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Object Description
| Title | Interview with Juanita Terronez |
| Interviewee | Terronez, Juanita |
| Interviewer |
Tisdale, Jaykob |
| Date | February 2014 |
| Duration | Approximately 48 minutes |
| Description | In this interview, Juanita Terronez began with a brief history of her life and challenges she faced as a child as a recent immigrant to the United States. She spent most of the interview elaborating on issues facing the Floreciente neighborhood and Ericsson school more specifically such as poverty and language issues. She also shared her opinion about the school board's decision to close Ericsson, a decision with which she originally had some reservations but has come to accept as the best option both for her students and for the school district. Overall, her experience in her personal life as an immigrant to the United States and her experience as an educator in a predominantly Hispanic school gives her a great amount of knowledge about challenges facing the Hispanic and Latino community in the Quad Cities. |
| Historical Note | Juanita Terronez was born almost sixty years ago in Mexico. When she was a child, she moved to the United States with her parents and her grandparents. She grew up in Texas and was educated there. She did face some challenges due to the fact that Spanish was her primary language, but she triumphed over them thanks largely to her love for reading. When she was fifteen, her family relocated to Illinois. She states that this was when her culture shock began. Before, she was in the majority since most of the population in her city in Texas was Hispanic. However, in the Quad Cities, that was not the case. She lived in the Floreciente neighborhood where she still resides to this day. She married her partner and had her children in the Floreciente neighborhood. Later on, she earned her teaching degree. Her student teaching was at Ericsson, and she ended up being hired there for her first teaching job. The principal before Mrs. Terronez encouraged her to earn an administration degree and become the building's principal when she retired. Terronez states that it was a challenge to be the boss of her former colleagues, but she also states that she would have no problem talking to her colleagues if they were not performing at an acceptable level. In 2010, the Board of Education in Moline made the decision to close Ericsson as part of a restructuring process, a decision that Terronez initially opposed but has now come to accept as the best option for her students and the school district. After more than twenty years at Ericsson, Terronez is still very passionate about what she does. However, she has decided that she will retire when Ericsson is closed. All of the facts presented in the above biography were obtained from an interview with Juanita Terronez performed on February 7, 2014. |
| Interview Index | [00:01-00:30] Introduction [0:31-05:30] Challenges of growing up as an immigrant to the U.S. [05:31-10:08] Why Terronez became an educator [10:09-13:43] Terronez's transition from teacher to administrator [13:44-23:10] Challenges facing Floreciente neighborhood--poverty [23:10-46:45] Closing Ericsson school--Terronez's reaction, No Child Left Behind, merging into Hamilton, and what's next for her [46:46-47:56] Conclusion |
| Interview Notes | I, Jaykob Tisdale, interviewed Juanita Terronez at approximately 2:00 PM on February 7, 2014. The interview took place in her office at Ericsson. We chose to sit at a table in her office rather than at her desk because she was more comfortable doing the interview there. The recording's audio quality is sub-par due to an issue with the recorder. We spent approximately ten to fifteen minutes setting up equipment as well as going over the permission forms for the interview. Mrs. Terronez is a very friendly person, and her commitment to what she does showed in her enthusiasm to answer questions about it. She provided very thorough and intelligent answers to every question. Other than the audio quality, there were no major issues with the interview. |
| Transcript Exists | Yes |
| Audio Exists | Yes |
| Subject | Hispanic Americans -- Quad Cities (Ill. and Iowa) |
| Identifier | CD-0291/59 |
| Collection in Repository | Oral history interviews |
| Collection Number | MSS 291 |
| Project | Latino Leadership in the Quad Cities |
| Repository | Augustana College Special Collections, 639 38th Street, Rock Island, Illinois 61201 |
| Finding Aid Link | http://augustana.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/210 |
| Preferred Citation | Interview with Juanita Terronez, 2014, in MSS 291 Oral history interviews, Special Collections, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. |
| Rights | Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from Augustana College Special Collections and the copyright holder. Contact specialcollections@augustana.edu or 309-794-7643 for more information. |
| Type | Sound |
| Object Description | Compact Disc |
| Language | eng |
| Digital Format | audio/mpeg |
| Publisher | Augustana College Special Collections |
| Collection | Oral History Interviews (Augustana College) |
| File Name | index.cpd |
| Transcript | Interview with Juanita Terronez JAYKOB TISDALE: My name is Jaykob Tisdale. The date is February 7th of 2014. I'm here at Ericsson school, uh, with Mrs. Juanita Terronez in her office at Ericsson, uh, and I am going to be interviewing her. First of all, I just want to double check that I do have your permission to go ahead with the interview. JUANITA TERRONEZ: Yes, you do. TISDALE: Thank you very much. So, uh, we'll go ahead and get started here. Uh, the first question I wanted to ask you, uh--I did a bit of research, some news stories about the school and about yourself as well, and you stated that your parents were immigrants to the United States. TERRONEZ: Mmhmm. They were. So was I, as a matter of fact. Mmhmm. TISDALE: Very interesting. Uh, were there any challenges of growing up in a family of recent immigrants to the country, and if so, what were they? TERRONEZ: Okay, well certainly. My parents immigrated along with my grandparents they became naturalized citizens of this country, and when, uh, my parents crossed the border they lived in [Laredo?], Texas, and that's where I also grew up. I was born on the Mexican side of the border in [Nuevo Laredo?], Mexico, so I was raised in a border town, um, where I was the majority because a lot of the people who lived in Aledo were also Mexican-American. Of course, I am very proud to say that I chose to be an American. My parents raised me on