Jailbait Advocate Part 4

As I wrote about in Jailbait Advocate Part 1, Jailbait Advocate Part 2, and Jailbait Advocate Part 3, trying to advocate for Hayes from first through fifth grade was scary, depressing, and unjust as soon as Charles Kaplan became the new principal. Jailbait Advocate Part 4 continues the journey as a parent and advocate.

My Observations During Principal Evil’s First Month

• It didn’t take long to see children sitting outside Kaplan’s office for hours. Hayes’ Hallway Guardians (teachers) confirmed they also noticed what I saw. Evil never changes. The children were Hispanic!
• As the Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO) Safety Officer, I expressed concern to Kaplan that none of the staff wore reflective safety vests on the playground and asked what he would do. He said, “I’ll look into it and let you know.” Never happened.
• I questioned him about his plans to make playground access safer so somebody couldn’t drive off Indian School Road, park, walk on the playground, and quickly take a child in minutes. Kaplan said, “After I have a chance to check that out, we’ll talk more about it.” Never happened.
• I asked him, “Do you intend to follow the Zero Tolerance Policy for any student who comes to Eubank with a weapon?” He said, “Yes.” He did not.

Five Other Parents

• In less than a month, five parents contacted me and provided me with written statements about numerous problems for their child since Charles Kaplan was reassigned to Eubank. As usual, Kaplan did nothing about their concerns, nor did he meet with them.
• Since those parents had the courage to express their concerns about their experiences with the new principal in writing, I called the Albuquerque Journal and asked that a reporter meet with me and the other five parents.
• On the day of the scheduled meeting, a young female reporter arrived. All five parents and I were present. I provided the reporter with my written concerns and the others.
• She said she would talk with Kaplan and then return to share the results with us. We all anxiously waited on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, it was a short wait.
• When she returned, she looked at me and said, “Principal Kaplan said that you are one of those difficult parents, and there is not a story here.”
• I took back the folder containing all our written statements and said to her, “Oh, yes, there is. One day, you will realize you should have been the one to write it.”
• The other parents left feeling discouraged, and I went to see Principal Evil. It seemed he was waiting for me. Before I could say a word, he said, “I am going to have you arrested if you do not immediately leave the school grounds!” These words spoken in anger by Charles Kaplan, more than any other, are the reason I proudly consider myself a Jailbait Advocate.

Student With A Knife On The Playground

One day, when Hayes and I were on the playground waiting for school to start, I saw a kid swinging a knife at another. I did not see any staff, so I immediately got involved. “Young man, stop what you are doing and hand me the knife.” He followed my instructions without saying a word.

Then, the three of us walked and found a teacher on duty. I explained what I witnessed, and the teacher said she would take the student and knife to Principal Kaplan.

I stopped at the school office following the knife event to see what Kaplan was going to do. Fortunately, he did not invite me into his private office, and I hoped there would be staff present to hear our conversation. The two office staff who heard our conversation became allies.

I asked him, “Did the teacher on duty tell you about what just happened on the playground?” He said, “Yes.”

I asked, “Are you going to enforce the Zero Tolerance Policy, which is written in the Eubank Elementary Handbook, and suspend this student for bringing a knife to school and threatening another student with it?” He said, “No. The student comes from a good family. (Ivan and his son were white). I will be meeting with the parents later.”

End of conversation. I left and could not breathe because I was in a full-blown panic attack while I tried to walk the two blocks home. The tape kept repeating in my weary mind. My kid has muscular dystrophy and an enlarged spleen. Hayes is not safe at Eubank with such an uncaring principal.

It Is Interesting How God Always Seems To Mysteriously Connect Strangers To Help One Another During Turbulent Times.

Ivan’s Call-Parent And Private Investigator

“Hi. I would like to speak with Marilyn Fuller. My name is Ivan, and I am the father of the Eubank Elementary student with the knife.”

I replied, “This is Marilyn.”

Ivan continued, “I understand you were the parent who found my son swinging a knife at another student this morning on the playground.”

I answered, “That’s right.”

He said, “I want to thank you for the way you handled things. I did not know my son knew where I kept my knife. I don’t condone what he did, but I want to show you why he felt he needed protection at school. Would you be willing to meet with me in person?”

