some describe. But he acknowledged grams that would draw middle-class "pockets of occurrences, sometimes students to the inner city. MaryEllen on a daily basis" that created stress for Elia, as head of the district's magnet students and teachers. office - years before she was named Others who experienced it describe superintendent in 2005 - enthusias- the school differently. tically embraced the concept. ''It was kind of a shock to the sens- To encourage inner-city kids to es;' said Hillsborough County sher- enroll in largely white schools after iff's Deputy Chad Keen, who became 2001, the district designed a voluntary McLane's resource officer in early choice system. 2014. "I came in thinking, 'How bad Two problems: Not enough inner- can this be? I was in middle school city families opted to send their kids once: I wasn't here on campus but 30 to the suburbs. And magnets often minutes and there was already a huge displace children who live closest to fight breaking out in the main office:' the schools. Reading teacher Margery Singleton With magnet programs in every said she left abruptly in late 2013 after middle school in mostly black East bullies threatened a seventh-grader in Tampa, administrators scrambled to her class. She tried to lock them out, find seats for thousands of children. but another student let them in. She McLane was not the only middle recalls seeing her student tremble school tapped to receive displaced stu- and knowing his tormenters would be dents. Mann Middle in Brandon also waiting for him later. became a destination, as did Madison "I think about McLane a lot. It's and Monroe in South Tampa. something that is burned into my The effects varied as busing patterns psyche;' Singleton said. shifted, but, judging by discipline sta- "I couldn't take it any more. I tistics, McLane saw the worst of it. needed to separate myself. I've never Parents and police reports describe seen anything like it:' gang-influenced students pressur- ing others into acting as drug mules . ••• Former teachers say students swore uilt on a quiet street a short at them to establish "street cred" and walk from Brandon High, treated an arrest or suspension as a McLane opened a century badge of honor. Substitutes avoided ago as "Brandon School." It the school. was later named for Eldridge "You're more of a juvenile officer FranklinB McLane, a principal there for than a teacher;' said Devin Irvin, 28, a more than 30 years. onetime McLane student who taught A promotional YouTube video, physical education there last spring. posted on the district website in Some years were better than others. recent weeks, highlights McLane's his- Discipline improved after Frank Oli- tory and its robotics and technology ver, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers program - a point of pride for more defensive back, became principal in than 100 high-achieving students who 2009. are separated from the others for their Speaking at a teacher dismissal core classes. hearing in 2011, Oliver said, "McLane All county schools were affected by is a tough school, has been a tough court-ordered busing for integration school, and we've put things together that began in the 1970s. where the culture has changed:' A stu- What followed was a collision of dent survey showed the school felt events and agendas. safer. After U.S. District Judge Elizabeth But those numbers soon headed Kovachevich lifted the busing order south. McLane made headlines in in 2001, Hillsborough could no lon- 2013 after someone filled a hall with ger assign students to schools based pepper spray, sending dozens to hos- on race. pitals. Today, viewers who click on the But the district still wanted diver- district's new promotional video on sity. So it turned to a popular tool of YouTube see clips about the pepper voluntary integration - magnet pro- spray incident as well. 2 When Keen, the school resource away who slept under the bleachers officer, came on the job in January at Brandon High. Another report said 2014, "flash mob fights" involving he kicked in the office air conditioner hundreds of kids were happening at and bit a chunk out of the squad car arrival and dismissal. They would kick seat when Keen arrested him a month and shove any adult who got in their later. way. "It's almost like the worst kind of Students were accused of assault- riot you can imagine on TV," he said. ing teachers. Two were arrested after A 2014 survey asked teachers at another 12-year-old was caught with McLane if "students at this school a blade, or "shank:' He was giving his follow rules of conduct." Three per- belongings to a friend when it fell to cent agreed, by far the lowest number the ground. The friend, searched to among more than 200 Hillsborough see if he was armed, was carrying schools. marijuana. The Tampa Bay Times asked to The defining moment of 2013-14 interview Elia about McLane and the came on Feb. 25, when an afternoon magnet school policies in force dur- crowd at the bus ramp became so vio- ing her tenure before she left her job lent that Keen used a Taser on two 14- as school superintendent, and again year-old girls who were fighting. last week. She did not respond to any A probe struck the girl who was on of the requests. top, and that stopped the fight. The girl on