Changes & Challenges: City Schools in America. Thirteen Journalists

DOCUMENT RESUME

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AUTHOR Farkas, Susan C., Ed. TITLE Changes & Challenges: City Schools in America. Thirteen Journalists Look at Our Nation's Schools. INSTITUTION Institute for Educational Leadership, Washington, D.C. SPONS AGENCY Ford Foundation, New York, N.Y. REPORT NO ISBN-0-937846-95-3 PUB DATE 83 MOTE 335p.; Additional funding from the Roosevelt Centennial Trust, U.S. Government Agencies and national organizations, and participating news organizations. AVAILABLE FROM IEL Publications, 1001 Connecticut Ave., Suite 310, Washington, DC 20036 ($7.50). PUB TYPE Collected Works - General (020) -- Information Analyses (070)

EDRS PRICE MFO1 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS American Indians; Black Students; Busing; Counseling; Dropouts; Education Work Relationship; Elementary Secondary Education; Enrollment Trends; Higher. Education; Illiteracy; Microcomputers; *Minority Groups; *Reading; *School Business Relationship; *School Demography; *School Desegregation; Urban Population; *Urban Schools IDENTIFIERS *Fellows in Education Journalism Program; Tribally Controlled Schools; Urban and Minority Education Fellowship Program ABSTRACT Positive and negative aspects of urban and minority education are discussed in this volume of news series and newspaper articles by 13 journalists; all participants in either the Fellows Education Journalism program or the Urban and Minority Education Fellowship and Study Grant programs. Section One, on the changing demographics of city schools, contains the following articles: "Overview of Student Enrollment," by James Bencivenga; "Minorities: Classroom Crisis," 'by Robert A. Frahm; "Counseling for Filipino Students," by Linde Ogawa Ramirez; "Southeast Asian Refugees in Schools," by John C. Furey; "Indian Children in Detroit," by Rick Smith; and "TribalLy Controlled Community Colleges," by Albert E. Bruno. Section Two, on desegregation in the 1980s, has articles entitled "Putting t4.1% Brakes on Busing," by Amy Goldstein; and "The Struggle for Integration," by Jacalyn Golston. In Section Three, which deals with new links between and among business, work, and education, the following articles appear: "Big City Schools and Technology," by James Bencivenga; "Education: Whose Business Is It?" by Linda Wallace Williams; "From School to Work: A Leap of Despair," by Milton Jordan; and "Latino Youth Who Don't Finish High School," by Jose Antonio Burciaga. Finally, Section Four contains articles by Dale Rice and Laura Washington entitled, respectively, "Reading: Finding a Better Way," and "Illiteracy: An Education Crisis." A list of journalists who have participated in the Fellows in Educational Journalism Program since 1976, and the newspapers in which their articles have appeared, is appended. (CMG) Changes C_ ___Uages: City Os A a

C yes et C II es: City Schools inArneiica Edited by Susan C. Far Thirteen Journalists Look C ging Demophics of ,_r,AtOur Nation's Schools City Schools co N .4- QCV U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 40rTtus document has been reproducedis received from the person 01 orparesstron onomatmp a ti Minor changes have been made to morose teptoduction gustily.

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Changes a, Challenges: City Schools in America

6 7 Changes 82. Challenges: City Schools in America THIRTEEN JOURNALISTS LOOK AT OUR NATION'S SCHOOLS Susan C. Farkas, Editor

0.7FELLOWS IN VEDUCATION 7'JOURNALISM

= A PROGRAM OF THE INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP. INC. WASHINGTON. D.C.

Prepared under a grant from the Ford Foundation with partial funding from the Roosevelt Centennial Trust. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the Ford Foundation, the Roosevelt Centennial Trust. the Institute for Educational Leadership. or the participating news organizations.

Additional copies of this report may be obtained for $7.50 each from IEL Publications. 1001 Connecticut Avenue. Suite 310. Washington. D.C. 20036 Telephone: (202) 822-8405 CONTENTS

vii Preface

1 Section One: Changing Demographics of City Schools

3 James Bencivenga Overview of Student The Christian Science Monitor Enrollment

7 Robert A. Frahm Minorities: Classroom Crisis e 4 The Journal Times Racine. Wisconsin

27 Linda Ogawa Ramirez Counseling for Filipino Philippine News Students San Francisco, California

39 John C. Furey Southeast Asian Refugees in Statesman Journal Schools Salem, Oregon

51 Rick Smith Indian Children in Detroit MainStream Newsletter Plymouth. Michigan

57 Albert E. Bruno Tribally Controlled Community The Dakota Sun Colleges Fort Yates, North Dakota

63 Section Two: Desegregation in the Eighties

65 Amy Goldstein Putting the Brakes on Busing The Virginian-Pilot Norfolk, Virginia Jacalyn Golston The Struggle for Integration The Fresno Bee Fresno. California

117 Section Three: Business/WOrk/Education: New Linkages

119 James'Bencivenga Big City Schools and The Christian Science Monitor Technology

127 Linda Wallace Williams Education: The Commercial Appeal Whose Business Is It? Memphis. Tennessee

137 Milton Jordan From School to Work: The Carolina Times A Leap of Despair Durham. North Carolina

157 Jose Antonio Burciaga Latino Youth Who Don't Finish El Observador High School San Jose. California

167 Section Four: Reading in Urban Schools

169 , Dale Rice Reading: Finding A Better Way Dallas Times Herald

191 Laura Washington Illiteracy: An Education Crisis The Chicago Reporter

201 Listing of Journalism Fellows II THE FELLOWS IN EDUCATION JOURNALISM

PREFACE City schools in America have changed dramatically in the This monograph contains news last ten years: so-called "minority" students are now the series and articles based on the majority in almost every major city: there is indication that Fellows' and Study Grantees' work test scores that were steadily declining for the past twenty that appeared in newspapers years are starting to make the Turn upward: and, the throughout the courtry. The stories business community is beginning to get involved on various are organized into four topic areas: levels with the local schools. Changing Demographics of City We sought to look at positive as well as negative aspects of urban education and the education of minority students in Schools Desegregation in the Eighties various states. We hoped to identify factors that are causing Business/Work/Education: New improvements and better understand the problems that still Linkages exist. In the Spring of 1982 The Institute for Educational Reading in Urban Schools Leadership competitively selected eight outstanding journalists to receive Fellowships enabling each to take a six- The Fellows in Education Journalism week leave of absence to study and report on urban and minority education issues of particular interest to theii local program was initiated by the Ford Four ,iation in 1976, the program is readers. also sponsored by participating news Joining the Fellows were seven reporters from minority organizations across the countiy. news organizations chosen by the Institute to receive week- other foundations. United States long Study Grants. The Study Grants Were developed to en- Government Agencies. and national courage minority newspaper participation because we found organizations. The Urban and Minor- that it was difficult for financially strapped minority news ity Education Fellowship and Study organizations to release their reporters for longer term pro- Grant programs were sponsored by fessional development programs. This volume contains the the Ford Foundation with additional work of thirteen of the Fellows and Study Grantees. support from the Roosevelt Centen- M. 12 Board of Directors

ROBERT ANDRINGA HAROLD HOWE If (Chair) nial Youth Project. Executive Director Senior Lecturer Education Commission of the Stales Graduate School of Education Harvard University This volume highlights the signifi- eik.CK R. BORSTINO Dean HONORABLE ANNE LINDEMAN cant demographic changes that have Business College Senator University of Miami Arizona Senate altered the make-up of city schools in JERRY CALHOUN AUGUSTINE MARUSI America and points up many of the Deputy Assistant Secretary Chairman. Executive Committee U.S. Department of Defense Borden, Inc. challenges our nation faces in its ALAN CAMPBELL FLORETTA D. MCKENZIE quest for excellence in education. Executive Vice President. Superintendent Management and Public Affairs District of Columbia Public Schools ARA Services Inc. MATTHEW PROPHET MARTHA E. CHURCH Superintendent President Portland Oregon Public Schools Hood College BLANDINA CARDENAS-RAMIREZ LUVERN L. CUNNINGHAM Director of Training Novice G. Fawcett Professor. Intercultural Development Research Association Educational Administration Ohio State University LOIS D. RICE Senior Vice President. ARTHUR M. DUBOW Government Affairs President The Control Data Corporation The Boston Company Energy Advisors Inc. BERNICE SANDLER HONORABLE LUIS A. FERRE Executive Associate and Director Senator and Former Governor Project on the Status and Education of Women Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Association of American Colleges SAMUEL HALPERIN DONNA SHALALA Senior Fellow. IEL Inc.. President Fellow. Institute for Federal Studies. Hunter College Israel RICHARD C. SNYDER RICHARD S. HODES , President Professor and Chairman Civic Education Associates Department of Anesthesiology College of Medicine ARTHUR WHITE (Vice Chair) University of South Florida Vice Chairman Yankelovlch. Skelly & White Inc. DEAN HONETSCHLAGER Director Human Resources Planning Minnesota Department of Energy. Planning and Development Section. One Changing Demographics of CitySchools

14 The Christian Science Monitor Overview of StudentEnrollment

Education Supplement By James Bencivenga 15 Overview of Student Friday. March 11, 1983 Enrollment 5

