School Secretary Fired for Translating for Concerned Parents

When a hysterical parent comes into a school crying that her seven-year-old son has been sodomized, what should a principal's first reaction be? Making sure nobody who works for the schools acts as a translator for the Spanish-speaking parent, of course.

Ana Ligia Mateo, a former secretary at a Devonshire Elementary in North Carolina, was hired as a bilingual secretary -- which makes sense, since nearly half of the school's student population is Hispanic, and many come from homes where English is not their first language. But in 2008, a new principal instituted a policy barring faculty or staff from speaking Spanish to parents. The policy seems to be motivated solely by anti-immigrant sentiment and racism. Yet Mateo was a constant rule-breaker. When distraught or concerned parents with a language barrier came to the school, she couldn't always bring herself to refuse to answer questions or translate so that they could understand. So she was fired.

I fail to see how this policy is in the best interests of parents or their kids. If someone is able and willing to interpret, what on earth is the benefit of attacking them for it?

Moreover, if I were a school principal, and a mother came in saying that someone at the school had sexually abused her child, I would be doing everything possible to make sure I understood the story, acted to help the student, and held whoever assaulted him responsible. I would be glad to have a staff member who could help facilitate this with her language skills. Instead, the principal insisted Mateo stand idly by, saying that the seven-year-old who had potentially been sexually violated could try to translate for his mother. In the end, the crying parent had to leave unsatisfied, because she couldn't understand the school officials -- reports in the media don't say if anything was ever done for the child victim by the school that was so opposed to establishing communication with his concerned mother.

After being fired, Mateo sued the school district for violating her civil rights. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission referred the lawsuit to a federal court, where it remains currently, after finding "reasonable cause" to support her allegations. The EEOC reports that witnesses have backed up Mateo's allegations regarding the ridiculous series of events and racist, anti-immigrant harassment she was subjected to.

Mateo, a U.S. citizen of Hispanic/Nicaraguan origin, also alleges in her lawsuit that she was screamed at for trying to translate for a hysterical parent, and falsely accused by the assistant principal of empathizing with the parents because she "crossed the border just like them." The assistant principal also told Mateo that she would lose her job if she complained, and further said that she knew she had children, and couldn't afford to be out of work. Attempting to take advantage of her by threatening the welfare of her family: classy.

In addition to violating Mateo's rights, the principal and assistant principal seem to have decided to sacrifice the well-being of their students to rabid xenophobia and racism. Their actions are at odds with the mission of an educator, and their utter lack of concern for the plight of a child who might have been sexually abused on their watch is horrifying. Parents need to be able to communicate with their children's schools, and a policy barring willing staff from helping them with this -- instead telling a traumatized seven-year-old to act as a translator -- is unbelievably counter-productive. Tell the school district to put an immediate end to this intolerant, senseless English-only policy, which disrespects parents and hurts students.

Photo credit: Conspirator