the American side saying, "Wow, this is so different, this is so wonderful, you've got a lot of opportunities," and though there were challenges, yes, because as a recent immigrant to this country, they had to go through the process and go through the [inaudible] lawyer to become citizens, and then since I was born in Mexico as well, I also had to do the same. So, I happen to have become a citizen when I was twelve years old along with my grandparents. So, I was, you know, going to school in Texas, and it was difficult because at that time it was English pretty much only, you know, you're in America, and though I was probably fine with good enough communication skills, Spanish was still my strong language, but I was in America and it was English only English only, and I was going to be completely submerged into it. So it was a struggle learning English, but I learned it, my Spanish just was put on the back burner and in school they said, you know, Spanish is at home and English is for school, and when I learned English, I taught my grandparents so they could learn the Constitution and things--everything they needed to pass their tests, so it was wonderful and I got to go through it at the same time. I didn't have to go through the Constitution test and everything. I was twelve years old, so they asked me some questions, I said that I wanted to become an American citizen, and it was really great! I learned a lot of history when I was like in fifth and sixth grade, and I loved it. I love this country more than anything, and was it a struggle? Yes. Poverty, you know, learning another language, trying to become part of the American culture, though we were in the majority because so many people in Laredo, Texas were Mexican-American, we all had to learn the American culture, the American way, but you know, given the choice, my parents wanted us to have all those hopes and dreams that all the immigrants have of a better way of life and all the great opportunities here--they heard about it, they heard about it, and they wanted it for me and for themselves and even for their parents since they brought them across the border as well. And then I made a move here to Illinois in 1970 when I was fifteen years old, and that's when my culture shock really came because I became the minority when I came here to Illinois, and you know, it's not okay to speak in Spanish anymore and even though I'm in my [inaudible] but coming here was a lot different. It was a struggle. We had to do some migrant work, so I was a migrant worker for about three years. I did three summers worth of work and we ended up staying here. Our--my father had a brother who lived in this area and he said that he could get a job at John Deere, or--he ended up working at Alcoa once very shortly [in 70?], and I finished here at United Township and, you know, it was a little sad leaving my Texas and my town, but I found that I gravitated a bit more towards the Mexican people here, just one of those cultural things. Went to the [fiestas?] in Silvis and that kind of thing, so struggles, yes, but you know, [inaudible] even though we picked pickles in Wisconsin and we picked tomatoes in Muscatine, and the onion crop over here in Iowa somewhere, um, they were still happy times, family times, you know, and the one thing that my parents kept telling me is like, "We're only doing this--this is only for a while. We're gonna do well. You are gonna be educated and you're gonna become something." And that was really instilled in me and my brothers and sisters and the majority of us ended up graduating from school, getting our college degree, and that's been a big difference for us. The story of my life. I married someone from Illinois, I stayed here but my family moved back to Texas so I go see them every once in a while. TISDALE: Very interesting. TERRONEZ: Yes. TISDALE: I'm glad that your memories are mostly fond. TERRONEZ: [laughing] They are. They really are. TISDALE: My second question was kind of--at what point in your life did you decide to become an educator, and what were your reasons behind that? TERRONEZ: Mmhmm. As I was learning English as a second language, it was a struggle, but I was one of those, um, children that was loving school--I mean, I loved learning. I found out right away that once I learned how to read in English, it's like there was no stopping me. I fell in love with books. I grew up with the Nancy Drew mystery stories, and I, I had those great teachers that really wanted me to--okay, you speak this language, I'll help you learn your English, and you learn it well, you can prove to, um, us that you can do it, and I fell in love with books and loved learning, but I could see the struggles of my classmates as well because I was one of the smarter ones--I got the straight 'A's and they didn't, you know, things like that, so I knew how hard it was for them [inaudible] for my brothers as well, but the love of learning that I knew growing up. I kept saying, "Oh, I want to be a teacher just like them" because I loved school. I really loved school, and I wanted to someday be up there teaching everybody [chuckling] because, you know, I taught my grandparents, you know, all about the Constitution, and you know, it's like school and I just knew that was what I wanted to do someday. And my dreams were put on hold for a little bit and I, you know, after graduating here from UT, went to Black Hawk, I got married, had children, and then I still knew I needed something else. So as my children started growing up, I started coaching their team, I served in the community when we sent them to Catholic school, I served on the Seton school board, and then I said, you know, what did I always want to do when I grew up? I wanted to be a teacher, so then I went back to school, a little bit older since I had already had my children, and I said I always wanted to be a teacher, so I went to Western, and one of my professors there said, "You're a Spanish speaker and you're not in the bilingual program?! My goodness! You've got to," so there [inaudible] and I said okay. I'll do it. I want to be a teacher but I also want to be a teacher that teaches those who want to learn English as a second language because I understand the struggles. I've seen what it was like, and though it was not as hard for me, because again, school came easy for me, I loved it, but I knew that there were still some who struggled even more than I did. So I became a bilingual teacher and I started here at Ericsson--I did my pre-student teaching in Silvis and then some other schools but I did my student teaching here, and I was hired right away after