the bottom pushed past Keen, ••• ran home and was later arrested. othing provides a more pow- Keen took the first girl to the office, erful window into McLane at where he removed the Th.ser probe and its worst than Sheriff's Office a nurse treated the puncture wound. reports for the 2013-14 school She was arrested too. year: Sheriff's officials issued a news NKids contending with homelessness release lauding Keen's actions, and the and learning disabilities. Some stu- event became a catalyst for change. dents arming themselves out of fear. Security cameras went up. Sher- Others threatening to punch an assis- iff's cars descended on McLane at tant principal, shoot a student or start dismissal time. The school issued a riot. A teacher accused of trying to nearly 100 out-of-school suspensions steal school furniture. in March, followed by more than 120 A 12-year-old girl tussled with a civ- each in April and May. ics teacher over a cellphone, trashed The message: Gangs and bullies the classroom and left school in hand- would not rule McLane. cuffs, according to one report, declar- ing, "I don't give a f--- what you say, I ••• want my phone:' pponents of busing say the Weeks later, two students were practice creates a physical arrested on charges they attacked a and psychological distance boy in the bathroom for his cellphone. between a school and the Both of their mothers told the Tampa 0community it serves. In East Bay Times their children had learning Tampa, where poverty contributes to difficulties. often stressful home lives, the rela- A special education student - 12 tionship is that much more important years old, weighing 80 pounds - - and precarious. was caught with an open knife in his It doesn't help when the school is 12 black-and-yellow Batman backpack. miles away from home. He "admitted to bringing the knife to "It does create a two-commu- school to scare someone if they tried nity school;' Eakins said. ''And if you to jump him:' After his arrest, he got a are going to create a two-commu- 10 day out-of-school suspension. nity school, you have got to figure out Another student was charged with a way to make one community out trespassing, accused of returning to of it, and that is the challenge that school after being suspended the day McLane has had over the years. That before. It turned out he was a run- absolutely can be done. But you have 3 to take some extra measures - and arrested on a drug possession charge, sometimes extraordina1y measures - acknowledged he was on probation at to bring those communities together:' the time and later developed a drug Parents of students involved in the problem. But the day of his arrest, expulsion cases said they felt alienated she said, he was wearing a borrowed from the school and had trouble get- jacket. She believed him when he said ting clear information. Some said their he was not high. children, once deemed disruptive, Ultimately, she said, it's impossible were targets for arbitrary discipline. to know how many of his problems Timeka Bowles, whose son was were related to school. moved to an alternative school after he What she does know: "They were and a friend were accused of shoving a drilling them with so much negativ- teacher, said McLane called her over ity and making them feel like they're minor infractions. "Like, he had a rub- worth nothing. And they feel like ber band on his wrist. I said, 'For real?' they're nothing. And us as parents, Some of the things were so petty:' we're left with, we don't know what to Kasanthian Smith, who had two do:' sons transferred out of McLane, said While no one wants to give up on the older one was suspended for a child, teachers said they sometimes chewing gum. encountered students who simply Principal Dina Langston, who took could not function, and the majority over in November 2013, said school who wanted an education suffered as officials communicated their con- a result. cerns clearly with parents. She can't "One of the hardest parts is, these imagine a child suspended for chew- are kids:' Keen said. '1\nd I think a lot ing gum, she said; even the idea of of times when these things are happen- suspending for dress code is a stretch. ing, it's hard to remember that. Because More likely, she said, the children kids shouldn't be acting that way.'' had been warned and refused to wear The fact that their neighborhoods the uniforms staff keep at the office. were home to rival gangs makes the "Then they get disrespectful, so some- job harder. "We have kids with tat- thing that started over something toos already with 'Rest In Peace, So- simple turns into disrespectful and and-So,'" Keen said. "That's what a willful disobedience - 'You can't tell lot of fights start from. Someone says me what I will or won't do:" (something) negative about their Some East Tampa parents said friend who was killed. Fight's on:' they didn't know how their kids even wound up at McLane. "Why do they ••• commute the kids way out there? It's tcommunitymeetings in Hills- crazy," said Jesstina Burden, whose borough and nationwide, civil son was transferred from McLane rights activists increasingly after the same incident as Bowles' son. invoke the phrase "school-to- ''All these schools they pass. I don't prison pipeline." The theory understand:' Aholds