Monday, May 01, 2006

TODAY AT TILDENVILLE ELEMENTARY


Everyone will have big stories today about the boycots and marches. I decided instead to bring you a small one.

This comes from the Orlando Sentinel.


Tildenville Elementary absences blamed on demonstration

More than 40 percent of Tildenville Elementary's children failed to show up for class today, a phenomenon school officials attribute to today's demonstrations.

Tildenville is an old farming community served by a high-poverty, high-minority school. Hispanic children make up more than two-thirds of its enrollment. Yet nearly all 265 absent today are Hispanic, said Carmen Martinez, the school's dual-language program coordinator.

"We have children from everywhere -- Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Puerto Rico," she said, and their parents largely work in farming and the service industries.

It's not clear whether families kept the children home in silent demonstrations or brought them to Orlando to participate in rallies, she said. In the meantime, the school will remain open and it will be up to teachers to decide later whether to incorporate Monday's events into future lessons

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