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Note: This is a revised version of what is going on. We make changes and adjustments as we receive information from both current and former mistreated and/or concerned parents of Hansel and Gretel. Our goal is to reflect the problems of the school as accurately and truthfully as possible, and therefore we welcome constructive criticism, acknowledging the fact that some of our statements may need to be adjusted.

If they make corrections at Hansel and Gretel Parent Co-op Preschool, I will replace all picture links. The only reason we ended up in this position is because my wife Eva, who was the vice president of the Hansel and Gretel board, tried to defend other parents who were being mistreated. She expressed her concerns about the mistreatment to the director and the president of the board, and they changed her concern into a situation totally different, where Eva was falsely accused of aggressive behavior. This version was presented to the rest of the board. The board was given biased and unfair statements about Eva’s intentions and asked to vote her out of the board. Under the title “conflict resolution” the President of the board made an unfair summary of the situation and gave Eva 3 minutes to defend herself, which Eva under the circumstances naturally refused to do, and next, removed Eva from the room to wait for the board’s decision. Also, Eva was not notified about the conflict resolution until about 30 seconds before the fact. Since Eva was not given a fair chance to truly defend herself and explain her position, not only do I believe that her personal rights were violated, but also the conflict resolution and other guidelines and recommendations that the school is supposed to follow.

There are many other parents who have experienced mistreatment and/or verbal abuse in the past by the director. Some parents have also expressed a concern about the director’s unequal treatment of the children. Since the board is very much under the influence of the director, it usually tends to take the side of the director and handle parent complaints in a biased manner, or simply ignore them. Based on our own experiences and observations it is our firm belief that each time there is a significant conflict between the director and a parent, the parent must either submit to the director’s whims, or leave the school.

There is a deep rooted unfairness in the handling of school business, which also includes the use of school funds. Behind closed curtains decisions are made about extravagant use of school money for board members only, while at the same time it is made clear that the school is hurting for money! The secrecy of the leadership and the fact that there are no clear rules, no need to answer to anyone for board decisions, and a director who is out of control, makes the school a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode.

The people in charge (WCCUSD Adult Education Department) know about the problems but just look the other way. They protect their own and do not want people from the outside to know about this.

        Just the past several weeks there was a Pertussis (Whooping Cough) scare at the preschool and both children and adults were required to take antibiotics. The only problem was that no one was proven to have Whooping Cough at the school. Although there were a couple of children that were suspected for it, due to ties to another school with confirmed cases, all test results of suspected children came back negative. Regardless, all the children and adults working at Hansel and Gretel were required to take antibiotics and no one was sick! In other words, about 50 people taking antibiotics “just in case”. To make matters worse, the whole situation was handled extremely poorly; the info given out was a mess, with rules that kept changing and no consistent policy to follow. Some people were turned away even though they already were on antibiotics with immunizations up to date, where as others, who were not on antibiotics, could freely walk into the classroom. There were stories flying around and no one knew exactly what to believe. Some parents and children where forced to drop out of the school because they refused to take antibiotics. Many people were also told by their doctors that the whole thing was strange. People who dared to question the logic of the procedure were not listened to. While we know that the orders for taking the antibiotics came from the Health Department, who is partly responsible for the misinformation and confusion, Hansel and Gretel handled the distribution of that information to the parents in a way that resulted in a mess.

I could go on and on, but it comes down to my wife Eva complaining about the director and her actions and being mistreated as a result of it. Also, the board refuses to meet up with Eva and discuss her situation despite several requests. Now things are so bad for her at the school with severe discrimination that she is considering leaving, and that of course would be very hard on our children.

So that is why we are removing these picture links to make it known to the public, and by making a statement "They cannot hide this!"

For comments and concerns you can email the WCCUSD Adult Education Department. They are the people in charge. Their phone numbers and email addresses are listed below.

Doug Spangler

WCC Adult Education

Parent Education Dept. Head

(510) 559-2660 # 205

DSpangler@wccusd.net

Tim Shaw, Director

(510)215-4666 # 202

TShaw@wccusd.net

Dr. Bruce Harter, Superintendent

BHarter@wccusd.net

God bless you all,

Raymond Aguilera, Class of 1961
http://raymondaguileraartist.com