BEAR WITNESS
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FEBRUARY 2018 |
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BHSBEARWITNESS.COM
FROM THE FRONT PAGE
TEACHERS | Company hopes to help with housing Branham alone saw a 50 percent turnover of teachers in the past three years -- few have been at this district long enough to earn a six-figure salary. Math teacher David Hunter, who is relatively new to Branham, confronts such problems, while trying to secure some financial footing. He lives in San Jose, rents an apartment and also is paying off his student loan after pursuing two degrees. “The high cost of living makes it difficult to save money,” Hunter said. “I try to save little bits each month.” Even for veteran teachers, the pay remains problematic for searching close to Branham. Those like history teacher Brett Johanson see buying a house in the area as highly improbable. Having been at Branham for more than a decade, Johanson lives Ben Lomond, 29 miles away up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The commute can vary between 40 and 90 minutes.
“If my wife and I were to buy in the area, we would be house poor,” Johanson said. “At this point, buying [near Branham] is not a solution.” The phrase “house poor,” refers to putting almost all earnings into paying housing funds and using what little else remains on necessities. Johanson’s sentiments are not unique. In the survey sent out to teachers, 29 of the 49 participants felt it would be extremely unlikely for them to own a home in the district. If living in the area presents its own financial problems, the tentatively better alternative is making the commute from out of town. Enduring the rush-hour traffic in early mornings and late afternoons is a situation many teachers are faced with, and it also carries its own frustrations. “The commute is too much but only manageable because of the frequent breaks,” Johanson said, referring to the 10 months of work that a teacher typically enjoys. Science teacher Chris Chidester, a Castro
Valley resident, faces similar traffic congestion every school day. “The commute would be 45 minutes, but with traffic, it is about an hour both ways,” Chidester said. While he would like to be closer to his job, his wife is also a teacher and lives in that area to be close to her mother. His two daughters are also settled into daycare, which costs about $3,000 a month, making living closer to Branham an impossibility. Family is a driving force in his decisions. Still, Chidester would “prefer not to have that horrible commute.” With all these conditions, it is difficult to imagine any solution, let alone a catch-all, is being manufactured to help teachers. Still, the district is working towards a solution to alleviate pressures on teachers new and old. Local Bay Area company Landed, a financial assistance organization with “a mission to help essential professionals build financial security
near the communities they serve,” is partnering with the Campbell Union High School District to establish a organization providing financial aid to teachers looking to buy near Branham. So far, the Down Payment Assistance Program, designated to provide teachers with up to half of a down payment (maximum of $120,000) on a house, has been met with great interest from faculty across the district. One of the founders of Cambrian Union High School District Education Foundation, the partnering group with Landed, and Branham parent Andrea Ciplickas sees great potential, based on the development so far. Thanks to a philanthropic investor, the Landed program has millions with which to help teachers. “I think it could be a good way for people to know that, ‘Hey, I could maybe buy a house in this district,’” Ciplickas said. CUHSDEF and Landed hope to expand the program.
DACA | SJSU student president speaks of immigration status
SHOOTING | Suspect raised red flags prior to Parkland school shooting
Michael Espinoza, who advises the Latino Student Union, said that even though some students may be here legally, they still fear for their families’ status. “We started talking about it one day in class, and (a student) just broke down and she had to go outside,” he said. “It was her uncle.” With the threat of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids bearing down on the Bay Area (more than 200 were arrested in Southern California early February), those in the community face uncertain futures. According to The New York Times and ICE reports, within the beginning of Trump’s administration and the 2017 fiscal year, 110,568 immigrants have been deported, an increase of 42 percent, compared to the previous presidency. District and Branham officials have shown support for undocumented students, sharing information financial aid for DACA renewal. Many teachers and also have expressed support for the Dreamers. Community liaison Alma Cisneros-Iberri is one of those student allies. She provides Spanish translations for nearly all school documents, and is an interpreter at parent events. “We just need to find a way to let them know, ‘Don’t worry, we have your back,’” she said.
one event is going to eventually create change that will prevent another tragedy like the one that happened in Florida.” District and school administrators are reminding students of the importance of the twice-yearly active shooter drills. “We are going to start working really hard to increase the opportunity for students to know what these practices are, and increase the effectiveness of what we do,” said Principal Cheryl Lawton. These drills tell students to first run away from gunshots until they’re far from the area and in a safe area. If that’s not possible, students and teachers are to barricade themselves and remain quiet. The last resort is to attack the shooter in an aggressive manner, incapacitating them. Superintendent Robert Bravo sent an email to parents in the district to remind students that counselors are available on campus to discuss the tragedy, and to encourage students to report suspicious behavior. In recent days, it was shown that authorities missed several red flags that others had raised of Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old confessed perpetrator behind the shooting. He showed an intense interest in guns, knives and violence and was reported to an FBI tip line. His classmates considered his behavior and his
Manzo has used her leadership status to help Dreamers like herself. UndocuSpartans was an informational event that she helped organize. She said that her public persona had encouraged others to get in touch with her about receiving help. “It’s not something that we should be ashamed of,” said Manzo, who said that undocumented people like her are resilient. “We’re essentially not supposed to be here, but we’re finding ways to survive.” Manzo said that she draws strength from her mom, whom she workEd multiple jobs in the face of daily threats of deportation. “It’s fighting for her and fighting for the sacrifices that she made,” she said. “For me it’s not an American dream, it’s my mom’s dream and I want to continue to fight for it.” Manzo said that she understands how difficult it is to speak out. She herself still faces this fear, but she believes that it is detrimental for these students to share their stories to benefit not only themselves, but others in their position. “Never feel like you can’t have fear because those are your emotions and they’re very valid,” she said. “But also know that when you share your story, you’re opening the door for someone else to share their story.”
Instagram posts to be abnormal, including disturbing images of weapons and dead animals. Cruz used an AR-15 rifle he legally purchased to commit the shooting. He is now booked on 17 counts of premeditated murder. Cruz was expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year and teachers received an email warning them to look out for Cruz, who was not to be on campus. On Feb. 14, Cruz pulled the fire alarm at the high school, which students believed to be the second fire drill that day. After students began evacuating into the halls, he began shooting. This is the eighth school shooting resulting in injury or death in the U.S. this year. The United States is the leader in gun violence, with 90 mass shooters from 1966 to 2012; the nation is home to 4.4 percent of the world’s population and owns 42 percent of all firearms, according to the New York Times. The U.S. recognizes a mass shooting as a public incident in which four or more people are killed. Vice principal Justin Ponzio said that being aware of these situations makes people prepared for any event that may come. “We should never be immune to death and terrorism. We should never be immune to what we see,” he said.