The Pajaro Valley High School student walkout: Separate letters by teachers union/Trustee Medina give different versions of events

Editor’s note: this op-ed has been updated to include a response from PVUSD Trustee Gabe Medina, which follows below.

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PVHS staff stands united in support of student’s voice, safety

The staff at Pajaro Valley High School, along with our administration and union, PVFT, write in support of our staff, students, and families as a whole.  

On Friday, Jan. 30, students on our campus wished to participate in the nationwide strike in response to the actions of ICE. A group of students began organizing and, after speaking with a number of staff members across campus who’d additionally opened their doors for sign-making and discussion, a walkout through our hallways was arranged. The students planned to gather in our quad on campus for a rally where they’d hear from YARR (Your Allied Rapid Response) and one another, amidst adults who’ve routinely met students where they are on a wide spectrum of issues. 

We felt proud that our students felt empowered and comfortable enough to utilize our campus as a starting point for their activism. However, what should have been a day of collaborative movement forward, turned into an immature spectacle of assumptions, stereotyping, and personal bias. The students’ plan to gather together was partially thwarted by outside parties claiming student suppression, who by their actions ironically decreased the number of actual student voices heard that day, and limited the overall educational impact of the moment.

As educators, we cannot encourage students to leave campus. We can, and did, encourage them to organize on campus and speak for what they believe in. This was taken from them when others came onto our campus with a megaphone, telling students to leave. Some of our students left with them, but some thought twice. Should we not be more careful? Have we not witnessed how ICE has operated in other parts of the country, targeting students walking to and from school? Organization, planning, and communication are essential in any social movement, especially when our students are involved.

Let us be clear: What PV staff is concerned about is the undermining of our students by people who, while claiming to be advocates for our young people, drove a narrative of their needing to be saved. Our kids don’t need saviors; they have agency, ingenuity, and a burgeoning sense of duty to their community that we foster and appreciate. They need SAFE SPACES to exercise their freedoms and encourage one another to care. What was made clear to us, however, is the need for a code of conduct for how guests and elected officials interact with our students; to instigate children to leave campus and lead them to the plaza where no additional platform, perimeters, or program were provided before the end of their school day, was not sound judgement by those adults. The caretakers in us were not impressed and even considered risking reprimand in breaking protocols and walking with kids to the plaza, just to ensure their safety. 

Students at PVHS work with staff and administration in a number of capacities to great outcome, and we’re only a year and a half in on this incredible developmental arc. We are NOT what Trustee Medina represented of us on his public platforms; we are an institution with caring adults and passionate students, who together are creating new opportunities, who together are setting exemplars for the district through programs like PV Advance, Ethnic Studies and CARE, who together are establishing themselves as an enthusiastic and industrious visual and performing arts community—who has also just secured the rights to perform Luis Valdez’ iconic Zoot Suit, for starters. 

We are a tenacious community invested in student outcomes, not just today, but long into the future. Many teachers on site have been a part of this school from its inception; former students  now work on campus as staff; and our school community has banded together resolutely in the past to secure the integrity and safety of our campus so guardians can feel secure about where their kids are while separated from them throughout the day. 

Communities stick together during challenging times, and the PVHS community stands together in support of our administration, our students, and their families in an era of gross division and “us vs them” thinking. We will continue to center our students’ voices and teach them to be civically engaged, lifelong learners who can contribute to their future communities all the goodness we’ve come to expect from them during their time with us, at Pajaro Valley High School.

Amparo Yodar Jimenez, Jennifer Dowd, Juan Pablo Rodriguez, Aaron Bielenberg, Micah Powell, Rylan Shannon, Adam Hioki, Thomas McCall, Tessa Accardo, Matthew Duffy, Maya Murphy, Ryan Olivas, Brigitte Fantham, Tamela Harkins, Cecilia Fernandez, Sandra Macias, Esteban Rosas, MRobinson Brooker, Maria Rodriguez, Gabriel Robledo, Christina Guerrero, Maria Aguilera, Itai Britany, Marcela Portales, Silvia Sanchez, Jaime Bloom, Joseph Manfre, Julie Brusa, Raul Aguilar, Cesar Rojas, Claudia Chaidez, Casey Neligh, Rafael Picazo, Heriberto V Gonzalez, Martha Vega, Sandra Petros, Heidi Story, Nathan Hoxie, Sandino Gomez,Yvette B. Hagan, Reed Alaniz, Alejandra Bermudez, Juli Dickinson, Jeannette Medina, Patricia (Mudnich) Garcia, AdrianaAYbarra, Mary Altman, Christina Che, Maira Mendoza

