194 Madison Parents Petition for Principal’s Removal

Embattled Madison Elementary Principal Juan Ruelas has been under fire for over a year, many teachers and parents want the administrator removed from the school. – Photo by Terry Miller

The parents of 194 Madison Elementary School students demanded that Principal Juan Ruelas be removed before the start of school next month, in petitions to Pasadena Unified School District’s Board of Education. 346 community members petitioned supporting their demand to remove Ruelas.

The petitions to get rid of Ruelas were signed by 169 parents (some parents had multiple children and some children had more than one parent who signed a petition). The petitions were accompanied by a letter from Pablo Alvarado, a community member who lives across the street from Madison, to Superintendent Brian McDonald and the board of education members, explaining that “Parents, teachers, and community members have consistently communicated both individually and collectively, with you and with board members over this past year about a variety of problems and acts of injustice by Mr. Ruelas at Madison and Roosevelt, and no action has been taken.”

Alvarado’s letter was on behalf of the Community Committee for Equality and Justice at Madison (CCEJAM), a coalition of teachers, parents, and community members who have objected to Ruelas’ conduct as Madison’s principal.

The California Department of Education indicates that Madison’s enrollment was 489 students last year, so the parents represent 40 percent of Madison’s students. Julieta Aragon, a spokesperson for CCEJAM and former parent of Madison students who moved her children to McKinley Elementary School, told the board that when she solicited petition signatures, “many parents wanted to sign the petition but didn’t in fear that Ruelas would retaliate against their children. Given that we did not reach all parents and the number who agreed but were afraid to sign, it’s clear that a large majority of Madison’s parents are fed up with Ruelas.”

Superintendent Brian McDonald unilaterally imposed Juan Ruelas as Madison’s principal in May 2015, without a principal selection committee of site stakeholders – while McDonald allowed other more-wealthy and less-heavily minority schools to have such site selection committees. Madison has been plagued with high turnover since Ruelas became its principal last summer. Madison has 21 certificated employee positions and at least that many have left the school over the last year, with some classrooms having successive replacement teachers.

More from Education