Immigrant parents: Principal discriminated

Austin school district leaders are investigating allegations that an elementary school principal discriminated against some students' parents because of their immigration status.

A handful of parents at Andrews Elementary School allege that Principal Gabbie Soto told them they could not attend a school field trip or serve as campus PTA officers because of their immigration status.

The parents, who are living in the country without legal permission, said Soto asked them whether they were U.S. citizens and told them they could not serve as PTA board officers, telling them they needed government identification to write checks on behalf of the PTA. The parents said Soto told them they must resign their PTA positions. Other parents allege that Soto told them in March that they could not attend an April field trip to a fire station with their children because they did not have legal documentation.

The allegations are among several made against Soto since she became Andrews' principal in the spring of 2018. Soto, 49, took the position at Andrews in East Austin after working in the El Paso school district.

At least two grievances, formal written complaints that demand resolution, have been filed against Soto this school year by Andrews staff members, and employees with the Austin school district's human resources department have fielded other complaints from staff members, a district official said. Police officers with the district also have been called to the campus three times, including twice when multiple teachers said their colleagues asked for intervention either during or after verbal altercations with Soto. No charges were filed, according to district officials.

District officials said that while staffers raised concerns last fall about the culture at Andrews, the allegations of discrimination based on immigration status did not surface until last week.

Top district administrators said Monday that they are treating the “allegations very seriously,” and said if found to be true, “they are completely unacceptable and go against the values of the school district.”

"We're investigating ... allegations of how families who are undocumented are being treated," said Michelle Cavazos, the Austin district's chief officer for school leadership. "If that is what is happening at the campus, that goes counter to our beliefs and our core values as a district. All of our families, documented or undocumented, are welcome, and we want them engaging in our schools and supporting their students in their education."

Federal law requires schools to educate students regardless of their immigration status, and Austin school district policy states that the district does not collect immigration information about students or their families. District administrators also said there are workarounds in place for parents lacking U.S. government-issued identification to volunteer at schools and serve as PTA officers. Visitors without any form of ID are escorted around the campus, but the district system that conducts background checks accepts many forms of alternative IDs, including passports and consulate IDs.

Two years ago, during a crackdown in Austin by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Austin school board passed a resolution committing the district to providing safe, welcoming and inclusive places "free of insecurity and fear, for all its employees, students and their families, regardless of immigration status."

Soto has been on leave since March 25, and a letter sent to the Andrews campus by district officials said she will remain on leave through April 26. The letter did not indicate the reason for the leave. However, multiple teachers told the Statesman they were informed during a staff meeting that Soto was on extended medical leave.

District administrators said if Soto had not already been on leave when the allegations surfaced, she would have been placed on administrative leave to protect the integrity of the investigation.

Reached by phone Monday, Soto said she could not comment, on the advice of her counsel. She added that she planned to issue a statement in the near future.

The American-Statesman in the past week reviewed more than 100 pages of district documents and conducted 18 interviews, including ones with 10 current and former Andrews parents and teachers who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of losing their jobs or facing retaliation.

During those interviews, parents and teachers said after a new PTA was put into place at Andrews, a newsletter supposedly written by Soto ended with, “Looking forward to working with our new team and making Andrews Great Again!”

Monday afternoon, a group of community activists, including former Austin school trustees, leaders in the Latino community, a few parents and at least one former Andrews teacher, held a news conference outside the school to denounce Soto's actions.

Among them was Gina Banda, who withdrew her daughter from the school after the girl witnessed an altercation in a classroom between Soto and her fourth grade teacher.

"My daughter was scared to come to school after that because my daughter saw (Soto) harass her teacher," Banda said.

A letter from an unspecified number of staff members was read Monday at the news conference. "The children, parents and staff have suffered daily from an onslaught of anti-immigrant bias, racial slurs, bullying, threats, intimidations, and retaliation for over a year," the letter said, adding that members went to central office administrators for help "to no avail."

"We have seen too many families and staff members leave our campus and are now asking for Austin ISD to take action to benefit our community," the letter stated.

District officials planned to send their own letter to the Andrews campus later Monday to tell families they "have heard concerns and we acknowledge hearing them and we're investigating them and to reiterate all are welcome."

Former Andrews teacher Daysi Gordon, who taught at the school for 24 years, said she retired at the end of the 2017-18 school year because the working environment at Andrews became toxic under Soto's leadership.

Gordon, who is married to former Austin school Trustee Ted Gordon, said shortly after Soto became principal, she told tenured teachers that if they had been at the school for years, it was "time for you to move on" and told other staff members "you don't need to be here."

"The principal at Andrews is a bully," Gordon said Monday at the news conference, speaking in Spanish. "She intimidates faculty and parents on campus. How do I know? I was there.

"To top it off, the principal at Andrews discriminates against some of our most vulnerable parents and students. Evidently following her mandate to 'MAGA' — Make Andrews Great Again — she has discouraged undocumented parents' participation in the PTA and the school as a whole."