By mid-afternoon, nearly 12,500 students from more than 85 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District had walked out, according to a district spokesperson. Hundreds of students in other districts \u2014 from Pasadena and the greater San Gabriel Valley<\/a> to Orange County<\/a> \u2014 also marched in their communities.<\/p>\n At Olive Vista Middle School in Sylmar, about 100 students\u2014some as young as 11\u2014walked out of their science, English, and math classes, then walked to a nearby park.<\/p>\n For many students, Friday\u2019s walkout marks the first time they\u2019ve ever participated in a protest. And after months of watching federal immigration agents violently detain people on social media, the students told LAist that protesting \u2014 on behalf of their communities and in honor of Renee Good and Alex Pretti \u2014 filled them with a sense of freedom and power.<\/p>\n Keep up with LAist.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, you’ll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less. <\/p>\n Isaac, a seventh grader, walked out of science class.<\/p>\n \u201cThis felt like I was breaking out of some sort of chamber,\u201d he told LAist. \u201cI felt like I was being free for once.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of the 12-year-old\u2019s family members are from Mexico and he\u2019s been worried about what could happen if they\u2019re detained.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m standing up for my family and my friends, our community, really,\u201d he said. \u201cThe most we [can] do is what we’re doing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n After months of being scared every time his parents go to work, Isaac said the protest was a type of salve.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes us feel better,\u201d he said. \u201cIt makes us stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n M, right, is a sixth grader at Olive Vista and organized the school’s walkout. <\/p>\n How to organize a middle school<\/p>\n A few weeks ago, M, an 11-year-old sixth grader at Olive Vista Middle School, asked her mom, Maritza Ocegueda, why students in Minnesota<\/a> and elsewhere were walking out of school. LAist has agreed to refer to her solely by her first initial, after her mom raised concerns for her safety.<\/p>\n Ocegueda shared with her daughter that she walked out of Van Nuys High School as a junior in 2006 to protest proposed federal immigration legislation. Nearly 40,000 students from across Southern California joined the movement<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI was floored,\u201d Ocegueda said. \u201cIt inspires me and gives me that little bit of hope\u2026 Maybe we can make a change.\u201d<\/p>\n M decided to organize a walkout at her school concurrently with other students in the community.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n She made several lunchtime announcements about a walkout on Friday, Feb. 6 at 10:24 a.m.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you’d like to join, please come over here and if you have any questions, just ask me.\u201d<\/p>\n Those announcements did not come easily to M, who is soft spoken and admittedly shy. \u201c\u200aI try to be the bravest I can,\u201d she said. \u201c\u200aI want [my classmates] to understand how serious this [is] \u2026 [The federal government is not] letting people be themselves, like, they can’t go to Home Depot without feeling unsafe.\u201d<\/p>\n M, and several other students said some teachers and administrators discouraged their organizing<\/a>. M said at one point she was pulled out of class for more than an hour to talk about the walkout.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aOne of the things I told the school [is] you dropped the ball because this is a learning moment,\u201d Ocegueda said. However, she said she\u2019s open to more conversations with school and district leaders on how to support students.<\/p>\n Maritza Ocegueda’s daughter M organized Olive Vista Middle School’s walkout. She said she’s active in the community passing out food and clothes to unhoused neighbors and helping other people connect with resources. <\/p>\n A Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson provided a statement that said students were informed that walkouts are not school-sponsored, there are spaces on campus for students to exercise their freedom of speech and that they would be marked absent for missed class periods. A similar message was posted to the school\u2019s Facebook page Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n \u201cAdministrators routinely meet with students to share safety information and clarify options for on-campus expression\u2014not to threaten or discipline,\u201d the statement read. \u201cLeaving campus during instructional time without permission is discouraged; that message is about safety and supervision, not suppressing speech.\u201d<\/p>\n Can students be punished for walking out?<\/p>\n M said that other teachers were more supportive and helped her spread the word about the walkout to other students.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aWhat I’ve learned is students should not have to come protest ’cause that’s what the adults should be doing,\u201d M said. \u201cAdults should know better to help out the community and students should not have to come out.\u201d<\/p>\n Honks of support\u00a0<\/p>\n By mid-morning, students began to trickle out of Olive Vista.<\/p>\n As students joined the group of young activists, those already outside cheered and passing cars honked their horns in support. One SUV had a Mexican flag poking out of the sunroof.<\/p>\n Out by the curb, some of their parents, including M\u2019s mom, were waiting. The adults encouraged the students to stick together and made sure the group waited for the light to turn before crossing the street to Sylmar Park.<\/p>\n “\u200aWhat’s in my heart is that my parents are Mexican and I wanna support,” said Jayden, an Olive Vista 6th grader. <\/p>\n Once they gathered, the middle schoolers marched to a nearby park, carrying homemade signs and flags of Latin America.<\/p>\n One student turned to a friend and nervously quipped: \u201cI just really hope we don\u2019t get shot or tear gassed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018They don’t understand how much we love our parents.\u2019<\/p>\n In conversation with LAist, multiple students said they live in fear of being separated from their families. They also worry that their parents could be mistreated if they are detained by federal agents.<\/p>\n Eleven-year-old Alejandro, for instance, usually goes to Sylmar Park to play baseball. Today, he said, he went to the protest to honor his mom and dad, Mexican immigrants from the states of Michoac\u00e1n and Jalisco.<\/p>\n To critics who think he should have stayed in class, he said: \u201cThey don’t understand how much we love our parents.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just don’t like how Donald Trump is calling us \u2018animals,\u2019 when we’re the ones working our asses off to live paycheck to paycheck, while he’s up there sitting in his chair throwing out orders at Kristi Noem,\u201d said eighth-grader Jes\u00fas, referring to the Secretary of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n The 13-year-old had his family and his neighbors in mind during the protest, along with 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, whose deportation the federal government is working to expedite<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe little boy who was captured with his little bunny hat, he was captured and he was sent to prison,\u201d Jes\u00fas noted. \u201cAnd that’s just crazy, because how are you going to let a little kid inside a prison?\u201d<\/p>\n The federal immigration activity in the San Fernando Valley has also left him feeling nervous, even when he is on campus. \u201cI’m trying to study and then I just get reminded: maybe there’s somebody waiting outside to take us.\u201d<\/p>\n Sixth grader Sophia\u2019 said she walked out for her grandmother who\u2019s from Mexico. “I wanna represent our people and show that we aren’t bad,” Sophia said. “We are actually, like, a great community.”\n<\/p>\n As the students chanted and waved their signs, adults passed out snacks, water and pizza purchased with money donated from the community.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re here with clear intentions and they’re here for a purpose,\u201d said Michelle, the parent of another young protestor who requested LAist only use her first name. \u201cI\u2019m just proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n LAUSD immigration resources<\/p>\n Los Angeles Unified School District offers resources for families<\/a> concerned about immigration through its website.<\/p>\n![\"Three](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770444967_978_.jpeg\")
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