By Paulina Rojas

COACHELLA, Calif. – Sandra Ramirez’ path to becoming a community organizer began a few years ago, after her son fell and injured his elbow at school. She got a call from the school two hours later, and by the time she arrived he was in terrible pain and in need of medical attention.

That experience convinced the mother of four that she needed to get involved.

“A lot of people spend their time watching soap operas and gossiping, might as well take that time to make a difference in the community,” Ramirez said in Spanish.

Born in Mexico, Ramirez first came to the United States in 1995. Like a lot of immigrant parents, she wasn’t sure how to engage in public affairs, or even if she could. Then, about three years ago, Ramirez was introduced to the Council of Mexican Federations (COFEM), a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles that works to empower immigrant communities in the eastern Coachella Valley (ECV).

“Before getting involved in COFEM, I did not know that parents had the right to go to the school board to voice their concerns,” Ramirez said. “They gave me a tool that made me feel like my children and I are important.”

Ramirez signed up to join the Schools Action Team, part of the wider Building Healthy Communities (BHC) initiative that aims to improve health outcomes by empowering community members to identify and mobilize around social determinants of health. The team consists of community members and representatives from community organizations based in the ECV.

Ramirez, who has long dark hair that skims her waist, she speaks with a calm confidence that instantly commands attention.

“I really liked that there was a space where a lot of different organizations were working together to help bring change to the schools,” she said. “Sometimes I put a lot of hours into it but I don’t complain because I believe that the children are worth it.”

Today Ramirez is co-chair of the team, helping plan meeting agendas and facilitate activities, including the launch of a Restorative Justice pilot program at Bobby Duke Middle School.  Restorative justice is currently the Schools Action Team biggest campaign.

Ramirez’s positive energy and commitment is very much felt and appreciated by those who work alongside her.

“She does not shy away because of obstacles, no matter how big or small,” said COFEM program assistant Leoda Valenzuela. “I truly admire her public speaking ability and her willingness to participate in projects, meetings, events, interviews — you name it.”

Ramirez said that she is thankful for the support of her husband, who often stays at home with the boys so she can attend meetings and events. He never discourages her from attending, she added.

Being involved has also helped Ramirez better understand the difference between Latinos raised in the United States and others, like herself, who grew up outside the country. She said that understanding has helped her take a different parenting approach with her four sons.

She gives as an example doing chores around the house. When she was young, she says chores were expected. But instead of demanding her sons to do them, she has now turned it into a family activity.

“It has helped me a lot as a person,” she said.

Ramirez would like to see more parents get involved. She said that getting that done is difficult, however, as many are reluctant because they do not want to be perceived as being overly aggressive or asking for too much.

Ramirez also said that many don’t feel as though they have the right to speak up for themselves.

“A lot of people feel like they are not deserving of more, especially the ones that have come from countries where there are not as many resources available,” she said. “A lot of them tell me ‘what else could we ask for?’ It takes a lot of work to change that kind of mentality and we end up shortchanging ourselves.”

About the author:

Paulina Rojas joined Coachella Uninc. as a beat reporter in February 2016 after working as a city reporter in the eastern Coachella Valley for more than a year. Although born and raised in New York City, Paulina feels right at home in the eastern Coachella Valley. She loves the warmth of the people and buying fresh bread from her favorite bakery in downtown Coachella. Paulina is a graduate of the University of Houston, and her work has appeared in The Las Vegas Review – Journal, The Houston Chronicle, HelloGiggles and Vivala. View her author page here.

Creating a positive learning environment in school can be challenging when students routinely see classmates suspended or expelled for minor infractions. That has been the case at Bobby Duke Middle School in Coachella, where the suspension rate last year was more than double the state average.

The situation prompted a group of parents and community organizers in the eastern Coachella Valley to launch a restorative justice pilot program they say will begin to reverse the trend.

“At the beginning I felt a little frustrated because I wanted things to go at a faster pace,” said Sandra Ramirez, a mother of four, in Spanish. “But now I understand that it is all part of how the process works.”

Ramirez sees a big need for programs like restorative justice in her community and thinks that more parents should be involved.

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, it isn’t my kid, I don’t have to worry about it,” but the truth is that everyone in the community feels the negative effects when our kids start to go down the wrong path,” she said.

Bobby Duke’s suspension rate in 2014-2015 was 9 percent, compared to an average of 4.1 percent for the Coachella Valley Unified School District and 3.8 percent statewide.

There is an abundance of data showing a strong connection between high suspension and expulsion rates with poor academic performance, with black and Latino students experiencing rates that far surpass whites and Asians.

The idea to bring the restorative justice program to the Bobby Duke came from two parent leaders at the advocacy group Council of Mexican Federations (COFEM) who learned about the program and wanted to bring it to their children’s school.

Restorative justice focuses on rehabilitation and reconciliation. The practice has been used in schools from coast to coast in place of more punitive disciplinary measures to keep students in the classroom and off the streets.

The 12-week pilot at Bobby Duke began the week of February 15th and will end in late April. Ten teachers at the school have already committed to the program.

“I think the success of this has been due to parent involvement,” said Leoda Valenzuela of COFEM. “ They have the best ideas, things that really connect to people. It is a really positive environment that is being built.”

She added that implementing the program was made easier because parents “already had an established relationship with the school principal.”

COFEM, along with the community-based organizations TODEC legal center and Raices Cultura are part of the Building Healthy Communities (BHC) Eastern Coachella Valley Schools Action Team, which is working together with parents on the pilot program.

“[The pilot program] is going to be stronger because of the resources that BHC ECV are providing and the internal value that each person brings,” said BHC-ECV Project Coordinator Sahara Huazano.

Before the pilot took off the Schools Action Team held a series of meetings and forums beginning in the summer of 2015 to rally support and inform the community about restorative justice.

The most common way that RJ is implemented at schools is through circles. There are three common kinds of circles that occur depending on the situation that is being presented.

There are community-building circles that focus on relationship building. Conflict or healing circles seek to address a specific problem and reentry circles are used to welcome back students that have been suspended or expelled.

“It really strives to create that space where people can feel supported, where they can share and learn about one another and explore shared values,” Valenzuela said. “It is harder to harm someone that you know.”

Another aspect of RJ is a more effective and positive use of language. Feedback will be collected from six sessions of circles at Bobby Duke.

According to Huazano parents have been very receptive and satisfied with the program.

“They are very satisfied with it,” Huazano said. “Some of them are already practicing restorative justice, a term that describes many of the needs that they are trying to address.”

BHC will be a hiring a youth organizer to focus specifically on brining more students into the program at Bobby Duke Middle School.

At the core of restorative justice is the idea of community building and bonding.

“It is a very simple concept but you would be surprised at the need that there is for it,” Valenzuela said.

About the author:

Paulina Rojas joined Coachella Uninc. as a beat reporter in February 2016 after working as a city reporter in the eastern Coachella Valley for more than a year. Although born and raised in New York City, Paulina feels right at home in the eastern Coachella Valley. She loves the warmth of the people and buying fresh bread from her favorite bakery in downtown Coachella. Paulina is a graduate of the University of Houston, and her work has appeared in The Las Vegas Review – Journal, The Houston Chronicle, HelloGiggles and Vivala. View her author page here.