Parent Conversation With The Principal Night At Chief Kamiakin Elementary

This evening (Tuesday) I went to what was billed as a “Conversation with the Principal Night” at Chief Kamiakin Elementary.  This is the first time I have been to one of these events at the school, and I left very impressed.  The topic for the evening was “Gang Awareness”.  I expected school staff to give the presentation, but was pleasantly surprised when Detective J. Ortiz of the Sunnyside Police Department was on hand to discuss this critical issue for our community.

This is not to take anything away from the Principal, she is doing an outstanding job of bringing parents together to talk about issues of substance.  In fact, there were quite a few more folks that turned out for this meeting, than what you would see at a typical Sunnyside City Council Meeting.

Most of the folks who turned out were of a Spanish speaking background, and I appreciate Detective Ortiz stopping from time to time to give me the information in English.  In addition, a member of the school staff was able to interpret some of what people were saying for me as well.

The presentation about Gang Awareness for the most part went back to two questions Detective Ortiz posed at the start of the discussion: “Do you know what you are seeing?” and “Do you understand what you are seeing?”  He then went on to describe reasons some individuals may decide to join gangs in the first place.  This included descriptions of gang initiation rituals, which sometimes included unpleasant examples of how humans can treat each other horribly.  (Not that I expected “Gang Awareness” to be like “Happy Hour”, but some gang rituals I found outright revolting.)

At one point, Detective Ortiz said “We all need to be educated.”  He spoke about a formal education being important for both men and women.  In addition, this statement includes society at large.  We need to be educated about what is going on in our community.  Gang Awareness is part of what we need to know.

Detective Ortiz related one story of being decked out in tactical gear, complete with an AR-15 assault rifle when a vehicle pulled up.  He tracked the vehicle, and the white driver getting out of it, wondering if it was an approaching threat.  The man getting out had a cap on with a red, five pointed star.  This is a symbol used by some area gangs, raising the detective’s level of apprehension.  What was peculiar was that the man with the hat was white, but still you can never be sure about such things.  In the end, it turned out it was a reporter arriving on the scene.  He was unaware that the cap he had purchased at a gas station for warmth, had a symbol being used by gangs prominently displayed.

Detective Ortiz saw me taking notes, and asked if I was a reporter!  “No, I am not.”, was my reply.  I attended this meeting as a parent of a child in the school system, and did not think it would turn into a blog post, but here we are.

As my own children get older, they will be confronted with the issue of gangs in their lives.  I want to be able to have a clue about what is happening, to give them some relevant advice.  Even though I have a formal education, and have benefited from having some great teachers, I never learned the first thing about gangs.  There are some things we have to learn as adults, outside of the classroom.  Sunnyside needs more of these kinds of discussions.

Detective Ortiz gave this presentation, on his own time, donating valuable personal time to our community.  I learned a great deal, and wish to express my gratitude to all the great folks at Chief Kamiakin Elementary, and the Sunnyside Police Department for the work they do everyday.