Huge minority enrollment About the Author challenges public education JAMES BENCIVENGA has been with Not since the first three decades of this century have the nation's The Christian Science Monitor since schools been at such a demographic crossroads. Then, the task was 1980 as assistant editor and writer the assimilation of millions of children whose parents had flooded into the country from southern and eastern Europe. for the education page. His education- Now, almost unnoticed, the nation's attendance map for public rich background includes teaching at an schools has again been redrawn. The schools in 23 of the 25 largest Indian Mission School in Canada. at cities in the United States have predominantly minority enrollments, the LaSalle School for Boys (a reform with blacks, Hispanics, and Asians the largest groups. In these same city schools 1 student in 10 was a minority in 1950. In school), and at the Bozeman Senior 1960,1 in 3 was a minority; in IWO it was 1 in 2; in 1980. it was 7 out of High School in Bozeman, Montana. 10. And in 1990, 9 out of 10 students in bigcity districts will be minority, according to statistics recently published by the Joint Center for Po- Bencivenga has a BA degree in English litical Studies. from LeMoyne College, Syracuse, New event of nilmelty studeMs entailed in US publle seltods 471 York, and a Master's degree in English ot... from the University of Denver. Colorado. t_scpr, In 1982, Bencivenga received a three- month grant to work as consultant to the U.S. Office of Education for the study of micro-computers in prisons. 'H"qtriS This expertise led to his interest in the public schools and technology. wnw

c=1 04S% 1141% 5141% MI RIJN% During his Fellowship, Bencivenga Education officials say that if public education is to achieve in the traveled to Big City Schools throughout final two decades of this century what it did in the first three helped the countryBoston, Washington. D.C., shepherd millions of young Americans into productive roles in society New York City, Houston, Pittsburgh, the following questions must be answered*. What must schools in the major urban centers do to give the Denver and San Franciscoto docu- majority of their students the skills necessary for entering the eco- ment how the central administrations of nomic mainstream? These schools have the greatest numbers of chil- these school systems are incorporating dren requiring compensatory instruction. They're at the center of in- tense debate over desegregation, busing, and bilingual education advancements in technology into their Issues. And they're located where the local property-tax base is most curriculum and management. heavily burdened. Can aproperfederal role in providing needed funds, compatible 17 Overview... 6

with a tradition of local control over educa- percent) ;Mississippi (51.6) ; Texas (45.9) ;experiencing decline. "Massachusetts is lay tion, be hammered out politically? During the California (42.9) ; Arizona (33.7) : Marylandlag off teachers. while Texas is in the middle dollar-flush '60s and '70s, the issue of ade- (33.5); Florida (32.2) ; and New York (32). of a severe teacher shortage. That makes for quate funding for city schools was never "If anybody believed benign neglectdivergent policies," Hodgkinson says. resolved. worked with 10 percent of the population. who Declining enrollment also presents many Must racially isolated communities see is going to believe that 45 percent, as it is instates with the challenges of a "graying" fac- their public schools slip back toward a de some states, can be neglected." says Mr.ulty, teacher layoffs. and the need to close yet facto "separate but equal" status. and what Hodgkinson. more schools. Growth states are scrambling are the implications for US democracy if this Beginning with the 1980-81 school year.to find new classroom space and keep exper- is allowed to happen? more than a sixth of all the nation's public-ienced teachers. Some are even experiment- "For the first time we have a nation whose scbool students have gone to schools in metro-ing with merit pay to attract scarce math, sci- needs for public schools are very different," politan New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, De-ence, and bilingual teachers. says Harold Hodgkinson, a senior fellow at troit, Philadelphia, and Washington. All of Also, the Hispanic population is at this the Institute for Educational Leadership in these areas have small white minorities andpoint still far more geographically concen- Washington. "Today's 45-year-old white male large numbers of black. Hispanic. or Asiantrated than the black population. Most His- worker has to realize his social security check children in their central-city school districts. panic schoolchildren are in California and is going to be paid or not paid as a result of the "If whole states are either majority minor-Texas. New York, New Mexico. Illinois. Flor- education a black. Hispanic, or Asian student ity or close to it," says Mary Berry, commis-ida, Arizona, and Colorado follow. The 1980 receives in a city school." sioner on the US Commission of Civil Rights,census showed that close to half of the na- Demographic changes are already spark- "then we must change the record that too of-tion's Hispanic population was in 10 metro- inn debates on the issue of equal educational ten in the past meant quality education is notpolitan areas. opportunity for nonwhite students vs. aca- equated with minority education. The nation In Los Angeles, the Hispanic enrollment demic excellence in more affluent white sub- is going to have to change this image with ahas increased from 20 percent in 1968 to 49 urban districts, education observers say. commitment to equity and excellence at thepercent in 1982. Over the same period. a simi- Minorities that made up only 10 percent of same time." lar change occurred in Dade County, Fla. the public-school population in 1950 are now "Corporations lament they are spending(Miami). In Chicago, the proportion of His- up to 45 percent in some states. A look at mi- too much money educating and retrainingpanic students more than doubled, reaching nority public-school enrollment in the follow- their new employees on basic skills. They pay20 percent, as Hispanic students replaced ing states helps tell the story: New Mexico (57 for this lack of education twice, at tax timewhites as the second largest group of studems and in training overhead," says Cicero Wil-after blacks. A similar change took place in son, a resident fellow a t the American EnterDallas, and the percentage of Hispanic enroll- prise Institute, a conservative think tank inment grew even more, from 13 percent to 28 Washington, D.C. percent, in Houston, the South's largest city. "Unless we improve city schools, how can Most black students attend schools in just `Unless we improve city our corporations compete in the world econo-nine states; New York, Texas, Illinois. Cali- my?" Mr. Wilson asks. "The current empha-fornia, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina. schools, how can our sis on improving math and science curricu-Louisiana, and Michigan. =mations compete in the lum must include inner-city schools. They Many of the major urban centers of Cali- can't be left out of the computer revolution." fornia and the Pacific Northwest experienced world economy?' But education officials say it won't be easynot only a substantial growth of their His- to reconcile the different needs of states likepanic population but also large increases in Texas. Utah, or Colorado, which have in-the number of Asian children. The San Fran- creasing enrollments, with those of New Jer-cisco school district has far more Asian than 18 sey, New York. and Massachusetts, all stillblack. white, or Hispanic students. lu The Journal Times Racine, Wisconsin Minorities: ClassroomCrisis

A Six-Part Series Bra Robert A. Frahm - , 1_7 Minorities: ClassrOom 7 Sunday. May 1. 1983 Crisis ,,c--7PART ONE

About the Author Poor grades big problem ROBERT A. FRAHM joined the Journal THERE may be another reason black and Times in 1971. During most of his 12 Hispanic students don't take tougher courses: years at the newspaper, he has covered poor grades. SOC STUDIES Biology and geometry. sophomore courses. are about education, but also has workeda variety MATHEW T r:S as far as many minority students go. according to of other assignments. includingcounty SCIE". Unified District Research Director Orval Totdahl. government news and feature writing. SPE Across the district. 28 percent of the black and ENGL Hispanic students enrolled in biology were getting F's. PHYEN tr. Totdahl said. A former teacher. Frahm. 36, haswon HEALT Many of the rest were getting D's. he said. several writing awards, including five in "They'd be fools to go further." said Totdahl. a critic contests sponsored by the Education of grading practices. And there is a wide disparity in grades from one Writers Association. Frahm is an honor teacher to the next. according to a recent study by graduate of the University of Wisconsin- MINORITIES: Totdahl. While one junior English teacher gives 9 Madison and holds a bachelor's degree Classroom crisis percent D's and F's. another gives 75 percent Ds and Fs. for example. in Education with an English major and "It's like Russian roulette." said Totdahl. a journalism minor. The discrepancies are not confined to high school. They begin as early as fourth grade, the first point at He was an IEL Journalism Fellow in which letter grades are given. Although minorities account for 27 percent of all stu- A study last year. for instance. found that 18 percent 1978 and conducted a three-month dents in the Unified School District, they make up much of a sampling of black Racine fourth-graders got F's in study on competency testing. 1 smaller proportions of top -level courses A sampling of math. compared with 3 percent of white students. Only this year's classes: 4 percent of the black fourth-graders got A's. compared During the study on urban schools. 8th grade accelerated science 4% minorities with 27 percent of the whites. German 1 6% John Aceto. Unified's Assistant Superintendent for Frahm consulted with experts across Advanced chemistry 4% Instruction. said such disparities are difficult to the country on post-desegregation prob- Physic .7 4% explain. but appear to be a form of racism. lems and then focused on those issues Calculus-geometry 6% "It's an insidious thing," said Aceto. "No one would in Racine schools. Shakespeare 10% admit to it. The perceptions of people about other Advanced English 12% people are deep-rooted, most of the time unconscious. American literature 10% but it's hard to deny the facts and the data available." Some teachers. however. contend the season for the Meanwhile, minority student proportions are consid- low grades is that minority students often miss class. erably higher in low-level courses: turn in fewer assignments, or fail to meet course General math 18th grade) 47% standards. Reading growth (remedial 8th grade) 49% Charles Harmon. science department chairman at General math (high school)46% Case High, said about half the minority students in his Basic Life Science 43% biology classes are failing. Basic English 1 50% "They come in here and think they can get away with

.1. -,.. . -2 2 Classroom Crisis ...

murder."' he said. He pointed to his record book, referring to a specific student, a black girl. "Not a et' single assignment turned in during the en0e quarter," he said. "He (Totdahl) thinks everybody's giving them a hard time." said Harmon. "Nobody is. They're trying like mad to get them to do it." At Horlick High School, Todd Johnson gave F's to 59 percent of his junior English students. according to the Unified survey. Johnson said the students, white and minority, in many cases were unmotivated and did not want to be in school. "I've got to have standards," said Johnson. "If I bastardize them, then I don't deserve the respect of the community ... To me, the worst form of racism is passing minority students on without having taught them anything." Kenneth Wagner, a veteran of 28 years at Horlick, said successful students are those "... who come from homes where education is respected and students are highly motivated." Among minority students. peer pressure often takes over, said Wagner. "Kids would rather fail. They would rather be accepted," he said. Wagner said the school board complained a few years ago because board members felt grades were too high. "On the one hand we're told, 'Be more demanding' Then comes the criticism we're failing too damn many slwIete` people," he said. "The administration and the board , T can't have it both ways."

