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String theory YOUR ONLINE LOCAL 1-2 punch Oregon’s Koto-kai blends DAILY NEWS Veteran Barner, youthful Mariota Japanese culture, music www.portlandtribune.com lead Ducks into Southern Cal Portland— See LIFE, B1 Tribune— See SPORTS, B8 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012 • TWICE CHOSEN THE NATION’S BEST NONDAILY PAPER • WWW.PORTLANDTRIBUNE.COM • PUBLISHED THURSDAYTHURSDAY TEACHERS PROTEST DRUM BEAT ON RACE Chuk Barber, African- Brazilian drum instructor, drums alongside his middle school students at Faubion. Stories by Jennifer Anderson ‘Whiteness is constantly Complaint hits ‘black, Drumming class has Photos by Christopher Onstott same aim, different thrown in our face’ brown’ drum corps Portland Public School leaders spend a Three weeks ago, Trevor Vandeberg approach at schools lot of time talking about race. walked into the offi ce at his school and So much so that last week, PPS sent no less asked the secretary if he could join the At Northeast Portland’s Faubion K-8 than 93 teachers, principals and administrators lunchtime drum corps. School on a recent Thursday, 10 boys and to San Antonio, Texas, to attend and present at “My friends say it’s a pretty fun class,” seven girls assembled in the gym, drum- the 4th Annual Summit on Courageous Conver- says Trevor, in eighth grade at Northeast ming and dancing to the pulsating sound of sations. Portland’s Harvey Scott K-8 School. “I’d get the “Samba Do Rio” beat. “Courageous Conversations,” to the uniniti- to be in the (Junior) Rose Parade, and I The students were a mix of races, including ated, is the framework for equity training that think it would be kind of fun to learn how to black, white and Latino. The school welcomes the district adopted in 2007 and began rolling drum.” both boys and girls to enroll in either drumming out to the schools this year. So the 13-year-old asked — and was dis- or dance, two of the three electives offered to all The fi nal costs of the San Antonio trip aren’t appointed at the response. of Faubion’s sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders yet tallied but could come to thousands of dol- “She said no, because it has something to for an hour twice a week. lars, not counting the cost of substitutes to do with my class period,” Trevor says. Chuk Barber, the instructor, has taught Afri- cover their positions at school during the fi ve- Yet he suspected that might not be the can-Brazilian drum and dance at Faubion for day event. real barrier, because one of his Spanish- four years. But he sees it as more than just a But now teachers and staff at Harvey Scott speaking friends has the same schedule music class: “It’s a mentorship program, and I K-8 School in Northeast Portland say the focus except for one morning period, and was give them drums to lure them in.” on race has gone too far, since Verenice Gutier- able to enroll in the drum program. Since 2007, he’s taken hundreds of PPS stu- rez became principal in 2010. Trevor believes the dents under his wing, teaching at other high- Two months ago, Gutierrez landed in the na- reason he was reject- poverty, minority-dominated schools including tional spotlight when bloggers and radio talk ed is that he’s white. “I’m not Woodlawn and Vernon K-8s and Rigler Elemen- Faubion School seventh-grader Hibiba Ibrahm, show hosts gleefully mocked her offhand re- “All the other kids 12, learns a African-Brazilian dance routine say I can’t be in the black, Hispanic, See DRUM/ Page 8 from instructor Chuk Barber. See TEACHERS / Page 2 class because I’m African or white,” he says. “I’m anything like not black, Hispanic, African or anything that. I kind of like that. I kind of fi nd fi nd it stupid it stupid I can’t be in the class just because I can’t be in Activist strikes blow against drones I’m white.” the class just The irony is, Trevor because I’m Pakistan tour offers a But Cooper admits to a bit of nerves has a pale complexion when she and three other Oregonians and brown hair but is white.” view of destruction that landed in Pakistan Oct. 3 as part of a part Native American. — Trevor Vandeberg, 31-person peace delegation protesting He lives with his fa- Harvey Scott School ‘creates enemies’ unmanned drone airplane attacks by ther, who works full eighth-grader Trudy Cooper their own country. time, and his mother is one of four By STEVE LAW Three weeks earlier, violent anti- is out of the picture. Oregonians The Tribune American protests swept the Muslim Robyn Rains, his grandmother, helps raise who recently world, triggered by a YouTube clip of Trevor and has been a longtime volunteer returned from Peace activist