I graduated, so I really have only been here at Ericsson. I really haven't had other experiences. I was a teacher for fifteen years, and as I was working because I loved education, I kept going back to school, got my administration degree, wasn't really sure that I had that tough skin, you know, my heart was in wanting to be an administrator, I thought, because I love change, but I-I really wasn't sure that I was thick skinned enough and had that, you know, that drive of being an educator. I was lucky enough that the principal before me, um, helped me, you know. She really encouraged me to seek my administration degree and to do my internship with her--that she would train me. She said, "Look at how fast these Hispanic populations are growing in this school here at Ericsson." And since I've been here for twenty-one years, when I first came here, we had like a few students and every year we've gotten more and more and now this neighborhood has become--the majority of them are Hispanic, second/third generation some, so some are not learning English as a second language anymore, other Hispanics, we still have some immigrant families come every year, and it was just our love of this school and knowing that I could be an administrator, that I was told, "You can do this, you can do this," and I was always, you know, one to set goals and achieve them, so I said, "Okay, I can try it and I can do this" and pretty soon, I interviewed for the position, I think I sold them on it, and I've been lucky enough to have been able to reach my dream of, you know, running a school for immigrant families and having a bilingual program here, has been wonderful. TISDALE: I was actually going to ask you [TERRONEZ: Really?] what inspired you to become an administrator, but you answered that for me, and I greatly appreciate it. It was all very interesting. Thank you very much. TERRONEZ: Yes, the principal before me--her name was Pat Alexander, Pat Nelson--she, um, was a number of teachers in this building that, uh, under her leadership, she was one that inspired us. She knew how to lead--right now, we're talking about professional learning communities--we have been a school of Title I funding for many years, and I can agree with that, as the school became more school-wide, um, Title I, we had lots of training on how much money is out there for teachers [inaudible] leveling the differences between the haves and the have nots, and we can hire reading teachers and we can get some computers and we can spend money [inaudible] our students can be at a level that better [inaudible] with the haves and because most of them are the have nots, and my administrator--the administrator before me, um, really pushed us to learn more and learn more and educate yourself and learning about the trends and what's new--what are those practices--and she always would help with professional development for us, and I think that's the kind of, that's the person before me, I always wanted to be like her, I always wanted to be like her, I wanted to run a good school as she had because it was always a team decision, you know, she would never talk down, you know, it was always we talked about the problems. Basically, yes, the buck stops with me, just like it did with her at that time, but it was always a "What shall we do? What is good for our students? What can we improve on?" and things like that, so it was great. I've had a great experience here, and I know when I interviewed for this position, [inaudible] in the interview committee, I was asked, "Would it be tough for you to come in as you've been a peer, you've been a peer with these teachers, can you go in and be an administrator?" or what did I think of that challenge, and of course, I was very honest and said sure, you know, it's gonna be a challenge, but uh I have been, uh, you know, I have had colleagues and good friends and I've made probably better friendships with some teachers than with others, but of course, I wasn't here just for the social. I was here for the kids, for the parents, for the families, for the--the love of teaching, for... so, my colleagues, I learned with them and they need to respect some of my ideas and we would share so much that when it came down to [talking to them and time to be evaluated?] I said, "Sure I would." I'm not one that would say--if I see that they're not doing their job, knowing as hard as I work with my students, I would never let a--a mediocre teacher stay in the building. It's gotta be a good teacher, [inaudible] I wouldn't have any problem telling my friends, you know, "What are you doing? Your children are not learning" and that kind of thing. So was it tough? Yes. In a building where I've been a teacher before, was it tough taking on my new role? Oh, certainly. I don't think there's any administrator who can say, you know, it's a piece of cake. It certainly wasn't. But though the challenges were there, I knew that the role that I had played as a teacher and then as a teacher leader and being in charge when the principal was gone, I had kind of worked my way towards that, and it was good. It was great. And we have a small school, small staff, small problems, but they sometimes do get to be big problems. But it's good. I love it here, and I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to be the administrator of a building where I started my career, and... TISDALE: Thank you very much. TERRONEZ: You're welcome. TISDALE: And uh, in your opinion--you kind of touched on this a bit--but what are some of the greatest challenges facing the Floreciente neighborhood and more specifically Ericsson school? TERRONEZ: Okay, well, this neighborhood has changed over the years, and I can tell you this because I've lived in this neighborhood. Um, when I got married back in '72, I got married right out of high school, and I married my husband who lived in this neighborhood, and of course he's like, [inaudible] so we moved about five blocks away in our first apartment, and I could tell, my in-laws had lived in the neighborhood since the '40s, and they always talked about how when my father-in-law first bought his house here, it was a Belgian neighborhood. Pretty soon, the upward mobility, pretty soon the Belgians moved up the hill and started living in the 7th street area and you know, up the hill, they've done more for themselves, they're becoming better educated, getting better jobs, being able to afford better housing, they moved up the hill. It's something that all immigrants want is doing better for themselves. And when my father-in-law bought the house, right after World War II, more Mexican-American people started