Parents, students urge reconsideration of Gladstone teacher nonrenewal; superintendent warns district will no longer accompany student walkouts

Several students, parents and staff members used public comment on Feb. 11 to urge the Azusa Unified School District Board to reconsider or explain the decision not to retain Gladstone Middle School teacher John Mark Galloway. That same meeting included a statement from Superintendent Arturo Ortega that the district will cease accompanying student walkouts and that disciplinary measures may follow per board policy.

Kellen Salampa, a history teacher at Gladstone Middle School, said Galloway had been asked not to return and "was not given a reason" or an opportunity to improve; Salampa urged the board to ask for a reason. Multiple students spoke in support: Joel Gonzales and Andre Jimenez described Galloway as an effective and caring teacher who helped students feel safe and succeed academically. Parents including Yvette Jimenez and Sylvia Gonzales described Galloway as an asset to their children’s education and said his presence had improved attendance, academic engagement and student confidence. Student speakers including Kailani and Esperanza Corona asked the board to consider student input and said they feared losing a teacher who made class engaging and who served as a GATE instructor and DLI (dual-language immersion) teacher; Esperanza asked whether a DLI-qualified replacement had been identified.

John Mark Galloway addressed the board in public comment and thanked supporters. He described collaborative work with colleagues during a serious campus incident earlier in the year and said he and others built trust with students through shared supports and programming such as boys’ groups.

Later in the meeting, during reports, Superintendent Arturo Ortega summarized recent student walkouts and praise for site staff’s handling of them but said the district cannot "continue to sustain" staff joining or officially supporting walkouts. Ortega announced that effective immediately the district will no longer accompany or join student walkouts; per board policy, students who walk out may be subject to discipline and will be unaccompanied. Ortega said staff and families will be notified and that the district will seek other channels for students to express voice.

The transcript records emotional public testimony and requests for transparency about staffing decisions. Speakers repeatedly said they had not been given a reason for Galloway’s nonrenewal and asked the board to reconsider or to provide rationale; the transcript does not record any board response on the teacher’s employment status during public comment. No personnel vote, hearing or formal personnel action occurred on the public record during this meeting.