LONG BEACH : Students, Parents Accuse Teachers of Racial Taunts
Long Beach students and parents Friday accused three teachers of racial taunting and physical roughness in the aftermath of two days of demonstrations at DeMille Middle School.
“We had teachers slapping kids and calling us names,” said Alma Lopez, eighth-grade class president, during an assembly called to ease tensions. District officials asked three teachers to remain home while they investigated the charges, but would not release their names.
The trouble started after word spread last week that Principal Zeff Dena might lose his job. Dena confirmed that he received notice that he might be demoted, but said he did not know how the students knew.
On Thursday, most of the school’s 1,170 students refused to return to class after lunch, Dena said. School was closed an hour early. Many of the protesters were Latino students shouting support for Dena, who is also Latino, witnesses said.
On Friday morning there was a smaller protest in front of the school. There were no arrests and no report of injuries from either protest.
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