Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
ancawr@anca.org
Friday, March 18, 2005
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Armen Carapetian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
ANC LEADS EFFORT TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS AT GRANT HS
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA – The Armenian National Committees (ANC) of East
and West San Fernando Valley mobilized on March 8 when a fight broke
out between several hundred Armenian and Latino students at Grant High
School requiring police intervention. The incident resulted in the
arrest of four and expulsion of eight students, and has garnered
significant attention on television news, talk radio, and print
media. The ANC met the following day with the Committee on Armenian
Students in Public Schools (CASPS) and Grant High School officials to
immediately quell the alarming situation.
Within two days after the incident, the ANC co-sponsored meeting with
parents and Grant High School officials which was attended by over 300
people. During the entire week after the incident, members of the ANC
were on campus collaborating with parents of Armenian students and
school administrators to analyze the causes leading to the incident
and how to prevent such incidences from occurring in the future.
`The fights that broke out at Grant High School between Latino and
Armenian students are of serious concern to all communities including
the Armenian American community,’ stated Manug Haladjian, Chairman of
the East San Fernando Valley ANC. `This has been an issue at Grant
High School in prior years, and this latest incident is evidence that
this issue must be taken more seriously by all concerned parties,’
continued Haladjian.
The ANC and CASPS recently organized several meetings on the issue
with experts in the field from various schools in the area. In
addition to meeting experts, parents, students, and school officials,
on March 17, the ANC and CASPS also met with representatives from the
City and County of Los Angeles Human Resources Commission, and the
offices of State Senator Richard Alarcon, Assemblywoman Cindy
Montanez, and Los Angeles Councilwoman Wendy Gruel to arrange a
meeting between Armenian and Latino leaders in the area.
`Excellent education can only be achieved through a safe, healthy and
positive school environment that fosters respect and understanding for
all cultures,’ said Ara Papazian, who chairs the West San Fernando
Valley ANC. `We strongly encourage school officials to view this issue
with an eye toward system-wide, long-term solutions that raise the
level of cultural understanding among school administrators, teachers,
students, and parents.’
Beginning in 2004, the ANC recognized the need to address the issues
facing the increasing number of Armenian students in the public
schools. The ANC began implementing a course of action which sought to
raise awareness of the challenges facing the Armenian students and
look for ways to improve their educational environment. Over the past
six months, the ANC has organized meetings with Los Angeles Unified
School District Officials, including School Board Member Jon
Lauritzen, Grant High School Principal Sandra Cruz, and various other
LAUSD administrators and teachers.
In an effort to improve their understanding of the cultural
differences of Armenian students, 20 educators from Grant High School,
including Principal Cruz, will be participating in the March 30
Armenian Cultural Conference in Pasadena. Now in its tenth year, the
Armenian Cultural Conference, which is sponsored by the school
districts of Burbank, Glendale, EIEP of Los Angeles, Pasadena, and
Montebello, aims to raise awareness and understanding of the Armenian
culture among public school teachers and administrators, so that they
may deliver more effective and culturally sensitive education to
students of Armenian descent. The ANC, along with CASPS and Grant High
School, will co-host a meeting on March 31 with parents of Armenian
students at Grant High School to discuss concerns and start looking
for long-term solutions and programs to address the various issues
with Armenian youth in public schools. In addition, a meeting will be
organized for students to air their concerns i! n April. On May 4,
the ANC, CASPS, and Grant High School will host a town hall meeting
for the entire community on this issue.
`We stand ready to work with school officials, parents, students and
other community groups in the spirit of partnership, implementing
programs that will address these issues and their root causes,’
affirmed ANC leaders in a joint statement released last week.
The ANCA is the largest and most influential Armenian American
grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a
network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United
States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA
actively advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a
broad range of issues.