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,e4'2 Ne . .4'. >.. ; J." Ntk&ko Journal Times photo by Paul Roberts For minority students, academic problems worsen during high school years ..:23 '24 Things get tougher in college

WHILE many of his classmates take college- course." level courses. University of Wisconsin- Logan. who no longer runs the program. often would Parkside freshman Undrah Cornelious check up on students by calling their homes. In some struggles through basic algebra and basic English. cases. that was discouraging. he said. They are non-credit remedial courses. The toughest "If I had to put the blame anywhere. I would put it courses he recalls taking back in Racine's Park High back into the homes." he said. "...They students School were algebra and life science. Cornelious. who is would be down at the Breakthru Center. the John black. says he is getting D's at Parkside. Bryant Center. at the V. track practice anywhere but "I don't study." he says. "That's my problem." home studying." Minority students, often illprepared in high school. Still. the program has expanded as many as 250 find out that academic trouble follows them right into students are expected this summer, compared with college. about 100 the first year and Logan believes it can The average grade point for minority freshmen at make a difference for those who are willing to stick it Parkside last fall was 1.67. bet.veen a D and a C. out. compared with 2.29, just above a C. for white freshmen. "Now if you go around to our schools, you're going to said Parkside Assistant Chancellor for Educational find there are black kids taking courses in chemistry. Services Carla Stoffle. trigonometry." he said. "Now the kids are starting to Minority students drop out at a rapid rate. Of believe in themselves." Parkside's 195 minority freshmen in OW 49 earned enough credits to become sophomores the following year. Stoffle said. "One of the problems some minority kids have is they tend to apply late. register late. not to take placement tests prior to registration." said Stoffle. -There's really not much chance ij you're letting them take courses Pare t can help they're not going to be able to pass.- HE CARRIES a tough schedule, studies several Jnhn Thomas of 934 Wilson St. not only talks about Lawrence Logan. executive assistant to the hours a night, and hopes to go to law school, school with his son, but, "When there is something not chancellor. said placement test scores ". jump out at but school wasn't always so important to right, I contact the school myself." he said. you and tell you minority students are less prepared." Victor Thomas. William Trent, an educational researcher with Johns Logan started a program in 1979 called CHAMP "Up till I was in seventh grade, I didn't really care Hopkins University in Baltimore. said, "I would Creating Higher Aspirations and Motivations Program, about studying," said the Horlick High School senior. encourage parents to take as mulch involvement in The summer program is an intensive. no-nonsense six- But then his father had a stern talk with him about schoolwork as they possibly can and participate in week session focusing on academics for Racine and school, Victor said He began making the honor roll and school as much as they can. Kenosha minority high school students. now, although his grades have fallen to about average, "Teachers are humans, and once they see a parent The idea is to give students better study habits and he is one of only a few black students in courses like taking interest, most teachers are responsive to that... encourage them to go back and try the more difficult physics and advanced trigonometry. It casts the child in a different light." collegebound courses. What happened with Victor's father happens all too In many cases, however, minority parents feel "You couldn't find a black kid in any of the high-level rarely with minority parents, educators say. alienated from school, "... a sense of distance between science courses. literature courses," said Logan. "If we Yet. it may be a key to solving some of the academic themselves and the school or themselves and the got a ninthgrader to take biology or chemistry. the idea problems that plague many black and Hispanic teacher," said Trent. the next summer was to go back and take the next students. "They are good parents, but they just don't know how .0

st --;26 Classroom Crisis ... 12

to be involved or what specifically to do." he said. School In a few cases. Racine teachers have begun to reach toward those parents. At Olympia Brown School. teachers Joyce Vargo and Charlene Gosbee considered parents a crucial part of a summer program to boost black and Hispanic students into higher reading groups. The two visited the homes of their students. it made a difference." said Vargo. "Parents were very open. and they were kind to us ... I think suddenly school wasn't just someone who called to say. 'You're in trouble.' School was the lady who came and sat in By Robert A. Frahm your kitchen and talked about vocabulary and brought JEW over a dictionary." of the Journal Times Gosbee added. "There's a cliche that inner city His high school shedule is HO parents don't care ... They do care." breeze. Still. schools often have difficulty attracting minority Calculus. statistics, German. parents. said Gifford Elementary Principal Michael physics. English literature Frontier. At Gifford. for example. most minority Danny Martin estimates he students are bused. and the distance from their homes puts in four, fitv, evert six is a problem. he said. hours a night on homework. In "It kills us," he said. "We can't get parents from the many ways. a typical collecie- city to here ... I have no minority parents in PTA." bouud 17-year-old. this Case LaVerne Diem, principal at Goodland School, blames High School senior. But in one tool; he is not. a bad economy, saying schools have a harder time Danny Martin is black. reaching low-income families who don't have telephones He is one of three black or can't afford to keep their cars running. students in his computer class, -You have to have the conviction and the time to go one of two in physics. He is the up and knock on that door." she said. only black student in his Diem said Goodland provides free transportation and statistics and German classes. babysitting to improve attendance at parent In calculus, he has one conferences. minority classmate. a Japanese "I find most parents, when you take an interest in exchange student. their kid. believe you me. they come across." she said. "It's been the same way every year," says Martin. "... expect to be one of a few." Something is missing from physics. calculus, literature all the top classes in Racine schools. Look into the classrooms, and you'll find few. if any. black or Hispanic students. You are not likely to find them in the jazz band. Journal Times photo by Mark Hertzberg on the student newspaper or on the Victor Thomas and dad, John, take school seriously honor roll, either. _27 - 13

That means the low-income child may be more woesplague minorities active. "... the one looking out the window or looking all around." she said. "Or they'll be making something. They have to keep their mind busy. They'll be shaking In a district where one of every four students is black other reasons. too. Many of them happen in school. and their legs. driving the teacher up the wail because she's or Hispanic. the top academic classes are nearly all many of them start in the early grades. so boring." white. But schools have done little to adapt. she said. In It is part of a pattern of academic mediocrity or most schools. the teacher still stands in front of the failure for minority students in a district that took pride Mini-grade teacher Sandra Hadley is asking class asking questions. and students mechanically recite in the desegregation of schools eight years ago. answers. said Shade. Figures indicate the problem begins at elementary questions about a story in a reading book. Hands pop up around Room 56 at Gifford School, waving. "It's against all we know about the development of school and gets sharply worse in junior high and high children." she said. "We are still back in what I call the school. it is a knotty issue. one that has some educators so.etchiny. This is the tap reading group. Of 29 children. three (ere black. here because they did frontier classroom." scratching their heads. others angry. and a few seeking When schools can't handle those more active answers with limited success. extra work in a special program that started last summer. children. "they ability group them. they stereotype "It's sickening." says Deputy Superintendent Drue them, they send them to psychologists, they say they Guy. "Some of them were scheduled in three home "1 hare taught high groups before." says Fladley. "and they hare been lily-irliite." can't learn ... they call them behavior problems. and economics courses and three industrial arts courses and finally they push them out." she said. thought they were getting ready for college." From the time Racine children enter kindergarten. And ability groups stay fairly rigid from one grade to Although Racine is hardly alone national statistics they are split into ability groups in reading, and those the next. educators say. show similar trends the numbers are disturbing. in groups usually can be identified by race. "Once they get zonked into whatever track they're in. some cases dismal: Consider second grade. for example. Among white it's very difficult (to get out)." said Hadley. the Gifford THE AVERAGE fourth-grade black math pupil in children. 14 percent are in the lowest of three ability teacher. Racine scored at the 64th percentile on a national scale groups. compared with 29 percent of black and Hispanic Ability grouping. which allows one group to work a good mark but the average 12th-grade black second-graders. The top group includes 48 percent of the faster and read more textbooks than another. is popular math pupil scored at the 29th percentile. according to a white students, but on:y 26 percent of the black and among teachers. but Assistant Superintendent for 1980 study. The pattern is similar in other subjects. with Hispanic pupils. Instruction John Aceto said research indicates it is not the gap between minorities and whites growing steadily Children are placed in those groups sometimes on the the best method. wider from eighth through 12th grade. basis of tests. but often on teacher judgment. And some Gifford School Principal Michael Frontier sees EVEN THOUGH they generally get into easier officials are questioning those judgments. grouping as a dilemma for black and brown students. courses. minorities get worse grades than whites do. A "I have no idea how they do it the whim of the "It shouldn't be that big a problem because you're 1980.31 junior high study found that whites got A's 26 teacher." said Unified Research Director Orval talking about kids being maybe 200 pages ahead." he percent of the time. Hispanics 9 percent. and blacks 7 Totdahl. He said his own adopted daughter. who is says. "Big deal." percent. Whites got F's 5 percent of the time compared black. was put in a lower reading group even though But Frontier and others know it is a big deal. and one with 10 percent for Hispanics and 15 percent for blacks. test scores and a previous teacher's recommendation of the reasons is that elementary teachers talk to junior COMPETENCY TESTS showed that 25 percent of indicated she should not be there. high teachers about which students should be last spring's minority graduates failed to master at Said one elementary school principal. who asked not recommended for advanced level courses. least one of four basic skills areas, compared with 412 to be named. "In all candor. I think racism does color 1 percent of white graduates. teachers' perceptions." ONE OF every four black high school students and However. University of Wisconsin-Parkside Associate Judith Stockman. 16. now a high school junior. one of every five Hispanic students dropped out of Professor of Education Barbara Shade said while that remembers site was disappointed back in Ws school last year. compared with one of every 10 white may be partly true. "It's not all racism." grade at Mitchell Junior High School when her students. What it is. according to Shade's research, is a mime wasn't included on an early list for 8th- Why? difference in learning styles. grade accelerated science. Only after final grades Some teachers and principals point to single-parent While middle-class children are likely to develop an' came out was she put on the list. families. poverty. unemployment, and other problems analytical. step-by-step style, children of low-income "1 got an A in science." said Stockmon, who is that occur statistically more often among minorities. families often "... are the more intuitive thinkers. the black, "and the teacher came up and said. While schools cannot ignore those things. there are more creative thinkers." she said. 'Judith. you're a lot smarter than you look.' "

