The Mosaic To stay or to leave Teen Urban Journalism Workshop
FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2019
Volume 26
DACA recipients wonder: What about our kids?
www.mosaicjournalism.org
Summit network’s clash with union highlights battle over California charter schools By Judy Ly and Jacob Khan-Samuelson Kahn
Mosaic staff writers
to do,” Jerry Alarcon, 28, said in English as he sat on the steps of his front house on a scorching hot day in San Jose. Their gold and teal, plastic portfolio had all the important documents for themselves and their kids, such as passports and Social Security
Two days before the school year ended, teacher Aaron Calvert took his Summit Denali charter school students on a walking field trip to downtown Sunnyvale to explore opportunities for the future: internships, summer jobs, and independent study projects. Later that day, a student asked if Calvert was returning for the following school year. He responded, “Yes I am, unless I win the lottery.” At the end of the last day of school, Calvert found out he will not be returning, but not because he won a lottery. Instead, his bosses terminated his contract, after he had already signed on for the following school year. Two other staff members at Summit Denali — physics teacher Andrew Stevenson and English teacher Evelyn DeFelice — were also terminated despite having been rehired for the fall. All three teachers said they did not get a detailed explanation for why they were let go beyond “business reasons.” In the days that followed, their colleagues launched a public petition to reinstate the terminated teachers. Diane Tavenner, CEO and co-founder of Summit Public Schools, declined to go into detail about the situation but said they were student oriented. “At Summit, business reasons are student reasons,” Tavenner posted on the online petition. “While we cannot discuss specific reasons for personnel decisions out of respect for the employees’ privacy, we can assure you that the question of what is best for students is the value that has guided our actions for 16 years.” All three teachers were prominent supporters of Unite Summit, the first-ever Summit teachers union, formed earlier this year, in hopes to gain more say in Unite Summit union pin
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PAULO ORZOCO - STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Nancy, an undocumented resident, poses for a picture with her hands covering her face in fear of revealing her status.
came President Donald Trump. Today, they keep a portfolio stuffed with personal documents in a drawer, ready to grab quickly if or When Cristina and Jerry Alarcon won tem- when they are arrested and deported. “Our stress is not going to change anything as porary protection from deportation, the spirfar as what Donald Trump or the Congress wants its of the undocumented couple soared. Then By Julie Hernandez Mosaic staff writer
Teens seek to aid Mother Earth
‘No Kid Hungry’ works to give students summer support
By Lauren Kim
By Gianna Campos
Mosaic staff writer
Mosaic staff writer
“Don’t let the planet get hotter than you,” a large banner read in the Cultural Arts Hall of Palo Alto’s Oshman Family Jewish Community Center. The collection of gray foldable chairs facing
“The youth have more time to get involved holding the decision-makers accountable for faster results and more effective changes.”
Delaine Dao 17-year-old senior
the stage were only half occupied by 50 teenagers and parents who waited patiently for the start of 2020 or Bust’s second Global
RUTH RODRIGUEZ - STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Laughlin Artz, head speaker at Global Youth Climate Action Summit, explains on Tuesday, June 11, 2019 what New York will eventually look like if we don’t begin to take action to reverse climate change, at the Cultural Arts Hall, in the Oshman Family JCC, in Palo Alto, California.
Youth Climate Action Summit. Although the turnout for the June 11 summit was small, youth activists from around the Bay Area are stepping up to respond to what they see as a monumental issue. From campus projects to wider community events, stu-
dents are working to take action to combat climate change. Yarden Zinger, a recent graduate of Homestead High School in Sunnyvale, manages youth outreach for the California chapter of 2020 or Bust, an organization committed to eliminating the cliCONTINUE ON P.12
Throughout the school year, many students depend on free lunch to eat every day. But when summer comes around and school is out, those same students have few options. But thanks to organizations like No Kid Hungry, there is a way for them to eat during the summer. No Kid Hungry has been providing food to needy students since 2010, when it was launched by the nonprofit Share Our Strength. This summer in San Jose, Ohlone Middle School, Hoover Middle School, San Jose High School and Lincoln High School were offering breakfast and lunch to kids ages 18 and under for the second half of June. It’s a vital service because according to No Kid Hungry, six out of seven students who rely on subsidized school
ABEL ANGELABEL GONZALEZ HERNANDEZ ANGEL HERNANDEZ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
meals don’t get enough food in the summer. The program covers select dates because they match up with the roughly 60 students who attend summer school at Ohlone. “When this program originally started, it took place at the park on Empire and 13th street. [Backesto Park],” said Estela Camarillo, manager of the lunch CONTINUED ON P.7