COMPTON : Parents Storm School Office Over Treatment of Latinos
About 100 angry parents stormed the office of a Compton elementary school Wednesday to protest what they called the district’s unfair treatment of Latino students.
Chanting loudly, the mostly Latino parents of McKinley Elementary School students occupied the building for more than two hours before they were ejected by the district’s police officers and administrators.
Although the demonstration was generally peaceful, officers arrested the group’s leaders, Frank and John Madrid, soon after the protest ended. They were booked on suspicion of failing to disperse after officers ordered protesters to leave.
The protest was prompted in part by last week’s transfer of Angelina Gonzalez, a parent and popular bilingual aide, to another school in the district. Parents said that McKinley, which has a large number of Spanish-speaking students, has failed to provide enough Latino instructors who could help students learn in their own language.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
