Labor secretary to speak at Bridgeport graduation; Cabinet member instead of Obama; Principal: 'I wasn't familiar with her'.(NWSaturday)

Byline: Erik Lacitis; Seattle Times staff reporter

Bridgeport High School did not get President Obama as its commencement speaker, but its seniors will hear from Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, the daughter of Hispanic immigrants and the first in her family to go to college.

Neither the principal nor the students at Bridgeport knew much about Solis when the announcement was made Friday.

"I wasn't familiar with her," said Tamra Jackson, the school's principal.

But, given the Cabinet member's background -- she's a Californian whose mother was from Nicaragua and dad from Mexico -- "I could see the White House's thinking," Jackson said.

The students at Bridgeport are mostly Hispanic and low income, as is the town of 2,409 along the Columbia River north of Wenatchee. The students are mostly the children of migrant laborers who came to work in the fruit orchards and stayed.

Bridgeport was among three finalists in the Commencement Challenge contest that the White House said had hundreds of nationwide entries.

The Obama commencement contest is in its second year. It was started in response to a College Board report that found the U.S. had dropped from first to 12th in adults with college degrees (Canada is now No. 1).

Obama will speak at the winning school, Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, Tenn.

Jackson said the Bridgeport students are proud of their accomplishments. Every one of its 37 seniors has been accepted to college

"They're disappointed, of course," she said about the school not winning. "But it has brought them a lot of notoriety, and now everyone knows where Bridgeport is."

Jackson said some students, though proud, are upset at what they've read about "the politics," such as the school not being chosen because Washington state would likely favor Obama in the 2012 election, and Tennessee is a state considered in play.

And, Jackson said, the students have been reading disparaging comments on the Internet about their Hispanic background.

"It affected them. I think they expect better from adults," said the principal.

The commencement will take place June 1. Gov. Chris Gregoire also will speak.

Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or elacitis@seattletimes.com

Copyright (c) 2011 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.