that schools discipline black Some said their kids had learning or students more frequently and harshly behavioral issues that, in their opin- through zero-tolerance policies and ion, were not addressed properly. racial bias, setting them on a path And they often got in trouble on the toward the criminal justice system. bus. Smith said she got a call at 9 a.m. A complaint with the U.S. Depart- saying her son was being suspended ment of Education's Office for Civil for "horseplay." Through 2013-14, Rights alleges Hillsborough not only McLane reported 350 bus referrals, a over-disciplines black students, but pace comparable to this year, though also gives them an inferior education. overall discipline numbers are down. At D-rated McLane, a number of Parents said they didn't trust the grim statistics support those allega- school, even as they admitted their tions. Nearly 90 percent of last year's kids violated school policy and some- expulsion cases involved black stu- times the law. dents, who make up 52 percent of the Smith, whose younger son was school. 4 Sixteen percent of McLane's black East Tampa middle school students eighth-graders were reading at grade by converting James and B.T. Wash- level, compared with 62 percent of its ington to K-8 schools. But both were white eighth-graders. Districtwide, 35 overrun by students. Books, com- percent of black eighth-graders and puters and bathrooms were scarce. 68 percent of white eighth-graders Expulsion cases were in the double read at grade level. digits. That plan was short-lived. Officials who created the McLane There was talk of building a new situation, and experts outside the dis- middle school near Ybor City. But that trict, say what happened there did not has yet to happen. arise from discrimination. Rather, When told what became of McLane, they say, students were collateral Person said: "We always thought this damage in a war of competing inter- was temporary. We never thought it ests as the district embraced magnet would still be going on after 10 years." schools decades ago. Starting in the 1990s, East Tampa's • •• middle schools - Young, Franklin, cholars say it's not unusual Ferrell, Orange Grove and Williams - for districts to create troubled became specialty schools offering cur- schools as they pursue other, ricula in science and technology, crim- often noble objectives. inal justice and the performing arts. "Educational policy is like Later, Ferrell and Franklin became San architectural dig. You have layers single-gender schools. of reforms on top of each other;' said The middle magnet schools choose Chester Finn, former U.S. assistant sec- their students through a lottery sys- retary of education and now a senior tem that is weighted based on ZIP fellow at the Hoover Institution. code, income and other factors He's not against magnets. They're designed to create a diverse student "something to be applauded;' he said. body. But, as with the choice program, "It means some children are getting families must apply. If they do not, a good education and achieving their or if they apply and do not get in, the goals:' But ''when you ordain that some children are put on a bus to McLane schools will be successful, the poor and or another school. broken ones tend to do worse:' The choice program, rolled out in The contrast can be found every- 2004, was intended to maintain the where, including Pinellas County, diversity court-ordered busing had where the expansion of fundamental created. The idea was that urban fam- and magnet schools has attracted chil- ilies would send their children to sub- dren of the most ambitious parents. urban schools in hopes of giving them "Everyone knows that school that the best education. nobody wants to send their kids to," But officials were way off in predict- said Kara Kerwin, president of the ing how many would take part. "Many Center for Education Reform, which parents, because of where they live advocates for charters and vouchers. and where they work, even if it's a fail- "For me it's why the education reform ing school, their kids are going to go movement was born:' there;' said Bill Person, then-director But the result can be a downward of pupil administrative services. spiral. As families find alternatives Person, now retired, said be tried - nearly 300 kids zoned for McLane to warn his bosses that thousands of attend charters - schools get bad rep- middle school students needed seats. utations that compound the exodus. But they were slow to respond. And Experts say a key factor is the con- when they tried to convert some mag- centration of poor students. nets to neighborhood schools, they At their worst, said author and Uni- met with resistance from parents who versity of Missouri professor Bruce didn't want to move their kids. Biddle, high-poverty schools "are rife "We were not willing to make the with crime, rife with alienation and rife hard decisions to reclaim seats in the with youngsters left behind by society. inner city;' he said. They have been brutalized by the edu- The district made room for some cational system and they know it. They 5 wind up taking it out on the school and for eighth-graders, who seem "a little taking it out on each other:' bit more hard-headed in trying to get As for teachers, Biddle