Recent decisions by the Sonoma Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees should concern anyone who cares about the future of our public schools.
The reported request connected to the removal of the Dragon Pride flag from Sonoma Valley High School, alongside the board’s recent approval of MacArthur Park Charter School after the closure of three public schools, raises serious questions about what values are guiding our district—and whose students are being centered.
For many Sonoma Valley High students, especially those who are LGBTQ+, a Pride flag is not political. It is a visible signal that they are safe, respected, and welcome. Schools are not neutral spaces; they either affirm students’ identities or leave room for stigma to grow. Research and lived experience show that LGBTQ+ students face higher rates of bullying, anxiety, and depression, and that visible signs of acceptance can reduce those risks. Removing the Dragon Pride flag may seem small to adults, but to vulnerable students, it can communicate something painful: that their identities are controversial, or that their belonging is conditional.
The approval of MacArthur Park Charter School also deserves scrutiny. Community members have raised concerns about deficiencies in plans to serve students with disabilities and English learners, following the closure of three public schools. When schools are approved without strong, enforceable commitments to high-need students, we must ask who this system is being built for.
The label of a “high-quality” school is deeply intertwined with race and income. Test-score-driven ratings often reflect existing inequalities, not educational excellence, clustering multilingual, Black, Hispanic, and low-income students in lower-rated, under-resourced schools.
Trustees Bell, Landry, Guzman, Lehman, and Ching were elected to serve all students. Sonoma Valley deserves schools that stand for belonging, transparency, and equity, not silence and separation.
— Brandy Melendy, Sonoma Valley
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