coming to the neighborhood and eventually, uh, in the '50s and '60s more and more Mexican-Americans apparently settled in the area, and now, very few Belgians. As a matter of fact, we bought our house from the Swanson family which, you know, we ended up buying a house on the same block as my in-laws, beautiful old Victorian home, and I've stayed and I've seen the change in the neighborhood um, from you know, homes that had been lived in one time being torn down, and I kept seeing people coming into the neighborhood--I've lived here for the same amount of time I've been a teacher, um, a little bit longer than that, maybe twenty five--no, I've been married for forty years--oh, Mrs. Terronez--so I've been here for about thirtyfive years in the neighborhood. So I've seen what it's like and I've seen [inaudible] a neighborhood where there is old housing that is more affordable, so the immigrants come here, and this neighborhood became sort of a "Little Mexico"--and as a matter of fact, I think people refer to it as that--because the immigrants who moved here found that they could set up and, you know, work and send money home and set up little Mexican stores that provide all kinds of services for them and sell the Mexican food that they love to cook, there's a place for you to go get your hair cut and go get your--go see a lawyer, there are many store front businesses in this area, so that if a Mexican family--immigrant family comes here, they can feel more like home. But are there struggles? Oh, certainly. You know, I've seen the struggles of many of the families now that I'm working here at this school, you know, I'm the one who has to look at the income- -the paystubs of the families and decide whether they qualify to get a free or reduced lunch, and there's a certain formula we look at--if you make so much and there are so many children in your family--and it's amazed me. Until I became an administrator, I didn't have to do that kind of work. I didn't realize that there was the poverty that there is and so forth, and um, not just the immigrant families whereas we have a lot of African-American--not a lot, but we have some African-American families and some white families that just moved here because this was the only affordable place for them and, you know, there's lots of trends here, families coming to the neighborhood, again because of the affordable housing that they can find here, but is this--you know, has it changed in the way that--are more people buying in the neighborhood? Mexicans-Americans have made a little money, why pay rent? I can buy this house. I can rent the upstairs, and [inaudible] I mean, Mexican-American people in this neighborhood are good, hard-working families that believe in the family and in support and many of the homes have been turned into duplexes and again, you know, because of--you know,we're doing a little better now, we can afford to buy the house. That kind of thing, or there are some buildings that are multiple families, and you know, yes we have some slumlords, yes, there are those kinds of problems, but the city of Moline has been very good about helping us with those kinds of things. And like I said, because I live here in the neighborhood and teach here, I raised my children here, yes, mind you, my children came to kindergarten here but starting in first grade I sent them to Catholic school. I was doing a little bit better for myself, my husband got a good job, we could afford the Catholic school, which was the way my husband's family had been raised, so we were able to do that. So I can't say, you know, I sent my kids to Ericsson and now I'm here as a teacher. I can't say that, but once I came in and I taught the kids here, I knew that this was my niche. This is, you know, this is--I've seen the families struggle the way my mom and dad struggled, the way they had to do the migrant work and find a place and a job and all that, and I've been very blessed to have found a place where I can relate to the families and I can help out and we have many great partnerships--we've found lots of social service agencies that provide help for my families--[inaudible] Casa Guanajuato and see if you can go and find about your, you know, working towards your immigration status, and wait a minute, let's find out if we can get you some ESL classes here amd we have Black Hawk outreach that has a class here after school for my families. Okay, school-wide Title I building, yes we have Black Hawk College paying for the teacher for the class, but let me see if I can provide babysitting so that my families can get the help here with learning English as a second language, and that's what we've done, you know, for about five or six years. Always knowing the struggles that are here with my families, I've tried to reach out to business owners to, um, [inaudible] John Deere has been a partner, one of the [Trinity Church?] has been a great partner to us, and they can give us the half year's supplies that we need--when everyone's markers are dried out, we've had great partnerships with St. Mary's, and we can't have activities here at our school on Wednesday nights because that's when [inaudible] is going on at the Catholic school, I mean, I've tried to work through different social service agencies so that we can say, you know, here's a family who has nothing. Let's get them some mattresses, let's get them a refrigerator, and this, and that, and luckily I know of people who are very generous and I can just say, you know, I have a family where who is just recent immigrant and, you know, can we get them some help, and I-I just refer them to, to somebody that can you know, the [inaudible] over here, and Project Now, Casa Guanajuato, United Way, people from John Deere and local churches and things like that, and it's been you know, I've been poor. I know what it's like. I mean, you know, it's great to see our families as they get better. Most of our families here are more situational poverty, they're here because they're recent immigrants, they haven't found that good-paying job yet, but once they do, they're going to look for something better, look for owning their home instead of renting, look for moving up the hill and finding a better home in a better neighborhood. That's just the way of the--the American way. And you know, yes, a lot of the people tend to stay here because of the comfort, that I can go to the Mexican store and get what I need instead of heading home to Mexico and the other kinds of things, but they also know that there's more outside of here, but sometimes it's just, it's just that there are different people in different