Hello parents! We're asking for your support in confronting the school district on the issues that have removed Ashley Deleon from the lives of our students. Please sign this letter if you agree! We use state statistics to express that their attentions should be focused on other issues in the schools over attacking someone's personality and robbing the littles of her large and loving heart. While this letter is broad, we would like you to share stories about how Ashley has positively impacted the community through out her years in the district! 

Here is a bulleted summary of the letter’s key points:

Failure of Mission: prioritizing administrative comfort over the needs of children.

Wrongful Termination:  protests the firing of Ashley Deleon ("School Auntie"), a beloved TK/Preschool associate, who was terminated due to "personality conflicts" with administration rather than poor performance.

Academic Crisis: while 99% of students graduate, only 20.4% are actually college or career-ready.

Misallocated Funds: a wrongful termination lawsuit in California could cost the district $100,000–$300,000+. 

Early Childhood Founation: social and emotional well-being drives academic success. 

Dear Members of the Board,

 The first and most sacred priority of this board and the district’s administration must be the children. Every decision made in that district office should be measured by one simple question, “How does this help our students succeed?” Right now, from a parents’ perspective, it feels as if the district had lost sight of this mission.

 As parents, we know that a child’s success depends on the environment created for them. Educational research supports this by suggesting that a students' wellbeing and engagement in Preschool/ Transitional Kindergarten are the strongest predictors of high school success. If you take a look at our 2025- 2026 data, there are a few alarming numbers that should be a priority over the termination of a beloved associate that has proven to be an asset in student engagement and contributing to the educational environment that parents HOPE for in the early years of our children’s education. 

 Let’s look at the 296 students currently attending Needles High. While 99% of the students are handed a diploma, only 20.4% (that is about 60 students) are actually prepared for the world that follows. Our students are checking graduation boxes but 166 are on the track to be ineligible for University. This should be a time where the district is protecting individuals that spark enthusiasm and the students look forward to seeing everyday, all the way to the earliest years. The love for learning starts in the TK and kindergarten classrooms. The decision to fire staff based on “Personality Conflicts" with administration isn’t just an HR issue, but a betrayal of the district’s mission.

 When teachers, assistants, and supporting staff build bonds with our children that makes them excited to go to school, these people are assets. When the administration and staff can’t get along, it is the kids who pay the price. To fire staff based on personal friction instead of the classroom’s success, you have put your comfort above the wellbeing of OUR children.

 Please prioritize mediation and protect the effective members of the Unified school district and keep the people who our children love and trust in the classroom. That bond with each and every child of their classroom and the work done to engage the students should be the only metric that matters. The student to staff relationships are what drive children to success. With 296 students in high school and only 44% meeting A-G requirements, this district needs more dedicated, passionate, loving, child approved school staff more than ever. By retaining staff with these characteristics, Ms. Ashley Deleon, AKA the school Auntie, you encourage the human elements of education that spark joy, passion, and success.

Were you aware that the cost of defending a single wrongful termination challenge in California often exceeds $100,000 - $300,000? If the district loses, it faces back pay, benefits, and the teacher’s legal fees. These costs could easily reach half a million dollars! Every dollar spent on such a cause is a dollar stolen from our student’s future. 

The time of the district office should be spent on looking into available state grants to provide additional A-G support and enhance vocational programs so that students that aren’t pursuing university can graduate with high- value skills. How can you justify spending six figures on lawyers when 166 high schoolers are currently falling behind? Should we continue to bring up the shortcomings in the district's priorities by mentioning the volatile middle school bullying and kids threatening to bring knives to school?

The health of a district is measured by the success of its students, not the harmony of its administration office. With enrollment down almost 3%, you should be investing in programs that attract and retain families. By firing an educator that has been a loved part of NUSD for nearly a decade you drive families away, not to and you are placing adult drama above the well being of the children, all the while, it risks theft of our children’s education future, for administrative vendettas. To potentially spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a legal battle to remove someone that is missed every single day by three, four, and five year olds when the middle school and high school clearly struggle with the concept of passionately engaging in their studies demonstrates that your priorities aren’t being placed where they should be. 

We’re calling you to return to the basics. The children should be the first, second, and third priority. Stop pushing out staff with a proven bond with the students. Our children get one chance at an education and it is a 14 year journey (for the kids that start in TK). We expect this board to make sure that every dollar and every decision is focused on them, not on adult drama. Bring back Ashley Deleon and support the TK room where socialization, introduction to education, and emotional development are the foundation for future educational success. 

Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.

Sincerely,

The concerned Parents of Needles

Sources 

California School Dashboard (Needles Unified Summary): The primary state source for current year data including graduation rates and college/career preparedness metrics.

California Department of Education (DataQuest): The state's public reporting system for specific metrics like A-G completion data (UC/CSU requirements) and annual dropout rates.

Ed-Data (Needles High School Profile): A collaborative portal providing detailed historical and current school profiles, including teacher-to-student ratios and student group performance.

U.S. News & World Report (Needles High School Profile): Details high school rankings for 2025–2026, college readiness indices, and per-student spending ($20,023).

Niche (Needles Unified School District Profile): Offers current 2026 community ratings, detailed financial expenditures, and administrative staff counts.