I understand fully the implications of my words here. I hope my words move you. A quote from American civil rights activist and author, James Baldwin:
“Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
The incident which occurred two days ago at Coronado Middle School is deeply upsetting. My full heart goes out to the victim of the incident. I must say that as a Student Board Representative, it is not my place to comment on the specific event at hand or advise as to what should be done, but it is certainly my place as the Student Board Representative to represent my fellow students. I will still give my perspective on what everyone, being students, parents, teachers, and administration, could do to continue to strengthen a safe school environment.
I must recognize all of the diligent efforts made on behalf of our school district to ensure a better place for our students, our family, to go to. No one person is at fault for this, but we all should recognize the efforts we have all taken and must continue to take: I recognize our students first, who all express empathy for the distressing event, its victims, and its witnesses; I recognize our hard-working administration, who always provide resources for support for everyone related to our school district; I recognize our beloved teachers and counselors, who always reach out to our students; Lastly, I recognize our parents, for all the care you give to your children.
We all have proposed ways to make our district better. Let us continue to care for our kids. Having difficult, insightful, meaningful conversations with our children and consistently checking in on how they are doing and what’s going on around them is critical. During this specific time of heightened circumstances and emotions, it is also critical that these conversations are approached with empathy. It’s important to approach these difficult conversations with empathy because we may not know the full extent of efforts people have made and will continue to take to strengthen our safe school environment.
It is my opinion that the best thing everyone can do is just that.
During the Portrait of a Graduate meetings that I was a part of, all the students were asked this question: “What is the best thing that teachers, administrators, and parents can do to support you?” We came to the consensus that checking in on us is what we need. Check in on us students. Use the resources available to help us. Recognize when it is time to step in and take precautionary measures. I’m speaking to the parents of students in this district here. I’d love to see parents get even more involved in understanding all the circumstances surrounding their children.
We are all in this together. We are one district. We all have the goal to do what is best for our students. To close this address, I would like to thank my English teachers, Mr. Tam Hoang and Mrs. Allison Gilmore. Thank you for giving me the gift to write freely. I believe that writing can make a positive change, and without my teachers, I wouldn’t. I am eternally grateful for the privilege I have to speak here. Thank you for the honor to give the students’ insight. This concludes my report.
VOL. 115, NO. 43 – Oct. 22, 2025