situations whether it's their legal status or whether it's their limited English, whatever it is that holds them here. I don't blame them. I guess that I wish that all of them could think the way that I was raised, it's like you have to set goals and be good Americans and you can have your heart in Mexico but have your wallet right here because your stomach's gonna depend on that wallet, and they don't all think like I do, but I try--we try to, I mean, what we're doing here at our school is to help educate the parents along with the students. We may not be doing enough of it, sometimes I think that I could be doing more, but it's just exhausting. [chuckles] And you know, I'm getting older, you know, that kind of stuff. I mean, what can I say? I'm trying to do the best I can, but I'm here as the educational leader as well as the manager of this building and the staff, and oh my goodness, it gets a bit--it gets to where you question whether you're good enough to do all this and whether you should be doing more, and I have a great staff, but they get burned out too, you know? That kind of thing. What else can I tell you? [chuckles] Yeah, anything else you want to hear? TISDALE: Well, I did want to ask, what is your opinion on the decision to close Ericsson school and integrate the students into Hamilton, I believe? TERRONEZ: Mm, they're going to probably. Right now, the boundaries committee is working on setting new boundaries, trying to have attendance centers. Like I said, I've been here for over twenty years. To me, it's not new. I've been hearing about how schools were going to be closing and that they're going to try to air condition schools. I mean, it's always been about trying to find money to, um, change things. Well, okay, for many years we kept hearing about how these sixth graders were going to be moved to the middle school, and that we were going to have attendance centers for our grade schools. We thought, oh, that's never going to happen because everything looks pretty [full?] here in Moline. Well, when we actually did make the-- the operational plan is what it was--and I think it started way back in the '90s, there had been these committees that we served on, we as teachers, so because I was in the business of education, I'd been hearing about all this but never really knowing when it was really going to happen, so when the kids from the sixth grade actually moved to the middle school, I thought, they finally expanded the middle schools and we've got air conditioned schools, whereas we only had Roosevelt and then they expanded Bicentennial, Horace Mann, all that--things started changing, and um, and like I said, because I've served on different committees, I knew these plans were out there. I just wondered when everything was happening, and it started to happen a little bit. A little bit at a time. Slowly. Moline moves a little slower. But for years, we've said, you know, we need to--old buildings here. This one is not that old, um, in fact, I'm not quite sure when it was built. I want to say in the '60s, but I could be wrong, but I believe it was in the '60s. And I really should know that because we're closing next year. But anyway, back to how I feel about it, when the operational plan--when we got this new leadership, our new superintendent, all superintendents make changes and I knew it was going to happen. He came in and he looked at our--our strategic plan or whatever it was called before, and he said that you've got these strategic plans saying that you're going to air condition your schools, you're going to have attendance centers instead of neighborhood schools, you've said that you're going to air condition your high school and all these kinds of things. So when are we going to do it? So they set a timeline up. And when--I had always been hearing as I became the principal here, that my school, you know, the population started, um, diminishing. So first I had preschoolers here but now there is a preschool in Moline where all the kids go. Then I had sixth graders, but they went to the middle school. So in other words, I started off as a teacher and administrator in this building and we probably had 280 students probably at the most. Not quite 300. And the building is not that big. Then the population moved to about 225. Then the preschoolers moved and the sixth graders moved and now I'm at 180 students. And I know, because of my administration class, that small buildings are just not conducive to--you know, you're spending all this money for your custodian and your kitchen help and for your secretary and the principal and all these teachers, and you know, I learned from my administration class that small buildings just are not cost efficient. And in a small building, I could see that I had one section, but this year we were bursting at the seams with kindergarteners, and are we going to have to have two, or are we going to have a combination class, and combination classes are not good, so I saw it all coming, and all of a sudden, it's like oh my gosh. You know, they're cutting my nursing hours, they're cutting my counseling hours, they're--and we need this and we need that--[inaudible]. So I see that money is getting tight and they weren't doing all these things for us so I knew that something was going to happen pretty soon because our previous superintendent had told us that we're going to be in the red by next year, and so when this new superintendent comes in and he said, gee, we just have to close the smaller schools. You know, Hamilton's too small, Ericsson's too small, Garfield's too old, Willard's too old, so the [inaudible] were looking and then they proposed it and I'm like, oh my gosh, it's gonna happen. You know, what's my first reaction of course is to cry and to be mad and you know, everyone's going through the grieving process, and no, how can they do that to these kids and the families and the struggles and what are we going to do? How are they going to get up the hill? And I was very upset. Very upset. You think it just doesn't seem right, and because I'm here, and I live it and, yes I hear that small buildings are not cost effective and that it's better for teachers to have two or three different sections of a class--of a grade--so that you can collaborate better. I remember the struggles I had as a fifth grade teacher, being the only fifth grade teacher, maybe I should call up to Lincoln-Irving and talk to that fifth grade teacher and see how she does it, but I didn't have that collegiality that most teachers can talk about and "What should we do?" instead of "Oh my god, what am I going to do?" Um, so I know that