Teachers, coaches and parents urge Gresham-Barlow board to reverse nonrenewal of dual-language teacher

Public comments at the Gresham-Barlow SD 10J board meeting on Dec. 11 focused on a recommended nonrenewal of Highland Elementary dual-language teacher Maria Hernandez.

Angie Diaz, a fifth-grade dual-language immersion (DLI) teacher and GBSD parent, told the board she believes the administration’s decision reflects bias and poor handling, and she said a confidential advocacy letter circulated beyond its intended audience, creating ‘chaos, rumors, [and] targeted blame’ that disproportionately affected BIPOC educators. “This decision made by our admin reflects clear bias and personal mismanagement,” Diaz said.

Amanda Jensen, an English-instruction teacher who said she co-wrote a submitted statement with colleague Carrie Valdez, described Hernandez as a longtime contributor to the district’s dual-language work and urged the board to reconsider the district’s recommendation. Jensen said Hernandez’s classroom is routinely used for observations and that Hernandez has mentored newer teachers and served on multiple curriculum and equity committees.

Manpreet Sedal, the district’s dual-language instructional coach, recounted two and a half years of direct instructional observation and district-level contributions, including curriculum adoption work and system alignment. Sedal said Hernandez’s teaching is among the best she’s seen in 15 years and called for greater transparency in how the matter was handled, saying the process has the ‘appearance of impropriety.’

Jennifer Lopez Zafra, a DLI teacher at Highland Elementary, said she was called into a meeting that was presented as fact-finding but left feeling accused; she alleged that members of administration and the HR director showed favoritism and that the handling of accusations had caused emotional stress among staff. A written comment from Araceli (a co-teacher) reiterated Hernandez’s classroom leadership and recommended the district retain her.

The speakers asked the board to weigh Hernandez’s instructional record and program leadership and to provide clearer communication about the personnel process. Board members did not respond to the public commenters during the meeting, consistent with the stated public-comment rules.

Next steps: The public-comment period concluded with the board having received both oral and written submissions; the transcript does not record a board decision reversing or altering the personnel recommendation during this meeting.