Letter to the Editor: Don't blame our principal

Dear Editor:

I’ve known Cari White for the past 21 years at Warren High as her colleague. In those 21 years, I’ve seen Cari touch the lives of everyone she comes across, starting with the Special Education students. And because she was so good, she was promoted to the Department Chair, under whose leadership the department flourished beautifully.

When Cari later became a Dean of students, the students she served knew she loved them with all of her heart. So they naturally opened up their hearts in return. If you know Cari, it’s not hard to understand why they would open up to her. She’s all heart. Sometimes tears come first before words come out. That’s Cari. That’s our principal. Now, let’s jump to March 2020.

Even before kids were let out of school mid-March, she had the foresight to make a list of students that were going to need computers and internet, and most importantly, food. She did this most discreetly respecting the students’ privacy. And because Principal White was prepared, the Food Services was ready starting March 16th with hundreds of meals, ready to feed our students when many other districts were absolutely confused as to what to do for weeks! Even more, because the teachers were prepared beforehand thanks to her leadership we were already teaching our students the very first week by using Google Classroom and Zoom and didn’t miss a beat! I was assigning work and grading them the week of March 16th because she had us ready!

At the school, everybody knows that if there is a student or a family in need Cari is always the first to know and first to mobilize the school to meet that need. If there’s a family in need, Cari will send an email saying “Anonymous Family needs these items, C’mon Bears!” with her always the first to chip in. And the thing is, she was this way when she was a teacher, a dean, an assistant principal, and now a principal. And you know what? Because we’ve been friends for a long time, I personally know she’s been taking care of a family all by herself of a grandmother and grandchildren for the longest time out of her own pocket because she knows the grandmother is doing everything she can, and Cari wants to keep that family together and not see that family separate. Yes, that’s our principal. She puts her money where her mouth is. And the thing is, she’ll do that for even those who bad mouths her, because she lives by the very principles she preaches-love and forgiveness.

I promise you when Cari White watches the fireworks tonight it will be seen through a heavy heart. I promise you there is not a person whose heart weighs heavier in the City of Downey these days than Cari White when it comes to serving our students. So if you want to blame anyone, blame me. Maybe it’s my fault somehow things went awry. But don’t blame my principal whom I know whose very heart bleeds for every single student like no other that walks through the gates of Warren High School each and every day. We are utterly blessed to have Dr. Cari White as our principal, and I pray to God that we get to keep her for a very long time.

David Cha
Warren High School