collaboration is key, you know, it's key to being a good educator. And you know, ahh, so when I was told that, and that they were gonna close, of course I felt so angry and so upset, and I, you know, the minute I got the chance to talk to my superintendent, I--I told him, "I can't believe you're going to close our school," and he said, "Oh, you're small." And I said, "I know the reasons why you're closing the school. You have to understand," and I set him down, as a matter of fact, you were right where he was, and I was sitting right here, and I said, "Dr. Moyer," I said, "this is going to be such a shock to the community," and I was the one using the same words you keep hearing over and over. This is the heart of the community. This is the place where people come that they feel safe at, and we've worked so hard at getting cameras and keeping the graffiti out and getting our COP officers here, and we've gone through the gang problems, and we finally feel a little safer here, and the families know that the kids are safe here, I said, and the population has just grown to where it's mostly Hispanic families here, and he said, you know, that you're segregating them, and I said yes. I also understand our students are very segregated here. They are a majority. They're at 94% I believe now. I have very few white, very few African-American students, you know, and I understand that, and I see the struggles that our kids are--but I sat him down and I told him yes, that I see that, and he said, "Well, wouldn't you like to see them integrate at a younger age?" And so he thought of many things that I really should have been thinking about once my emotions were kind of settled, and I said, okay, you're right. Collaboration would be great. Integration of our--of our families to a larger school where they can--where there are kids at five, six, seven years old can make friends with others outside of their own culture would be so good, and I know it because I know the struggles of my fifth and sixth graders, now they go to the middle school. That tough age, that twelve, thirteen, fourteen, that rebellious age, they've only made friends with other students like themselves. They've never made friends with a white person or a black person or, you know, somebody that's well off, and--and it's so difficult when you're twelve, thirteen, fourteen to make friends because you don't have... it's just a tough age, you know? And I've been thinking, well, you know, that's true. I would rather see my students integrating in a larger school outside of the-- of the neighborhood knowing that there are kids that they're gonna have to go through their whole life having to be part of teams and that not everyone is going to look like you and think like you and have that same background culture that you do. There are other people that think differently and they look at you as being different and not as smart and things like that but maybe they'll be able to prove themselves at a younger age. All of it made sense. So I started thinking that yes, it's not good to have... I mean, if this school were ninety-five percent AfricanAmerican, everyone would be saying, oh my god, you've segregated these kids. Well, you know what? Yes, my ninety-five percent Hispanics are segregated in this school, and I get asked things like, "Gee, you have such a multicultural population," and I say no. I don't have a multicultural population. I have one culture population and a few others. And you know, students who come in and say, "We were told we have to go to a multicultural school," and it's not multicultural. It's mostly Hispanic. That's just the way it is. So, long story short, at first I was very angry, but when I sat down and said, "Okay, let my emotions settle down, look at this, make a list," because I'm one of those that I set goals and I achieve them. Like I said. And I look at things and I try to be as objective as I can and that. Use your head, you're educated enough to know that there is a difference between what your emotions can do and what your smarts can tell you to do. I sat down and wrote out the things, you know, what are the positive things for our kids? We've been doing the same thing here with our--we have a transitional bilingual program, for many years we have, but we had for all these years. Well, we've been going through the "why aren't our kids scoring as well as they can--as they should?" You know, with their other peers. Well, they're learning English as a second language. They're Hispanic. But that's not the reason why. It's the poverty. It's that they don't get the exposure to other languages. But what progam is... our transitional program is where the kids come to our school and they have Spanish in their home and Spanish when they first come to school. Kindergarten, first grade, when they start to become literate in that first language, then we make our transition. We say, "Great. You know what it's like to--that what you speak you can write down, and what you hear you can read back." And, you know, they start to make those literacy conceptions, and then now you get what it's like to write a sentence and a word and, you know, what it means, and you know, things like that. And once they become literate in that first language, then we go ahead and we transition them into English. We start in first grade with math and with reading so that in second and third grade, they start picking up English from their peers and because they're communicating more here than inside of the home now. And I mean, they do. English is the language of the country, and they're gonna hear it, and um, but they lose their Spanish. So the transitional bilingual program was a subtractive program--you lose your Spanish. And come parent teacher conferences in fifth grade, when I was teaching there, my parents would say, "My child doesn't even speak to me in Spanish anymore!" You know, "I don't know what they're saying" and they tell me all this in Spanish and I say, "You have to keep their Spanish going," it's your job now. Our program is to get them into English as soon as possible. That's just the way it is. Well, we found out that this--that our students that are in the transitional program--those big skills that you have to have--they're called the BICs and CALs scales. The BICs is the basic interpersonal communication skills, which is the English that they're learning, in the playground they use it, but and then there's the CALs scales, is the cognitive academic language proficiency of students. Our bilingual students, we rush them into English, we give them as much vocabulary as they need, but you're not