29 ..--, 30 Classroom Crisis. 14

Decisions made as early as sixth and seventh grade principals to move more minority students into higher influence what happens to students in high school. reading groups, there was some promising early Those who miss accelerated math in junior high, for improvement in those numbers. example, are likely to never have a chance to take But much remains to be done, and some signs are calculus in high school. discouraging: "It's your one and only chance to get in," said sixth- THE SCHOOL BOARD has cut money from grade teacher Anne Fox. programs such as Standards, an elementary remedial Fox, of Olympia Brown School, has taught a summer program with a high number of minority students. math refresher course for selected minority students to FEDERAL programs such as Chapter 1, offering boost them into advanced math at junior high. Similar math, reading and language help for low-income courses in English, science, and social studies have students, are cutting services as budgets dwindle. Title been set up in what is called Project Equalize. 7 desegregation aid, which gave Racine schools more "Teachers across the district have been so stringent than $4 million between 1974 and 1980, has been that unless a kid met the criteria he didn't get in, and eliminated. they found no minority kids were getting in," said Fox. SOME SCHOOL people fear that Unified's District. "My attitude is even if you're on the border, I put you Concerns Committee which is focusing on minority in ... I probably put more kids in accelerated math than course placements and other issues may fizzle now any teacher in the district." that the school board has decided to end Deputy But teachers and counselors can do little to make Superintendent Guy's job as an economy measure. students continue with tougher courses if the students Guy, the district's top-ranking black administrator, don't want to. was instrumental in forming the committee. *** The problem of low minority achievement is one schools can hardly.afford to ignore. ifortick senior Dave Garcia has taken his share Minorities make up 27 percent of Racine's school of tough courses. But, he says, "It's not cool to population, and that figure is expected to reach 35 say you're going to go home and do your percent within a decade. homework tonight." Will those students continue to miss the best courses Journal Times photo by Mark Hertzberg At Case, meanwhile, junior Delon Cannon says. Itacine schools have to offer? If they do take them, will .jr ain't takingno college bound classes. My they fail? Danny Martin has tough workload mother just told me, 'Take the easy classes.' " Until schools, teachers, parents can turn around the Students and teachers suggest that black and academic problems, "we're all losers," says Guy. Hispanic students often shun upper-level courses "Society loses, the family loses, the student definitely because they fear the courses are too difficult or loses." because those courses are predominantly white. Adds researcher Totdahl, "It's a serious moral Some students say friends berate those who succeed question this district ought to address." academically. "You'll be right in between," said Horlick High School senior Kendell Actklns, who is black and who is enrolled in several upper-level courses. "You won't be accepted by minorities; you won't be accepted by whites." Programs such as CHAMP at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Project Equalize are beginning to chip away at some of the inequities in course placements. In addition, after Unified's Elementary Reading Coordinator, Nancy Neill, prodded elementary

31 32% Black and Hispanic students in Racine schools: low-levelcourses, bad grades, too many dropouts Monday. May 2, 1983 PART TWO Classroom Crisis. .. 16 Ohio districtRacial gains slow seeksanswer ses and 10 percent in advanced director of pupil personnel. examine the inequities of the levels SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio placement math, but 85 percent in "Someone is allowing the young- system. Another group at Woodbury Even in schools in this affluent remedial math. ster to achieve to a lower degree Junior High is putting a peer tutor- Cleveland suburb, academic Such disparities have drawn criti- and accepting that," he said. "If we ing group together and discussing achievement often boils down to a cism from some quarters, including are talking about the kid's parents, study skills and learning styles. matter of black and white. the Urban League of Greater Cleve- it's irresponsible. If we're looking PROJECT EXCEL, a : program Here where schools turn out a land and a black parents group. at it in terms of a counselor being for students not reaching their po- wealth of National Merit Scholars, "We find students of average in- white and (the student) being tential, has been expanded from where 85 percent of the students go telligence and above-average intelli- minority ... it's one of the most in- high schools to include junior highs. to college, where officials talk of an gence in low level courses." said vidious kinds of racism... The program not only works on elitist "Shaker attitude" the dis- Elizabeth Walker, president of Con- "Kids are in many instances study skills, but helps black stu- tinction between top and bottom stu- cerned Parents of Shaker Heights. going to take the easy way out. dents deal with the discomfort they dents still can be marked by race. A retired elementary school prin- Somebody has to stop and say, This feel in a system that reflects white, The highest academic classes are cipal. Walker said she is waiting to will not be accepted."' middle-class values, curriculum, mostly white, the lowest mostly see whether the district follows sug- Zimmerman said the problem of and rules, said project director John black. gestions in a 1982 study of Shaker course selection "... will always Addison. "No matter what we try to do," Heights schools by Western Michi- exist until you get to it at the sev- THE SCHOOL system has eli- says Shaker Heights High School gan University. enth-grade level. He talked about minated some ability level classes Principal C.A. Zimmerman, "... we Among other things, that study the possibility of identifying tal- and has reduced the size of reme- don't seem to be able to change recommends pre-school and prima- ented seventh-graders and giving dial classes, according to Research that." ry programs to help low-achieving them additional help to boost them Director Mark Freeman. Much of the curriculum is aimed children, better efforts to reach par- into higher level courses. Racine TEACHERS have undergone at college-bound students, but Shak- ents, and better coordination among has such a program; Shaker Heights training in a well-known program er Heights marks its courses by programs for low achievers. does not. Racine schools use the Shaker levels:remedial, regular, honors, "I'm frustrated," said Walker, Zimmerman said he fears the dis- Heights model designed to raise and advanced placement. who added that those black students trict could not do that because it teacher expectations for all stu- Although the regular level closely who do get into high level courses would mean setting up a segregated dents. However, Delores Groves, a reflects the 42 percent proportion of often feel isolated. program. principal in charge of the program, minority students virtually all the One of those students, 17-year-old So what is happening in junior said the district has not followed minorities in the 5,000-student dis- Ernest Green, is taking band, or- high? through on the workshops. The last trict are black the top and bot- chestra, advanced placement "We still see the pattern continu- one was held in 1981, she said. tom levels show sharp dispropor- French, advanced placement Brit- ing," said James Paces, principal at PERHAPS mostimportant. tions, according to a 1981 study. ish literature, and honors math. He Woodbury Junior High School. school researchers, like those in Ra- That trend continues in registra- also is president of the senior class. At a recent awards ceremony, 38 cine, have studied the problem, and tion figures for next year. Zimmer- He said black students often don't students got honor keys for grade the issue of racial disparity is a fa- man said. like other black students to succeed point averages of 3.5 or better. Two miliar one to many parents and In 11th grade, for instance, 16 per- academically. were black, Paces said. teachers. cent of the students registered for "It's a choice of being black and What can be done? Many other school systems either advanced placement English are popular or black and an achiever," Shaker Heights has taken some have done no research or are reluc- black, compared with 84 percent for said Green. tentative steps: tant to share it, says researcher remedial 11th -grade English. Black But if student attitude is a prob- BLACK PARENTS have organ- Freeman. students account for 6 percent of lem, so are the attitudes of parents ized to address the issue. The group In Wisconsin, officials in urban next year's third-year French clas- and teachers, said Reginald Blue, led by Walker prodded schools to districts such as Milwaukee, Ke- 4 .t . 35 Tuesday, May 3, 1983 PART THREE. 17 Schools-business partnership aids nosha, and Beloit said they have done no studies on course selection WASHINGTON, D.C. Thanks to of most businesses, said Pete Weav- by minorities. studentsIBM, General Motors, and the Po- er, executive assistant to the super- "People don't want to know about tomac Electric Power Co., 14-year- intendent. these...issues." said Freeman. old Jerome Booker made the Wan to "Both business and public educa- "When the data is presented, school high school a year early. tion were spending vast sums of boards and policymakers don't want He is one of a select group of money for the same purposes, and to hear it because they don't know ninth-graders there are only 33 yet graduates were not getting jobs, what to do." SUBJECT NAME this yearattending Dunbar Senior and businesses were not getting the But schools must try. he said. High School in a tough engineering kind of employees they wanted," he "The mission of the American curriculum that is part of an in- said. public school is to make sure triguingpartnershipbetween In fact, said Weaver,This busi- (children) can read. write. and cal- schools and the business commu- ness community got a bad case of culate." he said. "If we don't do it. nity. gas every time they thought about The social cost of that is incre- Dunbar's engineering program is the school system." dible." one of five business-sponsored pro- The idea for partnerships between grams others are hotel manage- business and schools came from Su- ment-culinary arts, communica- perintendent- Floretta McKenzie, tions, health, and business-finance who picked Weaver, a former real started at five different high estate developer, to get the pro- schools last fall in an effort to turn gram under way. MINORITIES: out better graduates. The idea was not simply to ask Classroom crisis Officials hope programs like Dun- for money, but to ask businesses to bar's will increase interest by step in, write curriculum, design minorities Dunbar's enrollment classrooms, provide equipment, and is 99 percent minority students in even assist with teaching, according areas such as science and engineer- to Weaver. ing. "Too often, schools are coming to Nationwide, the proportion of business with a preconceived notion blacks and Hispanics choosing tech- and asking for a check," said Weav- nical fields lags well behind the pro- er. "That had to change ... We real- portion of whites. The Scientific ly had to resist the notion that I was Manpower Commission in Washing- here as a fund-raiser." ton indicates, for example, that in At Dunbar, IBM advised the 1980, blacks and Hispanics accoun- school on equipment, donated some ted for only 5 percent of all civil en- computers, and helped lay out the gineers and about 3. percent of all lab. General Motors sponsored a physicists and astronomers, even summer training program for teach- though they made up about 16 per- ers. cent of the civilian labor force. The pre-engineering program, In District of Columbia Public which will include sophomores next Schools, the high school diploma year, juniors the next, and seniors hadn't been worth much in the eyes the next, will be academically rigor- 36 37 /77 Wednesday, May 4, 1983 A77PART FOUR Classroom Crisis... 18

