The displeasure of the Hispanic community with Fort Wayne Community Schools over the case of Alejandra Gutierrez is understandable, but its castigation of Superintendent Wendy Robinson's "insensitivity" needs to put in perspective. Robinson made a valid point:
“There is a piece that's lost in all of this. There's a positive that occurred. Parents are more mindful of what their responsibility is. It's a two-way street. A large number of parents are now walking their children to school and picking them up.”
We demand that our schools pay attention to our children so none fall through the cracks. But there was a procedure in place that wasn't followed, and all a school system can do when that happens is find out why the procedure failed and try to make sure it doesn't happen again. And parents do need reminding occasionally that the primary responsibility for their children's safety is theirs.
Board member Jon Olinger gets it right, I think:
“We need a better way of doing what we are doing. Fort Wayne Community Schools made a mistake. We didn't let her die. Two other people did."
Comments
Amen. Yes, FWCS messed up. But it's the responsibility of every parent or guardian to ensure that his or her child gets safely to school, or on to a school bus. I understand the desire to not "pile on" and blame the grieving parents for their role in Alejandra's disappearance. Nonetheless, they failed in their responsibility as parents to see their daughter safely to school or to the school bus. That failure was then compounded by the school's failure to contact the family. Still, let's not pretend the parents are blameless. They are not.