proficient yet, and they're going to score--on a state test that's given once a year, that one little glance, it's not going to be good. They're normed by other English speakers, not by children learning English as a second language or children in poverty and that kind of thing. So our scores have not been good, our children are not--you know, our program--our transitional program was not working. So we took a look at something else, and I knew that by this time, when I heard the school was closing, I knew. Five years we have not made adequate yearly progress. No Child Left Behind law says every year the bar is raised until you get to a hundred percent, and that was supposed to be last year, but then they made other--knowing that it's an unattainable goal. They've lowered it and given us, you know, different ways that we can use the test scoring system, but our children have not made adequate yearly progress. So they--they, the state requires you to offer choice, which we do, and families who come to our building, if they don't want to be here at Ericsson, I tell them, "You have choice." We have two schools you may go to, Franklin and Roosevelt, here's the paper, read it, they tell me all the time, "No, no, no, I want them to come here." None of our families chose choice. We also offer them and the FBS, the special education--not special, I'm sorry--I can't think of what the FBS stands for, but it's a tutoring program that we have to offer our children because of the No Child Left Behind law. And maybe two or three of our families have taken it. It's mostly about learning through the computer, a tutorial service. But we've done those things. So when I heard about the school closing, though it's not a public thing, I know there's a law that says you have to restructure. So we looked into doing a dual-language program. Dual language is the up and coming--not the up and coming, it's been tested, there's data that shows that kids who have a second language in their home, if they keep their second language but learn it academically throughout their career--throughout their school career, their academic career, they become better academic students, and they will--it will take them a while longer, but there are studies to show that they will surpass other English speakers. And in a dual program, you can have English speakers learning Spanish as well. So that's what we have at Ericsson now, this is our second year, and last year we started with our kindergarten, this year first grade, and next year it will be K, 1, 2, and when they go on to the next school, the Lincoln-Irving school, it's gonna be a dual-language program, which is great. Now English speakers will have a choice if they want to be in the dual-language academy and they're English speaking and live in the Ericsson/Lincoln-Irving area, you're gonna be able to be a part of learning two languages all the way through high school, which is finally something that the district has been thinking, it's okay to learn two languages along the way. And it's not causing us that much more. It is a structural change, but, I mean, we could also have been told, "That's it. We're firing you, you're the principal, you're not making adequate yearly progress," they could easily have said that to me, and there are laws that say, you know, the district could have done that. They didn't, but I know it. I know my law, I know that they could have said that to me, and I would have [inaudible], I guess, but at first, when I learned they were going to close the school, I said, "Just fire me. Fire my staff. That's fine." You know, we'll move on, but these families need it, but now I can see that, you know, it's gonna be--just something really good for our students as far as this dual language, keeping your Spanish going all the way through. And the district and the school board has already approved that. If it would have been here, it would have been great, but no, we need a bigger building, we need more teacher collaboration, you know, all of this is so that our kids--really, it's all about the academic achievement that we want for them. Because right now, it's not happening. And perhaps I--it's going to come out in the paper that that school is a failing school, for years they haven't made adequate yearly progress, and they're going to just badmouth all the struggles of my hard-working staff, and I am their leader here, and you know, though--I will take the blame for that because--right, we had our struggles, we were not the [inaudible] at getting our students to make adequate yearly progress that they were going to. But we also know that we knew that this state test that they take once a year, the bar was raised much too high for second language learners and for those in poverty. Because [inaudible] can be very smart, but if you have a well-educated, we're gonna support you along the way, you're gonna learn English just like other--maybe Indian families or those that are better off, you know, financially that can take their kids to the museum and give them all this exposure to those kinds of cultural activities that are going to enrich them with language--those second language learners are gonna learn English much faster. But our families--they're not getting--they're barely making, you know, families that are barely surviving. They're working hard, and they're doing other things. Am I boring you? [chuckles] TISDALE: [laughing] You are not! This is all very interesting. TERRONEZ: I am just so passionate about my work [TISDALE: I can tell.], yeah, and you know, it's hard, is it gonna be hard for some of our families? Yes, but am I gonna work through those problems that they're having as far as transportation--getting them to school? Certainly. You know, this idea was to turn this into a community center, do something [inaudible] I'm the one who talked--told Dr. Moyer, you can't leave this building just empty to just sit here and get graffiti put on it and have this neighborhood just turn it into something that, you know, is not positive. No, it's gotta be something. And I've been doing a lot of thinking, especially now that it's been brought up again. I kept saying, you know, why bring it up again? We're finally through that grieving process, you know, we're now finally at the acceptance stage, myself included, you know, I'm a district employee. I have to go along with what the administration is requiring. I cannot be--I mean, I am the voice of the community and I'm the voice of my family, but I have to be the voice of the students here. And I have--I know it's good for the students, and I know it's good for them to integrate younger