said, "you underneath what we're trying accom- have young, inexperienced people plish, that this is a place of learning;' who spend a year there and they flee." Langston said. Irvin, the P.E. teacher, said as a Attendance is up. And arrests have young black man with family mem- stopped almost entirely, said Keen, bers who had been in prison, he who, despite his harsh initiation, con- tried to reach out to his students at siders McLane a good school. Kids McLane. turn in drugs and stolen phones. They "They're just so deep into the whole shake his hand. When he first arrived culture, the society, they can't see five they would call him "F-12;' a profane or 10 years down the line;' he said. slang term for police. ''When you're at that middle school To reach out to East Tampa parents, age, it's all about impressing. You McLane held a conference night at want to fit in, you want to be cool. And Middleton. Langston has driven sick if being cool means cussing out your children home. She's on the phone teacher and making sure everybody with parents late at night when they sees and hears about it, then that's can't find their kids. what you do:' She drove into the city to meet a morning bus parked because four ••• students were "acting the fool." She oon after she took over as prin- loaded them in her SUV and carted cipal for the retiring Oliver, them to school. Langston, 43, vowed to remake "I'll do whatever I can, probably McLane from top to bottom. more than what I should have to;' she She got support from someone said. "But the parents are learning and inS the district who knew East Tampa gaining respect for me. It sends a mes- well - area director Owen Young, a sage to them in the community that former principal of Middleton High. we care about your child. Kids won't School officials say the results are learn if they don't think you care:' dramatic and encouraging. It's exactly the right response, said Langston dismissed six poorly per- Eakins. He suggested the district can forming teachers at year's end. Others do more, maybe send McLane teach- left voluntarily. ers to East Tampa after school or on She asked the whole faculty to read Saturdays for programs at Middleton. Eric Jensen's Teaching With Poverty Langston can't undo the past, Eak- in Mind. The book makes a case that, ins said. ''All she can do is right the while students' brains are susceptible ship and have the right type of atti- to harm from poverty, they can also tude in doing that. This can't be a soak up the good from a great school police-state school. This has got to be with caring teachers. one where kids are advocated for:' Langston relaxed the dress code. The transition is far from complete. She made discipline and class rou- On Feb. 27, deputies made three tines more consistent. arrests after a fight began on a Each class has a "reflection" desk bus leaving McLane. 1\vo girls were labeled in fluorescent green, a place to brawling on the moving bus, offi- cool down after a blow up. cials said. They continued after the Dismissals are staggered so not bus pulled over and a deputy tried everyone is at the bus ramp at once. to break them up. A 12-year-old boy Enrollment is down from about 900 egged the crowd on, yelling "fight" last year to 803, including 344 from and "f--- the police." the city. In March, officials say a former stu- Discipline referrals dropped from dent, who had been arrested on charg- 1,647 in the first half of 2013-14 to 640 es he issued a bomb threat, came back this year. Some of the change reflects to McLane and tried to give Keen a a new, less punitive approach when fake name. He was charged with tres- kids are tardy. Nearly 40 percent were passing. But even some parents whose 6 kids have had trouble appreciate the expect from the leader, then they will improvements this year. have no problem getting on a bus and That group includes Laquanda Wat- going to McLane. I believe strongly that son, whose daughter was jumped on the school is moving in that direction:' an October day when Keen was busy Eakins, new in his job as the dis- breaking up other fights. "There's not trict's leader, said he is keeping an as many conflicts as last year;' Watson open mind about McLane. said. And her daughter is benefiting "It's going in a good direction," he from tutoring. said. "But we always ask ourselves: Results are mixed with the new What's in best interest of the students? teachers as well. If we feel like the path we're moving Rachel-Star Goldstein- hired fresh down isn't sustainable, then we owe out of college to teach disabled stu- it to the students and the families to dents, although her certificate was in always look for other solutions:' social studies - saw so many behav- ior problems she wrote a detailed let- Times researcher John Martin contributed ter to Elia. to this report. Contact Marlene Sokol at The events, most in September, (813) 226-3356 or [email protected]. included fights in class and a student Follow @marlenesokol. urinating in the hall. Administra- tors were slow to respond, she wrote. Once, hearing a student discussing a drug deal, she called the office. The student noticed and told her he knew About this story what kind of car she drove. Information for this report came from Langston said she cannot have yearly expulsion