BRAWLEY – Family members and friends of the late Sophie Torres Castillo, wearing matching green shirts, crowded into the first meeting of the Brawley Union High School District Board of Trustees of the 2024-2025 school year to demand answers.
BUHS trustees were greeted by a large crowd on Wednesday, August 14, including people lining the walls and standing anywhere they could. Most of them were there because of the 16-year-old student who died June 27 at Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley after being picked up by ambulance from her summer high school gym class.
In the public comment portion of the meeting, Darlene Berber-Felton, mother of a BUHS student, wearing green, Sophie’s favorite color, spoke about the circumstances of the teenager’s death. “I think I speak on behalf of the community” and “as a friend of the family.”
“The school board’s inaction after the incident affected not only Brawley, but also Westmorland and other towns in the valley, because the Torres Castillo family was very active in the community even before the children were born,” Berber-Felton said, referring to calls from the community to remove the physical education teacher blamed for their deaths from teaching.
The mother further spoke about the incident in which, according to witnesses, the student was in the care of physical education teacher Brandin Young in the high school gym when she apparently suffered several seizures after falling to the ground.
“My concern is that there is no open comment or anything about the safety of our children. On the disciplinary action, I understand that you can’t comment. But to do nothing and just pretend that this is being swept under the rug? I’m here to tell you, respectfully and disrespectfully, that’s not going to happen. And we’re not going to allow that.”
Board members thanked the Torres Castillo family and expressed their condolences for their loss during the meeting. On Thursday, August 15, an updated official comment on the situation was provided to the Calexico Chronicle by the Brawley Union High School District.
“The district is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of our students. As we approach the new school year, our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and all those affected by this loss. Our top priority is to ensure that every student in our care feels supported in a safe, nurturing environment that promotes healing, growth and opportunity,” BUHSD Superintendent Simon Canalez said in the statement.
“Out of respect for all involved and to maintain privacy, we are unable to comment or share any further details about the student or staff involved. During this difficult time, the well-being of our entire school community will continue to be our top priority and we are providing care, compassion and support where it is most needed,” the BUHSD statement concluded.
Prior to the latest statement, BUHSD released a recorded message sent to parents on June 28. It confirmed that there was “a medical emergency on campus,” but did not say much more at the time.
As of August 15, the Imperial County Coroner’s Office had no new information on Sophie’s autopsy results and did not provide any additional details or announce an official cause of death.
Stands for Sophie
Community members are still supporting Sophie’s with an active petition on MoveOn.org that has 3,489 signatures as of this article’s publication. People have voiced their support following the student’s death, expressed concern for the teacher on campus, and called for his suspension.
Two months later, friends are standing by their statements about their classmate’s tragic death. BUHS student KyAnna Telford shared her eyewitness account of the events between Castillo and gym teacher Young the day after the incident.
“She told him she wasn’t feeling well and asked if she could stop running, and he told her if she wanted to pass his course she should keep running. She was running, then she stopped and collapsed in the middle of the gym,” KyAnna said. “And I sat there and watched my friend have several seizures and be in pain. She was eventually taken to the hospital and died.”
Statements from students are the only way to piece together the current situation so far, as neither the Torres Castillo family nor BUHSD staff are releasing details to the press at this time. Berber-Felton said she felt compelled to speak at the Aug. 14 meeting, especially after her soon-to-be freshman daughter told her she had signed Young up for her own physical education class this year.
The mother said she couldn’t believe it. “…Everyone has to keep certain things confidential, both in the family and at school. But as a mother, I’m not going to let this go. Because Sophie was a dear friend and like a second daughter and like a sister to my girls…” Berber-Felton said.
“I’m sure a lot of parents have a story about this,” Berber-Felton said, then told the story of one of her older sons who also had an incident with Young a few years ago.
She said a complaint was filed, but the school administration stood behind the teacher. Numerous stories circulated online from students and parents who gave their own testimony about how Young allegedly treated the students in his class. Students claimed he was extremely strict in discipline and ruthless toward students who were sick or ill.
Brandie Dahm, another concerned BUHS mother who showed up in green on Wednesday, said after the meeting that her son Andrew also has Young as a teacher this year. Dahm said, “He actually sat down and talked to me and asked, ‘What do I do if I have an asthma attack? What if I get too hot? Am I OK, because I don’t want to fail.'”
Dahm said she told her son to take care of himself if he wasn’t comfortable in class and to sit down or do what he needed to do. “We hear all this stuff about bullying prevention … we encourage that in our kids. Maybe we should start encouraging that in adults too,” she said, shaking her head.
Public comment from concerned parents
Although there is no current information regarding grief counseling for students, the BUHSD’s recorded message from June 28 included the following statement, which may be helpful to some BUHS students seeking support.
See also
“We recognize that many of our students may have been impacted by the incident, so we want to let you know that we are providing you with a list of community resources. If you need further assistance regarding potentially available assistance, please contact Christina Velasco in the Superintendent’s office at 760-312-6063. Thank you,” the audio message ended.
“You can offer your condolences and everything else, but your actions speak louder than words. And we will not stand by and watch our children go through more trauma, because my children are traumatized. And the fact that I have been calling since last Thursday when freshman orientation was held to have my child removed from class and have not received a single response is concerning. That is rude,” Berber-Felton told board members as she concluded her speech.
“You all need to take better action and take a better approach. There are a lot more children who need advice than you think. A lot more parents who need answers than you think,” she said.
“Nothing to say is still a comment,” she concluded, reminding the board that Sophie’s younger sibling is scheduled to attend BUHS, saying, “That’s a lot for a 12-year-old.”
A parent in the audience asked about the school’s heat protection plan for staff and students. According to Superintendent Canalez, this plan may be on the agenda for the next meeting and presented to parents.
Patrick Lauterio, another BUHS parent with two daughters attending BUHS this year, also weighed in. “To be fair, you had summer vacation…in my opinion, the clock is ticking, so something has to be done about what happened…” Lauterio said.
Laura Padilla told the board that her son was placed in Young’s class this year, which was devastating for her son. She came to ask the board to change the schedule. “I don’t want that to be my child. I don’t want me to be that mother… I understand that the teacher had no control over what was going to happen. But what guarantee do I have that what is being said is not going to happen to my child?” she said.
“If something like that happened to me as a teacher – my husband is a teacher – if that happened to my husband, I wouldn’t want him to be ostracized like that. I understand that… But as a mother, I’m scared… and it’s terrible that this happened to this family, to this child. That this happened in our community, at our high school where we all grew up?” Padilla asked in disbelief.
Canalez said they would reach out to Padilla to discuss their concerns about their son’s grade change.
