September 9, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Information:
Reform AUSD
reformAUSD@gmail.com

ALHAMBRA UNIFIED RETALIATES AGAINST TEACHERS, IGNORES COMMUNITY CONCERNS

San Gabriel, California - September 9, 2015
A modern-day witch hunt is ensuing in the Alhambra Unified School District (AUSD) as students and
teachers alike are being retaliated against by administration. Due to this retaliation and the districts
attempts to silence the voices of students after the district violated students First Amendment rights this
summer, community members will be speaking out at the next school board meeting on Sept. 15 at 6:00
p.m. at the AUSD offices located at 1515 West Mission Road, Alhambra, CA 91803. Major media outlets
will be in attendance.
In August, Jennifer Kim, an award-winning media adviser and former PBS producer, was put on
administrative leave indefinitely, which many students and community members believe is retaliation for
San Gabriel High Schools newspaper The Matadors summer coverage. The events leading up to this
include the districts censorship of The Matador, unaddressed threats of arrest towards students planning
a peaceful protest, the threat of a lawsuit against the district from the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU), and retaliation against the yearbook, El Camino Real, staff as they tried to get paperwork
approved for their annual yearbook camp field trip.
The Matador Online <thematadorsghs.com>, San Gabriel High Schools newspaper website, earned an
All-American rating, the highest achievement for a high school publication website, from the National
Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) for their summer news coverage regarding AUSD. The Matador was
also named a winner of the 1 For All First Amendment Challenge sponsored by the American Society of
News Editors earlier this year.
The San Gabriel newspaper and yearbook staffs are still without a permanent adviser, and Kim is banned
from speaking to current students and being on campus. Speech & Debate, The Matador, and El Camino
Real were forced to relocate on campus, and they have had a very slow start to the school year. After
Speech & Debate coach Andrew Nguyen, who coached a state champion, was dismissed without reason,
San Gabriel High has taken away his students practice rooms, putting over 60 students into one
classroom across campus.
As students have continued speaking out at these board meetings, both students and teachers have been
coming forward with accounts of Alhambra Unifieds use of retaliation. During the Aug. 25 board meeting,
retired teacher Shi Ying Chen recounted the mistreatment she received by administration at San Gabriel
High School and mentioned that there are others with similar experiences of workplace bullying who fear
speaking out because of retaliation. During the Aug. 4 board meeting, teacher Elizabeth Makarem
explained how she was involuntarily transferred to an elementary school after working at San Gabriel
High for 20 years. She chose to approach the transfer positively, but when she asked for continued
support after her first year teaching at the elementary level, she was told, If you dont like it, get out.

The AUSD community is a majority minority community comprised of Hispanics and Asians; most
students in the district receive reduced price or free lunch and are the first generation in their families to
attend college. Schools in AUSD receive Title 1 funding.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The situation began on May 22 when first-year English teacher and award-winning Speech & Debate
coach Andrew Nguyen was notified that his teaching contract would not be renewed for the following year.
When students sought a reason for his dismissal from Principal Jim Schofield and AUSD, both claimed
that they could not discuss personnel matters in the interests of Nguyens privacy despite Nguyens
written statement allowing all interested parties to discuss whatever they feel is appropriate about [his]
time at San Gabriel High.
The issue gained traction when Schofield attempted to censor The Matadors coverage of Nguyens
dismissal and students were threatened with arrest upon planning a peaceful protest on the day of
graduation. In light of these First Amendment violations, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
threatened AUSD with a lawsuit. In response, the district supposedly conducted an investigation, which
claimed that the censorship was not intentional and that they had never instructed Roz Collier from the
Alhambra Teachers Association (ATA) to inform Nguyen that the students could be arrested. On June 30,
the board announce that Nguyen would not be rehired and reiterated that personnel matters cannot be
discussed.
Later, a private meeting by invitation only with the district attorney, Jay Fernow from Fagen Friedman &
Fulfrost, was held for current students and staff regarding Employee Law. Recording and photography
were prohibited at this meeting, and security guards flanked the doors as administrators checked ID
cards. Many attendees left with unsatisfactory answers.
In light of the districts actions, students protested at the district office with hero Transparency Man on
June 23 and June 30. They have spoken out at every school board meeting this summer and will continue
to do so until either the board is removed or the district takes drastic action.
LAist (Most comprehensive article thus far)
http://laist.com/2015/08/18/sghs_matador_censorship.php
MTV
http://www.mtv.com/news/2245303/high-school-newspaper-first-amendment-censorship-students/
Pasadena Star News
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/article/20150816/NEWS/150819655
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/social-affairs/20150726/documents-show-alhambra-unified-schooldistrict-administrator-violated-state-law-censored-student-media
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/article/20150701/LOCAL1/150709977
The Matador Online
http://thematadorsghs.com/
Petition: Rehire Andrew Nguyen and Restore Transparency to AUSD!
http://thewire.k12newsnetwork.com/2015/07/11/re-hire-andrew-nguyen-and-restore-transparency-to-ausd/

Go Fund Me
http://www.gofundme.com/helpmrnguyen
Defy Silence Under Alliance
https://defysilenceunderalliance.wordpress.com/

Many believe that Alhambra Unified School District has a pattern of retaliation that plagues students,
parents, and teachers alike. As the district seeks to silence its constituents, a modern-day witch hunt
continues, seeming to resemble that in Arthur Millers The Crucible.
END