ous, said math teacher and program Rutherford, chief education officer coordinator Judith Richardson. of the American Association for the 0 Advancement of Science. Activities For example, Booker and his ninth-grade classmates at Dunbar The association itself is the recip- start an hour earlier and leave an ient of a $1.67 million grant from hour later than the rest of the stu- Standard Oil for a project called dents. They take courses like al- "Science Resources for Schools." draw few gebra, history, science, English, and According to Rutherford, business engineering drawing. partnerships raise the possibility of "We average two to three hours widening the gap between some of homework, sometimes longer, schools and others. minorities but it's worth it," says Booker. "Not everyone is located near an Joe Knowlton, a drummer in Hor- Said Richardson, "It's a shame if IBM," he said. lick High School's concert band, ) you get to be 18 and decide you want He also suggested businesses may takes his music so seriously that his to be a scientist and have had no be tempted to project into the class- teacher says, "The guy is just on science courses, if you get to be 18 room their own philosophies of busi- fire ... eager to learn." and decide you want to be a comput- ness and government. But there is something else that er programmer and you've never And he questioned to what extent sets this 17-year-old junior apart. seen a computer before." businesses would maintain a com- He is one of only two blacks Dunbar Principal Tom Harper mitment to schools. among Horlick's 128 instrumental hopes the program will expand to as "The business of business is to music students. many as 500 students, nearly one- contribute to the economy, to make For all their popularity, for all third of the student body, within jobs, products, rather than to bank- their rhythm and swing, Horlick's four or five years. He said it is not roll education," he said. prize-winning bands are missing restricted to potential engineers. "They can make things a little something. They win their share of The Dunbar ninth-graders were better, but in the end, the (school) contests, but they don't win the selected from among the top eighth system has to save itself." hearts of Horlick's black and Hispa- graders in the district and had to Superintendent McKenzie said she nic students, get through screenings and tests in hopes the Washington program is "We've been losing all sorts of order to be enrolled. the start of a trend that will see good kids,' said John Dorsey, direc- "We're hopeful they'll be prepar- businesses taking a greater role in tor of Horlick's jazz band, where ed to leave here to go to higher edu- schools. there are no blacks or Hispanics. cation not (just) schools of engi- "So often in this country, business Horlick is not alone. neering, but medicine, law, busi- sees it as something above and Music programs, drama classes, ness," Harper said. beyond what they should be doing," school newspaper staffs, ski clubs Although schools and businesses she said. "Hopefully, we can change many of the after-school activities have approached one another be- the way business looks on the school that add strength and flavor to the fore, the kind of partnership formed district often pointing fingers to curriculum at Racine schools here may be unique, said Weaver. say what we haven't done instead of often are dominated by whites, "There are a lot of adopt-a-school trying to shape what happens." according to surveys done by the programs, but it's rare you'll find a Unified School District. school system asking a major em- Minority students are well ployer to go back to the drawing represented in areas like basketball, board with them," he said. football, and track, but not in most However, while such partnerships other areas. may be helpful, they are not a last- Although some officials say they ing solution, according to F. James are troubled by those numbers, at- 39 ''''' 19 tempts to change the pattern have trumpet, for instance, costs 9350, a fizzled. saxophone $800 or $900, Duncan According to figures from a sur- said. vey at the end of the 1961-82 school After-school transportation, espe- year: cially for students bused far from OUT OF 93 members in Hor- their homes under Unified's deseg- lick's band, there were two black regation plan, can make it more dif- and four Hispanic students. The 23- ficult to participate in activities. member orchestra had no minority "We put on a play here," said students, the 20-member swing Gifford Elementary School Princi- choir had only one black and one pal Michael Frontier. "To get Hispanic student. minority kids to stay here without a CASE HIGH SCHOOL'S girls' bus becomes difficult." softball team hall 33 members, all Even where after-school activity white. No minority students were on buses run, they often don't stop the golf or gymnastics teams. Two close enough to students' homes, of the 42 baseball players, five of said Lorissa Jackson, a Case High the 24 cheerleaders, one of the 33 School junior. swimmers, and two of the 55 swim- "The activity bus like stops at the mers were minorities. stoplight at 16th and Green Bay HORLICK'S student newspaper Road," she said. "I don't feel there staff had no black students and one is a club that important to walk that Hispanic student. The school's 75- far." member ski club had no blacks, The most frequently mentioned three Hispanics. problem, however, is student atti- TWO black students and four tude. Hispanic students were among the Knowlton, the Horlick drummer, 174 students in instrumental music e said black students who join band or at Jerstad Junior High School. choir, for instance, are ridiculed by "I don't know if we're ever going -.arse.... friends. to get a handle on it," said Andrew ' "Mainly I think they look at it as Duncan, director of music for the a sissy sort of thing," he said. "I Unified School District. was in a marching band in Kenosha. "I don't think it's just music;" he My friends would like call you a said. "It's inconceivable there 'cheese,' which means like a black aren't some black students out there guy trying to be like a white guy." interested in chess ... interested in David Thomas, who is black, quit tennis. So why aren't there any 7 7 , Horlick's band. black students playing tennis?" ,"'W; "Too much work for me," said In music, some minority students the 18-year-old senior. "A couple do sign up at elementary schools, e hours a night, you have to take pri- but the number dwindles at junior vate lessons, compete in contests." high, and "... at senior Nigh it's al- Donald Young, Horlick's concert 4°- most nil," said Duncan. F,y-f band director, said that except for What are the reasons? Knowlton, he has seen little success Cost may be one. Low-income among black students. families may not be able to rent an High School's concert band "They don't push themselves," he instrument, much less buy one. A Joe Knowlton is one of two blacks in Horllck said. "They are generally content 41 40 Classroom Crisis... 20

with a C grade. They don't do the things A and B students do." Arm-twisting works Some minority students complain about the style of school music, said Rosa Estrada, a Case senior. "It's like (they say),don't want well in Shaker Heights to listen to that it's Lawrence Welk,' " she said. Sometimes minority students simply feel unwelcome in after-school SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio While some educators On other teams at this year's state tournament, there activities, Estrada said. lament the lack of minority students in after-school were very few other black students, said Hooper, whose She said she joined Case's soccer clubs, Henry "Doc" Strater and Zachary Green are out specialty is duet acting. team last year, but later quit be- twisting arms. Strater said black students on speech teams were so cause she got a job. It is no accident that about half the 50 members of rare 10 to 15 years ago that judges were often surprised "I told the coach I wouldn't be their speech and debate team at Shaker Heights High when they saw his team. coming out any more. The first School are black. "They expected to have a bunch of inarticulate ghetto thing he said is, 'Why? Are you Strater and Green rez.ruit them. black kids in front of them," he said. "They didn't get pregnant?' " she said. "I knew Doc and I knew Zach," said Emily Hooper, what they were expecting. We won a lot of debates that According to Duncan, the small 17, explaining why she joined the team. "Doc had way." number of minorities may simply mentioned to me in junior high he wanted me to be on Despite the success of teachers like Strater and be a failure to go out and recruit the speech team." Green, extracurricular clubs at many other schools them. Said Strater: "We think this is one thing a lot of black remain segregated. Said Starbuck Junior High Assist- kids miss ... I have something worthwhile to give these Charles Moody,.director of the Program for ant Principal Glenn Kirchner, kids, and I'm going to see to it they get it," he said. Educational Opportunity at the University of Michigan "Some advisors say,'I offer the Blacks account for most of the students making up said activities like choir, orchestra, foreign language club. You can come to me.' " the school's 42 percent minority population. clubs, student government, and some sports are But that may not be enough, said predominantly white at many urban schools. Kirchner, chairman of a committee Black students, meanwhile, often can be found on trying to increase minority partici- "We think this is one thing a lot of basketball teams and in certain positions on football and pation in Racine schools' extracur- track teams, Moody said. ricular activities. So far, despite ef- black kids miss I have something "It's a very pervasive problem," he said. "It sends a forts to promote those activities, worthwhile to give these kids, and I'm message that these things are for this group and not for there has been little change, said this group." Kirchner. going to see to it they get it." In a 1979 newsletter, Moody suggested schools To complicate matters, teachers Henry Strater routinely ask these questions: have begun quitting their roles as DOES an activity meet the needs and interests of club advisors in protest over stalled debate coach all students? teacher contract negotiations. ARE steps taken to make all students feel All of which means the prospects welcome? for boosting participation by black Once black students started joining the team, they WHEN students of different races participate in an and Hispanic students are not par- helped attract others, according to Strater. activity, is the atmosphere friendly or just tolerant? ticularly bright. "They aren't afraid to walk in and be the only black ARE membership requirements based on race, "It takes a commitment on the person there," he said. religion, or nationality? part of schools and activities advi- "Once we get them to compete, they find they really DO financial or dress requirements exclude sors to want to do this," said Kirch- enjoy doing this and find they can achieve ... The work students from low-income families? ner. "I don't think we get that come pays off. You go home with a trophy or with a ribbon ARE leadership positions in clubs taken by students mitment from everyone." and say, 'Look, grandma, I won this.' " of all racial and cultural groups?