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A response from PVUSD Trustee Gabe Medina

First, I want to affirm something we agree on. Students at Pajaro Valley High School have agency. They organize. They think critically. They care deeply about their community. I have said this consistently, and I believe it fully. Supporting student voice means trusting students to act, even when adults feel uncomfortable with the moment.

The statement describes students organizing a strike response, speaking with staff, and planning a quad rally. I recognize and respect the work staff did to create space for discussion, sign making, and civic dialogue. Those actions matter. At the same time, the statement characterizes what followed as outside interference that reduced student voice. I need to correct the record on my role.

I did not instruct students to leave campus. I did not organize their walkout. I did not tell students where to go. I was driving down Main Street when I saw students already walking and exercising speech and assembly protected under the Constitution and California law. I cheered them on, which is visible on my public Facebook post. Students were already organizing and already moving. My presence was about affirming student rights and observing safety, not directing their actions.

The statement raises concerns about outside adults using a megaphone and encouraging students to leave campus. For context, I did not organize this action with students. I saw students walking onto Main Street and observed they were supported by members of the Brown Berets. Those individuals were contacted directly by students. Many of those students are members of that organization. This action was student-led.

The statement raises safety concerns tied to ICE enforcement. I take that concern seriously. We share responsibility for student safety. That responsibility includes recognizing the fear students feel tied to ICE enforcement, policing, and surveillance. For many students and families, this fear is lived and immediate. When students protest those systems, their urgency comes from real experiences.

At the same time, safety cannot override student rights or frame student civic expression as something adults must control. The Constitution protects student expression even when adults disagree with method or optics.

The statement expresses concern about students needing safe spaces rather than outside advocacy. I agree that students deserve safe spaces. I also believe safe space and civic action are not opposites. Students have historically used both classrooms and public spaces to exercise civic voice.

The statement calls for a code of conduct for guests and elected officials. I am open to that conversation. That conversation must begin with a shared understanding that students retain constitutional rights on campus and in civic life.

The statement asserts that Pajaro Valley High School is not what Trustee Medina represented publicly. I need to be clear. I did not say Pajaro Valley High School lacks caring staff. I did not deny the work happening on campus. I did not dismiss PV Advance, Ethnic Studies, CARE, arts programs, or any student opportunity. Raising concerns about the actions of one administrator is not an attack on an entire school community. One administrator does not represent the school as a whole.

If accountability is the concern, then accountability must be consistent. Where was the concern when the Barrios Unidos program was cancelled, a program many students described as a place where they felt safe and supported? Where was the concern when a pesticide harm education presentation was cancelled three times, despite clear relevance to farmworker families and our local community?

The communication sent to staff about the walkout matters in this conversation. Staff were told the walkout was not approved, told to keep students in class, and told students leaving campus would face consequences and repercussions. That language shapes how students understand their rights and their risk.

California law also matters here. California Senate Bill 955 amended Education Code 48205 to allow middle and high school students one excused absence per year for civic or political participation with proper notice. The law recognizes civic participation as part of student development and civic education. California Education Code 48907 also protects student expression and limits when schools can restrict speech.

This raises an important question. Were parents and students notified of these rights before students began organizing to walk out? When schools do not clearly communicate student rights to families, students can be placed in situations where they risk consequences without understanding their legal protections. When students are told they will face repercussions for leaving campus, without clear information about their legal rights, we risk setting them up for disciplinary exposure instead of supporting informed civic engagement.

I will continue to respond when students report intimidation, suppression, or threats tied to protest. Addressing those concerns does not negate the dedication of educators who support students every day.

I remain committed to working with students, staff, families, and administration in good faith. That work requires honesty. It requires accountability. Most of all, it requires centering students, even when tension exists.