and have a good program that's going to keep their Spanish and make it a good thing, a positive thing that they have a second language. And also for those who speak English that want to learn Spanish along the way, and I know that the struggles are gonna be there, but it's all about their academic achievement, and wanting to have our students stay in school, not drop out because they can't make friends because at the middle school nobody is accepting them, you know, and that kind of thing, um, and the struggles that our families are gonna have as far as getting their kids to the new school, and who's gonna shovel the big walk up the hill, you know, we'll work through it. I'll--you know, I've already set up meetings to talk to MetroLink so that the buses do come by here and they're only buses just for our families and not going to the school--to Lincoln-Irving. Um, but that's because of, you know, the transportation is a part of it, yes, but there's other problems. This community is an old neighborhood, it's, you know, they say that tearing down the school will bring down the property values, but I'm thinking, "Really?" I live here. I know I could never sell my home for what it would sell for up the hill, where other homes sell for more, but that doesn't mean I don't love my home any more. So if it comes down to it and they tear it down and don't make anything out of it, it's fine. But it's not going to change property values really. I just don't see it. Like I said, I live here, I know. Um, but if it's not a community center, fine. Turn it into amercado, have people come in here and sell their goods, their wares, their crafts, their food, their--you know, have a beauty shop and a barber shop and a--I was telling my sons last night, oh my gosh, if you guys were good entrepreneurs with money and you knew how to write grants, you guys could do this, but you know, who's gonna do it? I think somebody will, I keep hoping that someone will come in, maybe a former student, and say, "I've got [inaudible] backing. I can organize people. I can do this," and write grants, and get money. Money's out there. You know, there's the [inaudible] Foundation, there's the John Deere Company Foundation, there's money, but it's not me at almost sixty years old, and I'm gonna retire when the school goes, you know. [I had already made that decision before the district came and?] told me the school was going to close. Funny how it kind of aligns with my retirement. [laughing] It just happened that way, and maybe they looked at that. I don't know. Will I just go off and float into the sunset? No. I'm still going to live here in the neighborhood and I will help to get it going, to get things right for my families, to make the transition, you know, I hear what's going on, and it upsets me, sometimes [inaudible] by some of my community members, but there's rules to attending a meeting and how you should be heard and how things should be put to those who are in charge. It upset me so much when I saw last spring some of my former students with gags over their mouths--mind you, they were told to not speak up or yell things out and everything, but seeing my little eight, nine, ten year olds and then the high schoolers with those gags on their mouths, it was just--oh my god, I couldn't sleep just thinking about--no, not that way. But then I tell my children, my own children, and my own grandchildren, and they're like yeah! They were protesting, and I said, guys, you have to understand that there is a way to protest, yes, but there's also a way to work towards being heard. You know, yes, some of it has to be done in that manner, and I love my Hispanic people. I am Hispanic, and I want them to be heard, but I want them to go about it the correct way. The educated way. The American way. Yes, we have our rights to protest, and everyone should be heard, and that's why we have our rights here in America, but there's also a good way to do it. There's a good way to say, "I've got [inaudible] a solution. How do I get on the board's agenda and be heard?" You know, those kinds of things. There are people out there. I know there are, and like I said, I'm between a rock and a--how do you say that expression?--[TISDALE: [laughing] Between a rock and a hard place.] A rock and a hard place. Yeah, in that I'm Hispanic, and I want good for the neighborhood, I live right here, but I'm also an employee of the district, and I'm also looking out for my staff, my families, my students, whatever is best for them. You know? In my heart, I didn't want the school to close, but in time, I'm at the acceptance part of that grieving process, and I wanted us to move forward with it. I want to make sure I have my meetings here because we have a year and a half now--well, we have less than a half now-- we've done the study as to what people want. They want ESL, they want GEDs, they want employment opportunities, and you know, they want it here in the neighborhood, and mind you, there are community agencies that do that [inaudible]. But there has to be that good organizer, that good person that's educated well, knows how to write grants, make sure [inaudible] and all those kinds of things. And when that person has come forward, or when that organization, or you know someone steps up and does that, it's gonna happen. Will it be me? Probably not. Twenty years ago, when I was starting in my profession, perhaps. But now I'm [inaudible] and I want what's good for these kids and what's good for the families and in turn that will be good for everyone here. [inaudible] TISDALE: Well, thank you very much! You thoroughly answered all my questions. TERRONEZ: I have. [laughing] TISDALE: I appreciate it. Was there anything I didn't ask that-- TERRONEZ: You came at the right time. It's all I've been thinking about lately. I've been upset about it, some of the ways the committee members have handled some of the things, but I guess I don't blame them in a way, but in a way, I do blame them because they're educated enough to know that you have to [inaudible]. And I'm not one that can go before news and say they've got it all wrong, I can't do that. [inaudible] I am also an employee of the district, and I don't want to [inaudible] and I'm almost retired, and I don't want to go out doing anything wrong. I love my profession and my school too much to do anything to make things worse for the way they are. I want to make them better. We'll see how it works out. TISDALE: Yes, we will. Thank you very much. That was an excellent interview! TERRONEZ: Thank you. Thank you, Jaykob. |
Description
| Title | CD-0291.59 |
| File Name | CD-0291.59.mp3 |
