Chants of “We need them back,” “Students deserve to learn” and “Online school isn’t school” echoed outside the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) North District offices in Lake Balboa on Monday, Sept. 23.
In the afternoon heat, students at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) walked out of their classrooms to the district offices next door, protesting the announced displacement of two teachers, due to low enrollment.
Enrollment was cited at the lowest in the school’s history, dropping from 220 in 2023 to 188 in 2024.
“We want to be able to learn without having to learn from an online source or having the departments fully close,” said Serena Elkins, a student helping lead the protest against the district office and “Norm Day,” when the district adjusts student-to-teacher ratios based on enrollment.
After Norm Day on Sept. 13, music teacher Wes Hambright and Spanish teacher Glenda Hurtado were informed that they would no longer be teaching at DPMHS, nor overseeing clubs and special events.
An hour before the protest, the district announced the reinstatement of Hambright.
“Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Los Angeles Unified, Region North, and our school administration, we are able to fund one additional teaching position. The music position has been secured at this time for Daniel Pearl High School,” read an email from Principal Armen Petrossian.
“We cannot be a school in Southern California without a Spanish teacher.”
Tim Hughes, science teacher and UTLA Union Chapter Chair for the campus
Hurtado is still being displaced with Spanish classes set only to be offered online.
“I think our student body banding together … played a focal point in getting Mr. Hambright back,” said Elkins. “But now we still need to keep fighting, because we still need Ms. Hurtado back.”
Teachers that Listen
“We are family here,” said Elkins. “So many of these students need this school. I need this school.”
DPMHS is a journalism magnet named after Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was killed by Islamic militants in 2002.
Elkins said she did not function well at other schools, but that she thrived at this school – becoming the head of the ambassadorship, class president for the past three years and was able to “amp up” her grades. She attributes much of her success to the teachers.
Sophomore Nadia Buer has taken classes with both teachers and described them as integral to the school.
Buer described Hambright as “influential within our community, … able to bring so many creative kids together and give them an outlet and a safe space to express themselves” and said that Hurtado “took the time to hear everyone’s voice and made sure that everybody was caught up [and] everybody’s questions were answered.”
Students are required to take two years of a language to graduate, and more if they want to attend a four-year university. Buer said she is concerned about taking Spanish online, where students can’t engage and ask questions.
“These teachers really acted as a safe space and a person for kids to go to with problems or just to hang out with,” said Buer. “Having teachers that really take the time to listen to you means the world.”
Hurtado, who also runs the Hispanic/Latino club, has been teaching at the school for 17 years. She started when it was part of Birmingham High School, before it became a charter school and split into Daniel Pearl Magnet.
“To go from teaching consistently for 17 years to getting an email every night telling you which schools to substitute for – it’s a crazy adjustment, and it’s disrespectful,” said Buer.
A Unified Force
“As soon as word got out last week that our teachers had been displaced, the students banded together and became a unified force that was trying to bring our teachers back,” said Elkins.
Students immediately generated a petition, signed by every student, started an Instagram account to release information and then reached out to media, parents and administrators. In silent protest throughout the week, they sported white armbands and wore white and red outfits as symbols – white for peace and red to represent the school system.
At 3 p.m. on Monday, more than half the school staged a walkout – chanting and carrying signs that read, “Bring back our teachers,” “If you’re reading this fund our school” and “We have the right to be educated.”
“I’m really proud of my daughter for being out here today. Really proud,” said Lindsey Sanders, parent of a 12th-grader at Daniel Pearl.“They love their teachers, they want their teachers back and they’re all committed to this.”
Tim Hughes, a science teacher at DPMHS, reiterated how inspiring the student’s efforts are.
“These kids are engaged. They are well-spoken. They are ready to organize and work together,” said Hughes. “These are tomorrow’s leaders … and seeing them come together in that way is incredible.
“On another note, they shouldn’t have to. Our students should not have to be taking to the streets to fight for their teachers to be on campus and to have a full educational program,” Hughes continued. “It’s something that should be guaranteed.”
A Downward Spiral
“There’s a larger enrollment issue throughout the district,” said Hughes, who is also the United Teachers of LA (UTLA) union chapter chair for the campus. “People are leaving LAUSD. They’re leaving Los Angeles because LA has become too expensive.”
Since 2021, LAUSD district-wide transitional kindergarten through high school enrollment has dropped by 4% from 437,358 to 419,749 students.
Hughes said because their school missed their norm number by just three students, they lost three teaching positions – one of which they negotiated saving before word got out.
A statement released by LAUSD regarding the decision to displace teachers at Daniel Pearl read:
“The District works collaboratively with each school to minimize disruption and to mitigate immediate impacts to affected schools, howeverwe understand that Norm Day can cause disruption to the staffing in some school communities.”
Hughes believes that small schools such as Daniel Pearl “need to have some sort of minimum allotment of educators to staff our departments completely and give students the full program that they need without having to go online.”
“We cannot be a school in Southern California without a Spanish teacher,” he added.
Trying to retain enrollment numbers when teachers are getting cut is a “downward spiral,” said Buer.
“If we don’t have teachers, kids that are touring the school aren’t going to be attracted to it because they don’t have anybody to turn to when it comes to the learning curriculum,” said Buer. “I mean that just leads to kids transferring out.”
Hughes thinks the district should help schools “bounce back from hardships” they’ve experienced from dwindling enrollment and lack of funding, adding that LAUSD has “$6 billion in reserves that they will not spend.”
When UTLA has brought up tapping into this reserve with LAUSD, Hughes said they responded with the rhetoric of, “We might need it for a rainy day.”
“Our school is having a rainy day, and we need the help,” said Hughes.