Christine Wilson remembers the way the father of her children, an American Indian of the Paiute tribe, was picked on at school in Bishop, the small mountain town where they grew up. But watching their daughters get roughed up and suspended unfairly told her it was time for real change, she said.
Wilson and the parents of another American Indian child, backed by the Bishop Paiute tribe, announced Tuesday they’d reached a settlement with the Bishop Union Elementary School District designed to end what many families claimed was a long-standing pattern of discrimination that was driving Paiute children away from school system.
“I grew up here, and saw the same thing then, how the Native American kids were singled out,” said Wilson, 35. “I was seeing the same thing happen with my kids, how they start seeing themselves like they’re not worth much, won’t amount to much.”
While school officials say the district didn’t use discipline in a way that discriminated against the American Indian students, “there’s always room for improvement,” said Superintendent Barry Simpson, who took over about a year ago, before parents complained about mistreatment and sought legal counsel from the American Civil Liberties Union.
“We’re going to be taking a look at all our procedures a little more closely,” said Simpson. “It’ll be positive for all the students in our district, because this settlement will let our time and resources go to them, rather than litigation.”
All involved in the settlement, reached Sept. 12, agreed that avoiding a costly and divisive lawsuit was the best outcome for Bishop. The small mountain town of about 3,500 tucked into the folds of the Sierra Nevada and bordered by the Bishop Paiute Reservation is home to families who have been in the area for generations, and wanted to avoid animosity.
There was also some fear of potential racially motivated backlashes, attorneys said.
