Mr. Hernandez Is North!

Mr. Hernandez Is North!

Started
May 5, 2022
Signatures: 2,162Next Goal: 2,500
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Why this petition matters

Hello Community,

We are the student body of North and we need your help.

Tim Hernández is a North High School teacher, the only Chicano teacher in the English department. He grew up in the Northside, and still resides two blocks from where he gets to perform the most sacred honor of his entire life: educating the young people of the same community that he’s so lucky to be a part of.

We are asking for your support because it has been brought to our attention that, despite already teaching at North for over a year and a half, He will not be hired next year at North. Whatever reasons and motivations may be behind this decision are not within our control. They lie with our existing Principal, Personnel Committee, and how deeply our community chooses to make their voice heard.

When we heard the news of Mr. Hernandez not getting rehired at North High School, everyone was shocked and visibly upset. We can see that he was also upset when we walked into a bare classroom. The "Con Ganas" on the chalkboard was erased. The walls that were once decorated with flags and posters we made were now bare. The ceiling that was decorated with papel picado is no longer hanging there anymore. An empty classroom. A part of us was erased. Walking into that class made us all realize that we longer have a safe place in this school. Mr. Hernandez worked so hard to create a trusting and safe place for us, just for all of it to be gone in a 5-minute interview he had.

For those that may not be familiar with some of his work, here is an overview:

For people interested in seeing his performance as a teacher at North and in Denver Public Schools thus far, please see below:

We are in need of community support because fighting for equity, anti-racism, and justice in a school that is over 70% students of color is inherently to challenge people in traditional forms of power. However, We believe that rather than responding from a place of further exercises of power (like removing a teacher from a school), our community should encourage those in power in our schools to respond from a place of growth. We are in need of a community willing to say that he should be hired at North High School next year because, without it, North High School will likely remain a school with over 80% white teachers. We are in need of people willing to defend the work of Ethnic Studies, BIPOC teachers, and the Northside's rightful place within the walls of North High School. Thank you for taking some time to fill this petition out. I hope that this action allows our community's voice to be HEARD by those who need to hear it most at North High School. 

Here below are also a list of demands that we students made: 

BIPOC Teachers For BIPOC Students

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Signatures: 2,162Next Goal: 2,500
Support now
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