During my time (2000-2004) in Newtown High School, it was a very diverse, mostly immigrant…read morecommunity, and many families were struggling with economic and educational issues. Diversity is a blessing but it can also bring struggles such as misunderstanding and unequal treatment. In that environment I often felt discriminated against, unsafe, overlooked, judged and unsupported, especially as a person with a disability.
During my time there, the student body was approximately 35% Asian, 50% Hispanic, 10% African American, and 5% White. Around 70% had moved to the U.S. after age 11, 80% came from less-educated families, and 70% were from low-income households. About 65% of the students' parents worked cash-paying jobs. The graduation rate was about 55% and Ivy League acceptance was around 20%.
Newtown High School has not been in a good school district and did not feel like a well-resourced environment during that time, and it felt like the system became so focused on its reputation that students with disabilities were often overlooked. There seemed to be more emphasis on increasing graduation rates and Ivy League acceptance rates than on supporting students who needed help, which I find deeply wrong.
It was more difficult for me, because I thought I would get support from Mrs. Chen (Guidance Counselor) and Mrs. Wang (Assistant Principal of Guidance). I thought they would understand my situation, especially because we were from the same cultural background (Chinese). Instead, I often felt dismissed, discriminated against and misunderstood, and it was painful and confusing. It made me realize that bias and lack of support can show up anywhere, even where you hope it wouldn't.
Over the years, I've noticed that Asians and my Asian classmates are the same. Whenever there's a problem, they're very passive and don't speak up no matter how angry they are about the problem. They just talk about it amongst themselves. I have lived in the USA for nearly 40 years, China for 5 years, and am close to most of them and I get upset when they just accept things that they know are wrong. When I ask them why they don't ever speak up, they say they don't want to stir up trouble and they don't trust management.
It actually connects to something that happened to me back in 2003 at Newtown High School. I accidentally got locked in a girls' locker room one Saturday afternoon at 1pm on a summer of 75 degrees after class . What I thought would be a quick trip turned into being stuck there for about two hours. I was shouting for help through a small open window, getting weaker, and at one point I honestly thought I might pass out. "Help! I am stuck at the girl's gym on the 5th floor!" I didn't have a cell phone and my water.
Just when I was close to passing out, two students (an African American boy and a Spanish girl) heard me and immediately got security. Their quick action prevented a much worse outcome, and I've always remembered their courage and responsiveness.
As the security guard was walking us to the main entrance, we ran into Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Wang right outside of the Guidance counselor's office on the 2nd Floor. I was told that this was also near where my calls for help had been heard. What struck me just as much, though, was realizing that Mrs. Chen (guidance counselor) and Mrs. Wang (Assistant Principal of Guidance) had heard me but didn't act, and later treated the situation lightly. That experience made me feel dismissed and unsafe.
What's most shocking is that the next few days, I heard some Chinese students, who lived across Newtown High School, had heard me, joked about it, and wished something bad upon me. Not only they didn't bother to call for help or report it, but they ignored it and treated the whole situation lightly. Even though my enemy shouts out for help, I would call for help or report it to authorities.
Moreover, Mrs. Chen, who consistently belittled me, didn't refer me to proper support and services, and discouraged me from attending college, believing that people with disabilities are incapable of completing higher education. As a person with a degree, I wouldn't recommend this high school nor would I want my child to go here based on my experience.