and change-of-place- a child arrested for just discussing a ment reports the Hillsborough County crime. She denied administrators were School District gives the School Board; slow to assist Goldstein. When some- student and teacher surveys; discipline thing happens, she said, ''We run:' data submitted as part of an ongo- ing federal civil rights investigation; ••• student test and teacher evaluation ike Oliver before her, Langston scores maintained by the Florida is pleased with her progress and Department of Education; and more looks forward to favorable num- than 130 Hillsborough County Sheriff's bers in this year's surveys. Office reports. The Tampa Bay Times But it's impossible to pre- also interviewed more than 30 former dictL how long the improvements will Mclane teachers, students and par- last - or the long-term effects on kids ents, along with current and former who were pushed out or under-served school district administrators. in years past. High number of expulsions Keen no longer sees gang graffiti, a positive sign. But when he returns Most expulsion or change of from a week off he finds "F-12" etched placement cases, 2013-2014 in the bathroom mirrors. In his view, Mclane Middle 35 J Langston and her team are working Giunta Middle 17 to exhaustion. If they ease up or leave, fGreco Middle 17 the school could backslide. J He sees busing as an ongoing chal- Monroe Middle 17 lenge, as kids are less likely to take [ Van Buren Middle 16 I pride in the school. Wharton High 15 Young, the area director, disagreed, Madison Middle 13 predicting they will behave as they J Shields Middle 14 grow to appreciate McLane. ''We have kids around the country who are not Dowdell Middle 13 J magnet kids who get on a bus to go to Chamberlain High 12 a culture that they really own;' he said. "If you love them and if that's at the Most cases, 2005-2014 core of how they feel and what they 7 Mclane Middle 252 Wharton High J 1 (5.1) Eisenhower Middle 211 [ Mort Elementary 6(8%) J Chamberlain High 211 East Bay High 6 (4.6%) Jennings Middle 201 J [ Shore Elementary 5 (14.3%) ] Shields Middle 200 Young Middle 5(11.1%) Madison Middle 193 J [Jefferson High 5 (4.5%) ] Leto High 5 (4.3%) Greco Middle 184 I [ Blake High 178 ] Districtwide --225 (1.6°Al) Dowdell Middle 157 Source: Florida Department of Education Source: Hillsborough County School Board agenda reports More at tampabay.com • Go through our comprehen- sive rundown of all Hillsbor- I Cl Not biding the rules ough County schools, includ- Of more than 200 schools in the Hills- ing student performance, disciplinary borough district, here are the 1 O lowest actions, teacher ratings and more. rates of agreement when teachers • Read police reports from some of were asked if they agreed that "Stu- the incidents at Mclane referenced in dents at this school follow rules of con- this story. duct." The source is Teaching, Empow- ering, Leading and Learning (TELL), an At tbtim.es/g8z annual survey the district considers a valid and reliable instrument. "It means some All Hillsborough schools 71% All middle schools 57 children are Mendez Exceptional Center 17 Sligh Middle School 17 getting a good Oak Park Elementary School 14 Memorial Middle School 13 education and Turkey Creek Middle School 11 Chamberlain High School 9 achieving their Brandon Alternative School 7 Van Buren Middle School 7 goals. (But) when Carver Exceptional Center 6 Mclane Middle School 3 you ordain that Participation rate was 80 percent districtwide; 71 percent at Mclane. Source: Hillsborough County School District some schools will annual survey Unsatisfactory teachers be successful, Schools with the most teachers in Hillsborough rated unsatisfactory, the poor and 2013-2014 broken ones tend Mclane Middle 9 (13.8%) Hillsborough High 8 (7.1%) KingHigh 7 (6.1%) to do worse." Chester Finn, former U.S. assistant secretary of education, talking about magnet schools 8 Dismissal time at Mclane Middle School used to be chaotic and sometimes violent. A new routine is among steps this year to calm things down. "Why do they commute the kids way out there? It's crazy. All these schools they pass. I don't understand." Jesstina Burden, parent of a former Mclane student

Photos by EVE EDELHEIT I Times "I'll do whatever I can, probably more than what I should have to.... Kids won't learn if they don't think you care," says Mclane Middle School principal Dina Langston, here talking with a student on the Mclane campus in January. 9 "One of the hardest parts is, these are kids. And I think a lot of times when these things are happening, it's hard to remember that. Because kids shouldn't be acting that way." Hillsborough County sheriff's Deputy Chad Keen, above, who became Mclane's resource officer in early 2014 "If you are going to create atwo-community school, you have got to figure out away to make one community out of it •••• But you have to take some extra measures - and sometimes extraordinary measures - to bring those communities together." Acting Hillsborough schools superintendent Jeff Eakins

10 Dina Langston, who has been principal at Mclane Middle School since November 2013, has relaxed the school's dress code and made discipline less punitive and more consistent, and there has been a sharp decline in discipline referrals.

11