Sunset Park Immigrant Kids Are Being Bullied at School Post-Trump (Updated)

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — Sunset Park Councilman Carlos Menchaca has sent a letter to the city's Department of Education reporting anti-immigrant "student bullying, harmful language, hostile treatment by non-teacher employees, and students overhearing inappropriate comments among DOE staff" following last week's presidential election.

In the letter (embedded below), Menchaca said he spoke with parents of students at schools in Community Education Councils 15 and 20, both of which include Sunset Park. David Estrada, the councilman's chief of staff, said the languagein question involved five "mostly grammar and middle schools" in Sunset Park itself.

"Our area of Brooklyn has a preponderance of immigrant parents and children," Menchaca wrote. "Families here frequently have mixed immigration status, limited English capacity and lack the means to navigate City agencies."

The inappropriate language "is adversely affecting the learning environment for students of all backgrounds and family immigration statuses," the letter continued. "'They’d better start packing their bags' isn’t something young children should be forced to confront in a school setting."

"I request DOE-sponsored local community outreach meetings in Sunset Park specifically geared toward Arabic, Spanish, and Chinese-speaking parents whose children are experiencing what I’ve described," Menchaca wrote. "Further, I urge you to redouble DOE staff training in cultural competency that includes evidence based techniques for tackling implicit bias."

Estrada said the DOE had acknowledged receiving the letter, and that the agency was "seeking further [information], and offering to form next steps together."

“Schools are safe havens for communities and we are dedicated to providing all students with a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environment," a DOE spokesperson told Patch in response to the letter. "We have explicit protocols and robust training programs in place to ensure any incidents of harassment, discrimination or bullying are swiftly addressed.”

Pictured at top: Councilman Carlos Menchaca, left. Photo by John V. Santore