,c 43 Keeping them in school Some things just don't work very well here

All in all, he'd rather be home watching TV, says suspended Hor- lick High School sophomore Keith McKinney. But McKinney, caught skipping classes, is paying his _penalty in "the cube." a small, bleak classroom in a far corner of the school near an old gymnasium. No talking. No walking around. Just seven hours a day of homework. Even though researchers recom- mend such in-school suspension rooms as an alternative to kicking students out, Horlick's program is a flop. officials say. Started last fall, it will end this year. That is in contrast to programs at Racine's junior high schools, where officials appear to favor keeping suspended students in school. "It doesn't make much sense if they've been truant for 10 days and you send them home for three more," said Eileen Wortley, a counselor at Jerstad-Agerholm Junior imummti44 Thursday, May 5, 1983 PART FIVE Classroom Crisis... 22

High School, the first Racine school curbing failure rates and other to start an in-school suspension cen- problems. ter. "Smoking in the bathrooms, be- The program focuses on helping lieve it or not, is gone," he said. students with academic problems. "The kids do not want to be isolated Students must be caught up with from their friends." homework before leaving Jerstad's In a 1978 report by the National in-school suspension room. Institute of Education, researcher Former Jerstad Principal RussellJunious Williams said kicking stu- Pollock, now at Gilmore Juniordents out of school contributes to High, credits the program withproblems like academic failure, Suspensions The trouble all started with high schools occurred more than American Government class. twice as often among blacks and "Sometimes I didn't Iike the nearly three times as often among Fr class," said 16-year-old Hector Hispanics as they did among whites, Mendoza. "Other times I didn't un- according to figures prepared for a derstand the material." 1981-82 survey by the U.S. Office of So Hector skipped. Civil Rights. When officials caught up with Put another way, the figures ati , a him, he got kicked out of Hor lick showed that Hispanic students ac- 4 Td'I HighSchoolfir two days. "I didn'tcounted for about 5 percent of all o 1,0 CC like it," he said. "That's two days Racine high school students, but 11 , ,I of zeroes, F's." percent of high school suspensions. I Hector's suspension contributed Blacks made up 15 percent of Ra- al. , r_ to some unpleasant statistics: cine's high school students, but ac- blacks and Hispanics Hector is counted for 28 percent of the sus-

,Fi...,._. Puerto Rican are suspended and pensions. *40 . 4O expelled from Racine schools in far Because the same students often a 4...4:k. greater percentages than whites. were suspended more than once, the ,., Racine is not alone. The problemnumber of black and Hispanic sus- E. ,, exists on a national scale, andef-pensions reported in 1981-82 at one fortsto correct it have been spora- school Horlick actually was v, "The cube," an in-school dic at best. greater than the number of blacks suspension room The numbers illustrate the dispar-and Hispanics enrolled. 1 Horlick says the experiment isn't ity. Why the differences? working Suspensions in Racine's public Educators point to academic frus- 45 4;

45 isolation, disrespect. and delin- handled? Does the program help de- Paul Banks, an aide who runs the quency. crease the number of suspensions? program. Because minority students are Does it deal with the causes of the "It didn't work because there suspended more frequently, they problems? Does it offer academic were too many conflicts with some bear a disproportionate share of help to students who need it? of the teachers," he said. such problems, Williams said in the At Horlick, some officials said In many cases, teachers failed to report. the program will end partly because supply homework, leaving students But. said Williams, even with in- the school won't have enough space to sit idly, Banks said. school alternatives, schools must next year when ninth-grade classes "Some of the teachers say, ask some questions: are added to the high school. 'They're not doing the work any- What kinds of infractions will be But there is another reason, said way,' " he said. t hit minority pupils trations, cultural differences in be- send them to the office, Williams ences, according to Leland Johnson, havior, inconsistent enforcement of said. assistant superintendent for pupil rules, and teacher racism. According to Williams, there are personnel in Racine schools. A key reason may be that teach- other problems: He said black students, in particu- ers are simply less tolerant of EVEN WHERE school districts lar, often are more aggressive and minority students, said Joan McCar- have clearly written standards, get into fights more frequently. ty First, executive director of the teachers may not know the rules or Although black students make up National Coalition of Advocates for may apply them unevenly. Said Wil- 19 percent of the school population, Students, based in Indianapolis. liams, "In most school districts, the they account for 70 percent of the "It really happens in the class- staff can throw the student code of fights that have resulted in suspen- room," she said. "Teachers, black conduct away, and it won't have a sion from Johnson's office so far and white, tend to overreact to their major impact." this year. behavior ... Teacher inconsistency ACADEMIC frustrations, start- However, while fighting may is the real culprit more often than ing as early as elementary school, slightly increase the percentage of racial discrimination." often are behind discipline prob- minority suspensions, it does not ex- California State University as- lems, he said. plain the wide discrepancies in num- sociate professor Junious Williams, TEACHERS often make an ex- bers. a consultant on school discipline is- cessive number of referrals for Even among the most serious sus- sues, said studies done in Michigan minor offenses. he said. Other pensions, the ones that are sent to between 1978 and 1980 quizzed teach- methods should be used to handle Johnson's office, truancy accounted ers about imaginary discipline prob- problems like being tardy, not hav- for more than half the offenses last lems. ing homework, or talking out of year, while fights accounted for When students in the surveys turn, he said. about 4 percent. were described as being black, The disproportion, however, may Deputy Superintendent of Schools teachers decided mopp frequently to also be traced to cultural differ- Drue Guy said the problem begins Friday. May 6. 1983 PART SIX Classroom Crisis ... 24

in grade school, where some white also has ruled out teacher referrals teachers cannot adjust to black stu- for such things as profanity or tardi- dents. ness, said Principal Al Davis. Black "Black kids ... are active, they The result: the 1,300-student move, they touch," said Guy. "If school suspended 92 students last Although about three of every you have a conservative, white, year, compared with 287 in 1977-78. four students in Racine's desegre- female teacher (and) you have a kid and Davis said the school climate gated schools are white, the num- moving, doing two or three things, has improved markedly. bers in Roosevelt School's Room 108 it drives the teacher to distraction. KNOW THE RULES. Officials don't add up: All of a sudden (the student) is get- in Stockton, Calif., said schools Six black children, four whites, ting referrals." there also reduced suspensions after one Hispanic. Some officials, including Guy, taking several steps, including regu- Room 108, one of many Racine have been at odds with Johnson over lar teacher training sessions and classrooms for children categorized his proposal to create a separate student classes on a new student as educable mentally handicapped school for disruptive elementary conduct code. (EMH), illustrates a disparity af- school students a school similar KEEP GOOD RECORDS. First fecting minority students, particu- to The Academy for junior high and said schools should keep better data larly black children. high school students. on disciplinary referrals, including In schools across the nation, "It will be siphoning off every ag- reasons for referrals and which black students are placed in special gressive little black boy," said Guy. teachers make the most frequent education classes at an unusually Johnson, however, disputes sug- referrals. high rate. Racine is no exception. gestions of racism. Prospects for change are not par- "It's a grave problem," says Uni- He said critics are inclined to ticularly bright. fied School District Special Educa- blame the schools instead of the be- Even in places like Stockton and tion Supervisor Donna Barootian, havior. Champaign, where schools were chairman of a task force studying According to Johnson, black stu- able to reduce overall suspensions, the issue. dents are not only physically more officials say the racial disparity Educators blame a variety of fac aggressive, but verbally aggressive. persists. tors IQ tests, poverty, cultural- "The teacher does not get compli- On a national basis, black stu- differences, linguistic differences, ance as quickly," he said. "In gen- dents were suspended at nearly teacher racism but have had litt- eral, they get quicker and more ac- twice the rate of whites, while Hi- le success in solving the problem. In ceptable responses from white kids. spanics were suspended at a slightly at least two states, the issue has "... We're dealing with the be- higher rate than whites, according gone to court. havior," said Johnson. "We don't to a 1979-80 U.S. Office of Civil The numbers are troubling: make the interpretation on the basis Rights survey. NEARLY ONE of every five of race." And in Racine, a committee black children in Racine public Researchers like Williams and studying racial disparities in disci- schools is categorized as a special student advocates like First say pline has made little progress, said education student, compared with school racism is a factor. Among Park High School Principal James roughly one of every nine Hispanic their recommendations: Thompson. children and one of every 12 white Thompson quit as chairman of the children, according to district fig- DON'T SUSPEND for minor ofcommittee. ures, fenses. Centennial High School in "A lot of discussions were held, EMH placements, sometimes Champaign, Ill., has sharply reduc- and we didn't get far with any of referred to as educable mentally re- ed overall suspensions by refusing them," he said. "I was very tarded, account for 3.9 percent of to suspend for truancy. The school frustrated." the black students in Racine public

41 25 imbalance in SpdialEd schools. 2.1 percent of all Hispanic poorly-developed thinking skills. of blacks occurs in some special students, and 0.8 percent of all CULTURAL conflicts between education categories, but not others. white students. minority families and schools that For blindness, deafness, or severe ON A NATIONAL scale. the are characterized by white, middle- retardation, the rates of referral for SIX STUDIES number of educable mentally re- class values and curriculum. various racial groups appear to be MATRE T IcS tarded children in 1980-81 amounted Whatever the reasons, the prob- similar. It is in categories such as. SCI to less than 1 percent of all Hispanic lem appears to be one more part of EMH, learning disabled. and emo- SPE children in public schools, slightly a pattern of academic failure for tionally disturbed areas that are more than1 percent of all white black students lower achieve- more difficult to diagnose that ENGL schoolchildren, but about 4 percent ment, worse grades, more discipline the disproportion occurs. PHYE of all black schoolchildren, accord- problems, more dropouts. In those areas, the diagnosis can HEAL ing to a survey by the U.S. Office of The inability of schools to deal be a dilemma, says Barootian. Civil Rights (OCR). with those problems may itself con- "When you're looking at a child Why the imbalance? tribute to high placement rates of functioning three years below grade A panel set up to study the issue blacks in special education, educa- level, you can't refute that." she for OCR listed these factors: tors say. said. "... If we answer, no, the stu- MINORITIES: TESTS such as 1Q measure- "We don't know why those kids dent is not retarded ... then why is Classroom crisis ments often contain language or cul- get on a failure trajectory in he functioning this way? Is it nutri- tural biases that are geared toward school," said Man Coulter, presi- tion? Is it lead poisoning? There are middle-class students and identify dent-elect of the National Associa- so many questions." disproportionate numbers of minori- tion of School Psychologists. Although the district considers ties as candidates for special educa- "Unfortunately, the regular class- the higher rate of placement of a tion: room's way of coping is to refer blacks a problem, the numbers have FUNDING schemes that tie spe- those kids and put pressure on spe- begun to improve, she said. cial education dollars to enrollment cial education people to take them And, she added, "We're not send- encourage overcounting, particular- in special education," said Coulter, ing these kids to a dungeon, into ly among minority children, who who is with the Louisiana Depart- hell. They have got super teachers. are more likely to be eligible. ment of Education. small classes, aides. They are real- STUDENTS may suffer from In Racine, teachers make refer- ly going into privileged, very expen- undiagnosed medical or physical rals of minority children at a great- sive services. problems, emotional disturbances, er rate than that for whites, said "The problem is the (special edu- hyperactivity, anxiety. or lack of Andrea Lorenz, supervisor of psy- cation) label," she said. " ... It be- skills needed to adapt to school. chological services for the Unified comes a negative thing." LACK of quality instruction for District. The problem is compounded, how- minority students may lead to aca- "Consequently, the odds are more ever, if the programs fail to help demic failure and, consequently, will be placed," she said. children return to regular class- more frequent placement in special However, before a child is placed rooms. education. in special education, he must be as- Said Coulter: "There is no evi- HOME ENVIRONMENTS may sessed by a team of educators who dence special education for mildly lack encouragement for children to use formal tests, observations, and handicapped children is any more use complex systems of verbal sym- behavioral assessments. effective in producing higher bols, and this may be related to The disproportionate placement .achievement scores than if we left

