Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1535219
Educators in Alhambra rallied to support safe spaces for their students and families shortly after the return of Trump and his hateful words, policies and attacks on people who immigrated to the United States. ATA's Gutierrez says the effort started eight years ago when Trump was first elected and unleashed wide- spread attacks on America's immigrant communities. Educators in Alhambra mobilized then and created the "Dream Center," a safe space for all students at Alhambra High School. is center provides support, activities and resources to stu- dents, including school community-building events and legal clinics with immigration attorneys on hand to answer questions. Gutierrez says the Dream Center was part of a deliberate effort by ATA members to create safe places for students in vulnerable communities, including students who are immigrants, LGBTQ+, unhoused, and students with disabilities, which has now spread to the district's other two high schools. "Our union has been super supportive of the creation of these centers. We got grants from CTA to build these centers and we got active in elections in our community. We revamped who was leading our schools and who was leading our community, so when this election happened, we were ready to go," he says. Alhambra educators, students and families marched in sup- port of the immigrant community in February, leaning into the network of allyship and advocacy that ATA has been building for the past eight years. e event was one of many planned this year, including ally lunches and "out of the shadow" events to share unheard voices. Gutierrez says that when the call went out to support the Alhambra immigrant community, ATA members jumped to action for their students. " We need to be showing our students and demonstrating how to do civil disobedience effectively and make positive change in our community," he says. "We're showing students a time-honored tradition of speaking out against injustice and a path forward of non-violence and civil disobedience. And then the message is 'you've got a safe space here — you have people who have got your back." e work continues to lift student voices and advocate for their rights and opportunities to succeed. Gutierrez says he's proud of this collective effort and grateful to be a part of it. "It's never one-and-done with these things. It's building that SMEEA members caled on their school board to adopt a resolution directing the district to not comply with enforcement attempts by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents. 18 cta.org Feature