By Bailey Quinonez

Staff Writer

On Friday evening, Latino parents chanted, "padres unidos, jamas seran vencidos," a Spanish phrase meaning "united parents, they will not be conquered." The parents marched from Newport Mill Middle School to Albert Einstein High School in support of the high school, administration and the community following a gun incident on April 9.

"I want others to know that the Latino parents are worried too," said Gloria Gavidia, member of the Latino parents committee, in Spanish. Gavidia has a daughter in the ninth grade at Einstein.

Rosa Sanchez, another member of the Latino parents committee, also has a daughter in the ninth grade and said that with this march and the meetings, she hopes for others to become more educated about the school and issues in the area. She also wants other parents to know what they can do for the school.

Alex Colina, a Wheaton resident, helped organize the march. His son will attend Einstein in the fall. Colina said his years in previous PTAs helped him help the Latino committee reach out to the community and administrators in order to achieve their main goal of bringing the community together.

The Latino parents committee was informally organized after a community meeting was held at Einstein following an incident where students brought guns to school for sale and a gun was accidentally discharged in the boys' bathroom on April 9. Students were arrested following a code-red lock down prompted by a gun shot in the second floor boys' bathroom. Police confiscated three loaded handguns following the arrest.

But, it wasn't just Latino parents that showed up to the march. Maddie Grewell, a junior, said, "I'm here because I think the media did a really bad job covering it [the gun incident at Einstein]." Grewell's mother, Chris, learned about the march from the school list-serve and said, "It's a great idea to support the school."

Mariana Davis, a longtime resident in Montgomery County, has three children that have graduated from Einstein and one that is currently a senior at the school. At the community meeting following the April 9 gun incident, some parents recommended the use of metal detectors to verify that none of the students were carrying weapons of any sort. Davis said she believes that those parents were merely panicked.

"There are little gangs everywhere that haven't escalated," she said. "I admit that things have changed over time in the neighborhood," but she added that Einstein's gun incident could have happened anywhere. "I'm not mad at the principal," she said.

Virgie Barnes wore a special hat for the occasion with the words, "Walking works." Barnes said that she believes that walking in support of an idea works to attract the community. She has a son in the ninth grade at Einstein. "I'm not just in support of the school but also in support of the community. Bottom line is the kids," she said.

At an informational meeting following the march, parents and community members were provided with hand-held translators that translated both from Spanish to English and English to Spanish. "It's the first and not the last [meetings]," said Patricia Lazeras, a member of the Latino parents committee.

Parents asked questions ranging from security at the school to ways to become informed about school activities. In terms of security, Principal James Fernandez said, "I don't want students to feel afraid of us." Fernandez explained to parents that he wants students to feel comfortable to speak to security but also stressed the idea that parents need to be involved in their children's lives.

Gloria Rivera said, "I get embarrassed that there are 44 percent Hispanics but where are they?" Rivera encouraged parents to be active in the school and not to feel ashamed to ask questions. Fernandez reminded parents that there is Spanish-speaking faculty available on campus for anybody that does not feel comfortable speaking English.

In Spanish Maryland House Delegate for District 18 Ana Sol Gutierrez (D) said, "I'm not from the government. I am first and foremost Salvadoran ... It's been almost, maybe eight years, in this school that there was the most active Latino PTA. Here they won awards ... here we demonstrated what can happen when Latino parents get together." She encouraged the group to continue to meet and to continue to talk to their peers.

"I think it's fabulous. My hat is off to all of the parents ... this is what has to happen. You can't do this by yourself," said County Council member Valerie Ervin.

Meetings in Spanish have been held nearly every Friday since April 9. The next Spanish meeting is this Friday at 7 p.m. but will not be as elaborate or extensive as the meeting on May 9.

Photo by Bill Wyckoff