal quite understand? So it is ok for children of color to get special tutoring, but not white children? Imagine, just imagine if the story was reversed and the letter that went home to parents from the principal states that ‘children of color need not apply’? Ironically enough the sign outside of the Mission Viejo Elementary school states: “To inspire every student to think, to learn, to achieve, to care”.  I guess some one needs to inform the principal of the elementary school’s mission statement? The Board of Education seems to be throwing the principal Andre Pearson under the bus and blaming him for this entire fiasco.

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A school principal said no white children were allowed at an after-school tutoring program, and now some parents call it discrimination.

The principal at Mission Viejo Elementary in Aurora sent a letter telling parents the program is only for students of color. Parents CBS4 talked with said they were shocked to see, in this day and age, what they consider to be segregation.

“I was infuriated. I didn’t understand why they would include or exclude certain groups,” said parent Nicole Cox, who is white.

HOW DOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN IN AMERICA? Is this the principals way of getting even with “Whitey”? Making matters worse in this story of discrimination, guess what color principal  Andre Pearson is? Yes, he would be an individual of color. I wonder how he would feel if the roles were reversed? It is truly sad and pathetic that a school administrator would actually think that any form of discrimination would be ok.

UPDATE I: as reported at The Daily Caller, the School district is in full scale damage control and apologizing for Principal Pearson’s actions. They claim his letter was a mistake. Um, this was no mistake on his part. He truly intended to go forward with the reverse-discrimination. AN APOLOGY IS NOT ENOUGH, PRINCIPAL PERSON NEEDS TO BE FIRED!!!

The district has since apologized for the error. A spokeswoman for the school district told KJCT that Pearson’s letter was a mistake and that white students can participate in the tutoring program.

“We deeply regret that they got that communication,” the spokeswoman added, according to notes CBS Denver.

UPDATE II: Letter to Parents ?February 12, 2013 … Principal André Pearson in full damage control mode.

Mission Viejo Parents,

I want to express my regret for the communication sent last Friday describing the PASS Tutoring program sponsored by our PASS parent committee (Partnership for Academically Successful Students). The PASS committee is focused on partnering with the principal to close the racial achievement gap; however the tutoring program is open for all students, regardless of race/ethnicity, and on a first come, first served basis.  As your child’s principal, I am equally concerned about the success of all students who attend our wonderfully diverse school.

I have deep convictions and take my responsibility as a school principal very seriously.  This situation has not deterred me in any way from continuing to do my job with a dedication to excellence.  I am committed to ensuring every child in our school succeeds while closing the achievement gap…it is a moral imperative for me as a public educator.  I will continue to do both of those things with great passion.

In alignment with our District Performance Plan, Mission Viejo has set goals to increase the achievement of all students while eliminating differences in academic performance and growth by race. I welcome input from any and all community members to help us achieve these goals. As a community we will continue to work hard to establish strong positive relationships with parents through PASS, PTCO and Accountability meetings.

In addition to the PASS Tutoring Program, we have many other programs that are intended to help students including, but not limited to, Reading Together, Saturday Academy, Math Club, and Reading Clubs, as well as teachers who make themselves available for afterschool tutoring. If you have concerns about your child’s academic progress, please notify your child’s teacher and they will give you guidance on what steps we can take, together, to ensure your child’s success.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

André Pearson, Principal