Oscar de la Torre: True to His School (District)

                                                   photo by Matthew Pritchard

Clara Sturak
Associate editor

   With an endorsement from the powerful Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights, and the support of a few key local leaders, Oscar de la Torre’s bid for the Santa Monica-Malibu School District’s Board of Education is up and running.
   De la Torre, Founder and Director of the Pico Youth and Family Center (PYFC), has not always had it so easy. As recently as last year, his ability to run such a program was questioned -– in a very public forum. The City of Santa Monica, which had agreed to fund a collaboration of three youth groups: Parachute Program/Proyecto Adalante/ Santa Monica Barrios Unidos (PPPABU), subsequently determined that the activists who were in charge, including de la Torre, were not meeting City funding requirements.
   De la Torre, determined to continue his work with local children and teens, created a new organization, The Pico Neighborhood Youth and Family Center (the ‘neighborhood’ was later dropped), hooked himself up with the well-respected non-profit Woodcraft Rangers, and proposed to the City that it give him another chance. It did.
   PYFC officially opened in February 2002, and, de la Torre says it’s been a booming business. “We’ve surpassed our numbers. We [served the number of youth] in the first five months what we were supposed to do in a year.” The center offers a place for young people ages 12 to 24 to hang out, do homework, get tutored, or even to make music. (The facility includes a music production room.)
   De la Torre sees his bid for School Board as an extension of his work at PYFC, of the commitment he has to young people and his belief in the value of education. “Every time that we fail to educate a child and provide an opportunity for learning, we fail ourselves,” he says.
   He is himself a product of an SMMUSD education – a graduate of Will Rogers Elementary, John Adams Middle School and Santa Monica High School, where he began as a so-so student, and ended up as co-captain of the football team and class president. He returned to work at Samohi as a counselor after earning his B.A. from Chico State University and his Masters in Public Administration from the University of Texas at Austin.
   De la Torre realized while in he was in college that he wanted to be a part of his community and “give something back.” He became a volunteer at Samohi, which eventually led to a position as an “outreach specialist” there. From 1998 to 2000, he worked with students in a variety of ways – in leadership development, cultural activities, violence prevention and college preparation. “My charge was to work with all students who were disconnected [from school life], or who were having academic problems,” he explains, and he adds that his time there not only helped him to better identify with young people, but with the teachers as well.
   “I gained a great appreciation for what teachers do in the classroom, how difficult it is.” As a member of the School Board, he says he would emphasize teacher support and development programs, including mentoring for first-year teachers.
   He believes the District must develop a “master plan for equity and equality” which would cover all programs and all policies district-wide, and would focus on reducing the achievement gap between white and minority students.
   De la Torre is quick to point out that these plans and programs need financial support in order to succeed. He supports the proposed $300 parcel tax, which Santa Monicans will vote on in November. In response to parcel tax detractors, de la Torre counters, “An investment in public schools is the best investment we can make to bolster our democracy and to make the U.S. competitive in a globalized economy.”
   Closer to home, de la Torre is a member of the School Board’s Task Force on Racism and Discipline, which has in the last several weeks taken on the issue of inequality in disciplinary actions in the District Schools. After the June 27 School Board meeting in which Mothers for Justice, an advocacy group made up primarily of parents of minority students, alleged that District officials routinely discipline Latino and African American youths more harshly than Anglo students, District leadership acted quickly and formed the Task Force.
   De la Torre, who himself had been severely disciplined while in middle school for an infraction he didn’t commit (“I was afraid to go to school for a while after that — they told me I’d end up in juvenile hall”) has nothing but praise for the way SMMUSD Superintendent John Deasy has handled the situation. “I have to say that I have never seen a Superintendent so committed to being proactive and to delivering on his promises. He has taken on this issue with courage and conviction.”
   As for his position on the issue, de la Torre acknowledges that in a “post-Columbine era school safety is of prime importance.” He adds, though, “We have to balance the need to keep people safe with the need for students’ and parents’ rights to be respected during the discipline process.” De la Torre feels that it’s necessary for administrators and teachers to “assess their own prejudices” about the diverse population of students with which they work, and to be able to see “at-risk” kids as children with problems, instead of problem children. (See related story, page one).
   De la Torre the candidate has received the endorsement of several prominent Santa Monicans and two important local political groups. He is supported by current School Board member Pam Brady, Parks and Recreation Commission member Neil Carrey, and former Planning Commissioner and education advocate Ralph Mecher.
   The Coalition for the Living Wage recently declared its support for de la Torre, and the full membership of Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR) endorsed de la Torre at its August 3 meeting, after he had not been recommended by the steering committee. “In that way, [the SMRR endorsement] is significant,” he says.
   De la Torre received the third-highest number of votes, after current School Board President Julia Brownly and first-time candidate Emily Bloomfield. Ana Jara rounded out the group’s endorsements. “If the four of us get elected, it will be a pleasure to work with women who have so much knowledge – I know I’ll be learning a lot,” he says, “and I’ll share my expertise as well.”