50 . l 1 ,

Classroom Crisis.

I them in a regular classroom." minority children in order to elimi- Although most schools have been nate the cultural. middle-class bias unable to solve the disparity, courts built into many tests. Racine in two states have tried. schools have used at least one such California schools have appealed alternative test and are considering a 1979 federal court decision bann- otht s, said Barootian. ing the use of IQ tests as a means of INCLUDE minority members placing mildly retarded children in on the teams that determine wheth- special education. And a federal er students will be placed in special judge in 1979 ordered Mississippi education programs. schools to reduce disproportionate CONSIDER not only a child's numbers of minorities in special school performance, but his ability education classes. to adapt to non-school situations in Mississippi officials 'are awaiting determining whether he should be a progress report. but preliminary placed in special education. figures are not promising, said Dan- STUDY referral rates to deter- iel Yohatem, project director formine whether certain schools or the Children's Defense Fund in certain teachers are making dispro- Washington, D.C. portionate numbers of referrals. Paul Haubrich. chairman of the TRAIN teachers to develop "... Department of Exceptional Educa-a broader sense of cultural under- tion at the University of Wisconsin- standing." Milwaukee, said there is a strong DEVELOP alternative methods correlation between poverty and of instruction that can be used in ex- placement in special education. isting classrooms. "Poverty limits the opportunity A crucial first step, is to acknowl- to interact with the culture aroundedge the problem, said Haubrich. you," he said. In addition, low-in- who is conducting a study of the ra- come parents may suffer "... every-. cial makeup of special education en- thing from poor prenatal care. poorrollments in Racine, Kenosha, Mil- diet, poor medical care," he said. waukee, Beloit, and Madison. "If you do not have proper vita- Haubrich gives Racine high mins, proper diet, you can have pro- marks for its research. found effects on that child, and "They have good information," those effects are not eradicated by he said. "A lot of districts we go school." into ... have no idea even how to get There are many factors, he said. it." "You can't say it's race alone." Because of the work of research- said Haubrich. "You can't say it's ers here, Racine schools are begin- poverty alone. You can't say it's ning to move in the right direction. cultural tradition alone...It's a said Barootian. very interactive and dynamic kind "Some of the answers we don't of thing. It's a real complex issue." know." she said, "but you don't stop What can be done? trying." Haubrich offers these suggestions: USE ALTERNATIVE tests for 2 Philippine News San Francisco, California Counseling for Filipino Students

A Four-Part Series By Linda Ogawa Ramirez 53 Counseling for Filipino Week of April 13. 1983 Students PART ONE 29

Counseling for a bicultural community About the Author LINDA OGAWA RAMIREZ is the associate editor and community staff reporter SAN FRANCISCO All of the following state- "Formbout 10 years, the Filipinos who came in for the Philippine News, a national ments are true. had some formal education, some English skills and Filipino parents, who have a high regard for the could really acculturate quickly. Parents prepared weekly publication based in South San value of education, are extremely interested in the their children on what to expect here," said Ligaya Francisco. Born in California but raised academic success of their children. Filipino par- Avenida, program coordinator for the SFUSD Fil- in Thxas, Ramirez returned to the West ents, many of whom maintain a twoincome house- ipino bilingual program. Coast in 1977 after graduating from the hold, leave their children to the educational system "But lately, children coming in display different University of Texas at Austin with a and respond, "Bahala" (come what may). characteristics. Maybe it's the flow of immigration." Filipino students are polite, respectful of their The district has tried to address the specific Bachelor of Journalism degree. elders and perform well in school Filipino students needs of immigrant clildren with its Filipino Educa- are increasingly becoming involved in violent activ- tion Center for kindergarten through fifth grade Ramirez began work in San Francisco ity, truancy and are lacking in the basic skills taught students, the Intake Center to evaluate students as the assistant to the editor and re- in the classroom. new to the district and the 11/41mummers High porter of a Japanese-English daily, the School, geared specifically for the limited skilled or Hokubei Mainichi. pre-literate student. 41 But those who are not placed in the special schools or the programs are being thrown into a In discussions with community educa- school system and culture that can hardly address tors and parents, Ramirez found a grow- or identify their special needs and problems. ing concern for students facing cultural In the district's eight high schools we re there are and academic problems in a school sys- more than 1,700 Filipino students, only two head tem generally overcrowded and under- counselors are Filipino, and they are the district's only two full time Filipino counselors. staffed. These were not the "model Faye Santos Vickroy has been the head counse- students" usually described in news In the past, studies: on a local, state err? national lor at Woodrow Wilson High School for a little over reports about the success of Asian levels that dealt with the educational attainments of a year. She counsels the ninth and 10th grade immigrants. Asian students placed them high on the achieve- students in a school with more than 250 Filipinos. ment scale. Filipinos, included with that Asian Ray Cordoba was the first Filipino head counselor Her series on counseling services for grouping, have ridden on that success wave and, in the district three years ago. Balboa High School along with their Chinese, Japanese and Korean where he works has 521 Filipinos. Cordoba is Filipino high school students attempts counterparts, are viewed as model students. helped with his job by Angel Martinez, an English. to put into perspective the barriers faced While acknowledging that they do have "excel- asa-Second.Language resource teacher and part by students, parents and school admin- lent" students, Filipino counselors in the SAri Fran- time counselor. istrators in identifying and addressing cisco Unified School District (SFUSD) also recog- The counselors described the multi-tiered prob- problems and concerns of a growing nize another group of students who receive little lems their students are facing. In school, they are community. attention. driven by cultural values that cause conflicts bet- 4 Counseling. .. 30

ween themselves and their teachers, with other Filipinos born and raised in a different culture and with their own groups as they seek an identity and acceptance from their peers. The educational system in the Philippines is more rigid than that in theU.S. Filipinostudents who have attended Philippine schools or the U.S. raised Filipino child who has parents raised in that environment is faced with a contrasting situation in an American program that stresses more freedom and independence for the students. "The Filipino child withdraws and does not participate," Avenida said. "He becomes quiet." But even without the culture shock of a more liberal school environment, Filipino childrenare taught to "listen to your teacher." Corazon Ponce and Dr. Lydia R. Castillo compiled a list of Filipino cultural values for the school district in 1972. Filipino students in the classroom will speak only when spoken to and will not ask questions, they said. Martinez noted that in a college prepatory class that 14 teaches at Balboa High School, "The Fil- ipino studentswait for the teacher to tell them what to do. They have to be guided. They need motivation." "They need guidance from someone somewhere," said Cordoba. "Unless you guide them from middle school on, you're going to lose them." A master's thesis prepared by Tania Fortunata Marino Azores for the University of California, Los Angeles, includes data showing that one-third of Filipinos in the 12th grade failed to graduate. Another problem facing the schools is that which deals with gangs. Vickroy, whose schools has another for acceptance. This "pakikisama" empha- esteem or "amor propio." received attention in the past for alleged racial ten- sizes smooth interpersonal relationships, coopera- Then, there is the additional conflict between sions, said the problem seems to have decreased tion and a desire to "get along" at all costs. whatCordobadescribes as the "basement Filipi- somewhat. "Now," she said, "they seem to be more It is not surprising, then, to Filipinos who work nos," those who were born and/or raised in the for peer support." with youth, to see them exhibit daring tendencies U.S., and the "second-floor" Filipinos, alsoknown Filipinos have a need to congregate with one to cut class and engage in fights to protect one's self as the "FOBs," (fresh off the boat). 57 Week of April 20. 1983 PART TWO 31