Trudy Cooper once an anti-Islamic video produced by a and PTA leader at Scott. a one-week laid her body across railroad tracks Californian. “Race, I really think, shouldn’t matter,” peace mission in a protest. When the mostly female delegation says Rains. to Pakistan. The 63-year-old from Northeast Port- landed in Islamabad at 3 a.m. after a Trevor is not identifi ed as an “academic land says she’s unafraid of confl ict be- 13-hour fl ight, Cooper says they heard priority” student by the district (based on TRIBUNE PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER cause she works as a mediator for a grades, attendance, test scores and other ONSTOTT living. See DRONES / Page 6 factors), but he does have family struggles, Rains says. She thinks the “black and brown drum- ming corps,” as Harvey Scott Principal Verenice Gutierrez calls it, “smacks of dis- crimination.” Poll: Hales, She’s not the only one to think so. Since a Sept. 6 Tribune story highlighted the drum class, Gutierrez has maintained that Fritz have an the class is “appropriate,” per PPS’ equity policy. She refers to it as “our drumming corps for black and brown sixth- to eighth- grade boys.” edge in races Last week, a teacher at Scott fi led a civil rights complaint via the American Civil ■ Obama By JIM REDDEN Liberties Union because of the drum corps’ The Tribune alleged exclusion of girls and boys of other holds six- races. point lead; Charlie Hales holds a sub- The ACLU takes about three weeks to voters may stantial lead over Jefferson investigate whether to take such complaints. Smith in the race for Portland “I fi led it on behalf of the women, girls, send mayor, according to a new poll whites, Asians and Native Americans at corporate commissioned by FOX News 12 Harvey Scott,” said the teacher, who asked kicker money and Oregon Public Broadcast- to remain anonymous for fear of retalia- ing. tion. to schools Hales is ahead of Smith by 44 The teacher says two Somalian girls percent to 25 percent, with 19 came to her last year and one Asian girl percent of voters undecided, ac- came to her this year, asking to join the TRIBUNE PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER ONSTOTT See POLL / Page 7 Polling shows Charlie Hales leading Jefferson Smith in the Portland mayor race by double digits. See COMPLAINT / Page 5 “Pamplin Media Group’s pledge is to Portland Tribune It’s time to ■ Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 4. That means it’s time to turn your clocks deliver balanced news that refl ects the back an hour. Since 2007, daylight saving time has started on the second Sunday of March and stories of our communities. Thank you ” Online fall back ended on the fi rst Sunday in November. for reading our newspapers. — DR. ROBERT B. PAMPLIN JR. OWNER & NEIGHBOR A2 NEWS The Portland Tribune Thursday, November 1, 2012 Teachers: Sandwich remark stirs national ire ■ From page 1 mark, quoted in a Tribune news story, about the use of a peanut butter sandwich as an example of cultural sensitivity. Gutierrez was explaining how students raised outside the United States might be left out of a lesson unless teachers make it culturally relevant. Now the staff at Scott School say that while they believe their principal is well-intentioned, her focus on race has instead created a hostile environment for students, staff and families. “We all agree in teaching Courageous Conversations,” says one teacher. “The issue is, it’s gone past the point of com- fort. Even the kids of whiteness in our building feel they aren’t part of the building anymore.” Adds another teacher: “Our whiteness is constantly thrown in our face. We’re taught we’re incapable of teaching students of color.” The teachers are among 20 current and former Scott School staff members who agreed to speak with the Tribune on the condition of anonymity, in fear of retaliation or losing their jobs. Teachers have fi led grievances and sought other remedies through their union, to no avail. Making their struggles public is a last resort, they say. Many were heartbroken about decid- ing to leave the school because of their frustrations. Some of the fallout includes: ■ A mass exodus by staff. At the end of the 2010-11 school TRIBUNE PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER ONSTOTT year, Gutierrez’ first year at Faubion School African-Brazilian drumming instructor Chuk Barber stops his class, pointing out students for not keeping the correct rhythm. Scott, 26 teachers (about half the staff) left. Eight followed the next year. sures. “You have to ask the ques- This month, she told staff improve student learning.” he said, ‘But you are white.’ ” their union contract.