“Of course,” I said, and we met the next day.

I was horrified when Ivan showed me the pictures of large bruises up and down his son’s entire back. Ivan explained there was a group of boys beating up his son every chance they got on the playground.

Ivan had also been complaining to Kaplan about his son’s situation and asking for help so his son could feel safe at school, but Kaplan did nothing.

During our first meeting, Ivan told me he was a private investigator.

I told Ivan about the numerous problems I already had with Kaplan because of my son’s lifelong disability and his not wanting Hayes or me at Eubank. I also informed him about my ongoing efforts to make Eubank a safer campus for all the children.

Ivan got visibly angry when I told him that Kaplan threatened me and said that he would have me arrested after I arranged an in-person meeting with an Albuquerque Journal reporter, myself, and five other concerned parents.

Our Mission

I believe God brought Ivan, a private investigator, and me, a human rights advocate with a legal background, together that day for the greater good on behalf of children and their families in the Albuquerque Public School system.

After sharing our stories, we were united in our mission. You will be shocked at what it took and how long it took to hold Charles Kaplan accountable. Jailbait Advocate Part 5 will rise to the level of a survival thriller for sure! Please subscribe below so you don’t miss it.

Accountability Propaganda

Albuquerque Journal 12/29 Article

This Albuquerque Journal December 29 article APS Sued Over East San Jose Firings was published a few months after Charles Kaplan was reassigned to Eubank Elementary:

“Three former employees of East San Jose Elementary are suing Albuquerque Public Schools, claiming they suffered wrongful termination, racial and religious discrimination, harassment and sexual harassment.

Maria Bautista, Albert Montoya and Sherry C De Baca-Rios filed suit in district court last week against APS, district superintendent Jack Bobroff, assistant superintendent John Mondragon, and former East San Jose principal Charles Kaplan.

The three said their terminations were part of Kaplan’s pattern of decreasing the number of Hispanic staffers at the mostly Hispanic school.

Kaplan, reached at home Tuesday, had no comment on the suit.

Bautista, a former Chapter 1 teacher, said Kaplan ridiculed her in front of other staffers because she is a lesbian, monitored her calls at work, barred her from visiting the APS central office and subjected her to a barrage of memos and requests for meetings.

C De Baca-Rios and Montoya claim they were fired without cause, partly because of their own complaints about Kaplan and their support of Bautista.

All three said Kaplan made sexually inappropriate remarks about others, including applicants for positions.

They also said Kaplan, who is Jewish, displayed a menorah at school and harassed them after they asked permission to display a Nativity scene.

APS officials removed Kaplan from East San Jose in October and later named him principal at Eubank Elementary.”

Patterns don’t lie. Do you see the patterns of discrimination and failure to resolve parent and teacher concerns when people in authority are not held accountable?

How does cowardice benefit children and their families? You know, those hard-working people who pay the taxes that fund the public school system.

Instead of a real and lasting solution, my Jailbait Advocate series proves how bureaucracies pass the problem, give evil a promotion, and then infect other children and families living in a different school district because Administrators have no courage to do the hard thing.

Every day in the United States, news reports and YouTube videos detail how federal, state, and local judicial systems, the political system, police departments, corporations, and the famous, rich, and powerful receive entitled treatment when it comes to the law being applied.

In my experience and opinion, the laws of the United States are not being enforced to hold every citizen to the same accountability as the Constitution requires. Consider how much Charles Kaplan got away with and there is more to come in my next story.

Tough Cookie Tip: If you do not have compassion and empathy for all children and their families, do not think you will find happiness and fulfillment working in a public school system. You’re not a match.

As I wrote in About My Life, I volunteered and later worked for Parents Reaching Out (PRO), New Mexico’s Parent Training and Information Center.

Over the years, I spoke with hundreds of angry and frustrated parents about problems for their children in the Albuquerque Public Schools. Most of the time, it was blatant discrimination, violations of the child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP), and unwillingness to treat parents as equal partners in their child’s education goals.

Copyright © 2022-2025 Marilyn K Fuller. All Rights Reserved.

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