SUN VALLEY, Calif.,—In the wake of on campus violence that surfaced earlier this month at Ulysses S. Grant High School in the Valley Glen neighborhood of North Hollywood, a delegation comprised of members of the ANCA-San Fernando Valley East Chapter and the Committee for Armenian Student in Public School, again, met with Los Angeles Unified School District leaders on November 20 to participate in a roundtable designed to explore new and effective ways to ensure student safety and promote harmony at LAUSD public schools.
During the hour long discussions, the Armenian community delegation, comprised of ANCA-SFVE members Vicken Sonentz Papazian and Teresa Petrosyan and CASPS Executive Director Arsineh Hovannisian, exchanged ideas with the LAUSD leaders about ways to improve student and parent awareness and participation in the school district’s programs designed to minimize and eliminate conflicts between the diverse LAUSD student populations. Such programs include the ongoing LAUSD Restorative Justice program and various parent-community engagement programs, all of which are designed to sensitize the overall school population to the Armenian culture and history.
Earlier in November, the same ANCA-SFVE and CASPS delegation met separately with Principal Rebecca McMurrin to discuss the violence and tensions between students at Grant High School. At the meeting, the participants agreed that a continuing dialogue between the Armenian community representatives and the LAUSD leadership was integral to ensuring such incidents didn’t occur in the future.
The November 20 meeting convened with the ANCA-SFVE, CASPS, and LAUSD participants agreeing to convene again to follow up on the confidence building projects and measures discussed at the roundtable.
Participating in the discussions on behalf of LAUSD were, Scott Schmerelson, LAUSD Board Member for District 3, Linda Del Cueto, Superintendent for the Local District Northeast, Rebecca McMurrin, Grant High School Principal, Susie Parker, Madison Middle School Principal, Shakeh Ayvazyan, LAUSD Parent Community Facilitator, Mary Jackson-Freeny, LAUSD Restorative Justice Coordinator, Irene Hyland, LAUSD Operations Coordinator, Eduardo Solorzano, Secondary Director for Grant High School, Vicky Damonte, Secondary Director for Madison Middle School, Andres Chait, LAUSD Admintrator of Operations, Patrizia Puccio, LAUSD Parent and Community Engagement Administrator.
The ANCA San Fernando Valley East Chapter is the voice and advocate of the 100,000 strong Armenian American community that resides in the Eastern San Fernando Valley. The ANCA San Fernando Valley East Chapter is concerned with the well-being, safety, and prosperity of the Armenian-American and greater community in the eastern San Fernando Valley area. For more information or to contact the ANCA-SFVE, readers may visit the website or send an email to info@ancavalley.org.