Language plays a big part in the separation the most common things we hear is 'They just don't "Parents have to know what is allowed in the between the two groups. The American Filipino understand.' " Cordoba said. Philippines and what is allowed here," said Ponce. dislikes the Philippine-born Filipino because of the Filipino families have more of a cultural gap "Children's rights are guaranteed by law here. accent that accompanies his use of English. The between adult and child than a generation gap. There are no laws in the Philippines. There are immigrant, on the other hand, does not consider Parents used to strict discipline in their homes in protective services but they're not as enforced as the U.S. Filipino as a "true Filipino" because he the Philippines, are unaccustomed to their child- here." cannot speak Tagalog. Sometimes, too, the ability ren's newfound independence nurtured by the The children, too, "don't know why their parents of one group to speak English fluently, or with no schools. Their difficulties are compounded by the act in certain ways," Martinez added. accent, causes jealousy in the other group. fact that both parents work, motivated by the Because of the parents' inability to deal with their In either case, counselors said either group can immigrants' dream of "making it" in America. children in a different cultural environment and, in characterize the other as "snobs." The discipline dished out by parents when they some cases, their unfamiliarity with the education But the problems Filipino students face are not discover their children have failed in one way or system, Martinez and Cordoba said they are wit- limited to in-school conflicts but also extend to the another can be swift and severe. Corporal punish- nessing an increase in Filipino runaways, truancy home. ment, common in the Philippines and in most Asian and pregnancies. "The missing link," said Avenida ," is how to help countries, is less than favorably accepted in the "It takes the total involvement of parents, com- parents deal with the problems of their child." U.S. . munity and the schools" to help the students, Cor- "One of the basic problems is communication Parent education is as crucial a task as education doba said. between the Filipino kids and their parents. One of for educators and school administrators. "We can't do it alone."

who threw the first punch. Cordoba added that both parties are sent home to prevent retaliatory actions byfriends on either side against the student who is allowed to stay in school. A day in the life The Filipino has no one at home to report to, he said, but he is sent off anyway promising to call Cordoba later. The other youth's mother, contacted by the counselor, makes an appointment to come in the same day for a conference. Her son waits. The pair leave Cordoba's office only to be replaced ofacounselor by another student, this time a female referred to SAN FRANCISCO It's 8:45 a.m. and Ray The two boys, a 17-year-old Filipino who nervously Cordoba by a Filipinateacher for disrespectful Cordoba already has spent an hour in a facultybounces his knee during the entire 25-minute session behavior and class disruption. meeting and must now face two students whoand a 15-year-old black youth seldom face each other She denies any allegation and tells Cordoba there is began the school day with a fight. while Cordoba asks them about their scuffle. a personality conflict between her and the teacher. Cordoba is the head counselor at Balboa High They have never been brought in before him, She talks loudly and angrily yet nor disrespectfully School where the more than 2,000-student populationCordoba said, adding that it is the habitual unruly to her counselor. Cordoba encourages her to remain is 25 percent Filipino. He's been at his job for threestudents who is referred as the last recourse to room silent in class to maintain the peace with her teacher years and is still able, surprisingly, to maintain a calm,112. Even so, school policy dictates that both boys be and promises to talk to the instructor. He also extends controlled persona. suspended fore the day. A fight is a fight, no matter an invitation to his office whenever the pressure gets

58. *ea ... 32

too much and the student needs a place in which to his intervention with who he thinks are the culprits. A the slack. If both parents work, as is becoming more "explode." few days later, the wallet is recovered with its contentsand more the case, it is not unusual for them to leave In the first hour of what turns out to be a "fairly intact. Nine out of 10 times, Cordoba said, the wallet the house before their child goes to school or come quiet day" in the life of an inner city 'high school is never recovered. And still days later, stolen gym home after the child has been dismissed from classes. It counselor, Cordoba has seen two students involved in equipment is recovered at an in-school investigation. is not uncommon, therefore, for parents to be unaware a dispute, acted as mediator between student and Special favors are asked. A student walks in at the of their child's attendance record and makes it more teacher, made an appointment for a parent conference end of the day asking for the letter of intent todifficult to have them realize a problem exists or have and tried to make a dent in the piles of students' graduate that Cordoba promised. Cordoba forgot, but them cooperate in the counseling effort. attendance records, academic reports, teacher referrals sits down immediately and writes the letter for the and routine correspondence that carpet his desk. student entering the Air Force. It is now 9:15 a.m. and in 10 minutes, the bell The fight between the two youths is common in the sounds ending the first period of classes and Cordoba ethnically diverse school. The black youth, unwilling leas his office to patrol the campus. to talk, tells Cordoba that the Filipino was talking The day is sunny and warm, two days after the about his and has circulated stories of them fighting. students have come back from the Easter break. But, he admits the conversation he overheard was in Perhaps this is why, Cordoba guessed, tensions are Tagalog. somewhat mild. "This happens a lot when there's a difference in What Cordoba has experienced in that first hour is communication," Cordoba tells the parent later. "The not unlike what many counselors, very few of them kids don't understand what's being said and they think Filipino, face each day. With the ratio of students to the Filipinos are talking about them." counselors reaching in the hundreds to one, the job Surprisingly, interracial conflicts are not as frequent becomes more than a 40-hour-per-week cycle. as intra-racial ones,Cordobasaid,andthe A large part of the day is spent shuffling papers that communication gap is especially noticeable among monitor a student's progress in school. Each time Filipinos from different provinces in the Philippines or Cordeba sees a student, a record is pulled. Referrals between the Philippine and American born Filipinos. must be completed with the results of the meeting and This void in discipline and supervision on the home a copy is forwarded to the teachers. Academic records front is making it necessary for the schools to take up are checked and home emergency cards are pulled as theyareneeded.Fortunately,themounds of paperwork needed to keep track of the students on BALBOA HIGH SCHOOL counselor Ray Cordoba detention or suspended from school are handled by a talks to parents, school administrators, teachers new assistant, Ray Guivan. and other district counselors on the phone if he In betwee,the student or parent or teacher cannot see them personally as part of his hectic appointments, Cordoba must contend with constant daily schedule. After school, he attends weekly interruptions as students knock on his door and ask, meetings of the Filipino Octagon Club. Some- "Mr. Cordoba, can I talk to you for a minute?" If they where in his busy schedule he finds time to coun- don't come by his office, they stop him in the sel students not only on their school plans but with hallways. their personal problems also. Busy and dedicated Emergencies also crop up from time to time. A Filipino counselors like Cordoba face the problem student who has lost a wallet goes to Cordoba to ask of overstretching themselves.

' y.. 61" 33

Those parents Cordoba cannot see during the day, like." because of conflicting schedules,or during the Over the past three years, Filipino parents and their three-hour Monday night counseling sessions, he tries children at Balboa have gone to Cordoba with their to see at other times during the week after regular problems. Sometimes, it has reached a crisis stage with working hours. parents pleading with him to help them manage their 'The parents know you're concerned if you make an children. He has been there, speaking in English or attempt to go to their home; that you care about the Tagalog, when their teenage daughters and sons kid. It also lets me see the home front, what it's really become parents or when they run away from home. Filipina teenagers now are becoming pregnant as frequently as any other women in any other culture despite their more strict Catholic upbringing. Nine out of 10 of them, Cordoba said, are choosing to have their babies. While Cordoba tries to convince the family that he will intervene with the other student, he finds out that the black family has been the victim of harassment by what they believe are Filipino students at Balboa. With this newfound information, Cordoba finds the conflict is an old one. "1 can't do anything if 1 don't know what's going strict discipline nd respect." on," he said. But it's not only Filipino teachers who are unable or Attempts to reach the Filipino youth at home fail. unwilling to discipline their classroom. Each leacher Of the two telephone numbers he has on the boy, one has a personal "assertive discipline" plan where is out of service and the other is a wrong number. violations of classroom decorum are punishable by It's a big problem at school," Cordoba said. detention, parent notification, extra Glasswork or "Emergency cards are not filled out right or there's no referral to the head counselor. Some teachers give their telephone at home." Many times, telephones are students as many as five chances before they are sent disconnected or there is no one home to supervise the to Cordoba's office. Other take no more than. two students since both parents work. violations. An independent consultant hired by the school is IT BECOMES necessary at times for the school to conducting a survey and has found so far that in a send mailgrams to the home to contact the parent period of four to five months, 1,600 referrals were or a supervising adult. made to Cordoba by only a small percentage of the Balboa High School also has a large number of teaching faculty. Filipino teachers, many of them with experience from "It's the same teachers with the problem students," the Philippines and many of them from an older Cordoba said, "and a lot of it is petty problems." generation. More serious problems, too, are left unattended. 'It's becoming more of a problem," Cordoba said. Cordoba hoped to deal with five student referrals in "especially withtheculturalproblems.Filipino one swoop by meeting with the teacher who sent them teachers can't stand loud' students. They're used to to him. The teacher rover arrived for the appointment . 62 34

and left to message with Cordoba of any change in Americans are more into the martial arts style of `A lot of them schedule. fighting. Cordoba has an advantage over most teachers, and NE FILIPINO who comes into the office to talk even some of the other counselors, in that he is able to in Tagalog has his jacket searched before the call by name many of the students who knock on his conversation with Cordoba begins.School door throughout the day or stop him in the hallways 'dais have "just cause" to conduct such searches,r or on the schoolgrounds as he makes his regular Cordoba said, especially of the "black leather" people. in-between-period patrols. It is these same "black leather" types, however, who sneak to Cordoba as he walks through the second floor "It's definitely an advantage," he said. "It's best it of the school during his lunchtime patrol. These you can earn the respect of the students." "second floor Filipinos," so named because that's The students are more likely to move on to class it where they congregate, are immigrants who extend theadministratorissomeone they know. The greetings to the counselor in Tagalog. familiarity also helps when an "outsider" wanders on Cordoba and the Octagon Club that he supports inla, campus to visit old friends. school is using sports to bridge the gap between the The regular patrols of the grounds has decreased second floor Filipinos and the Filipino Ameericans, the many of the problems at Balboa. 'Weed Alley," a basement Filipinos, again, named after their locale. short walk way leading to a stairwell in the building, is The Octagon Club is a program of the Yerba Buena empty and unclogged now and gone is the thick smoke Optimist Club, a Filipino chapter of the Optimists, of and smell of marijuana joints. The regular patrols help which Cordoba is a recent member. cut down on visits by local dope dealers who find easy During a free period, officers of the youth club meet access to customers on the open campus. with Cordoba to plan the agenda for an after school meeting. The dub makes preparationsforan The lunch period can present problems since the upcoming basketball tournament and dance, the Cinco students have a longer time to roam on and off campus de Mayo carnival in school and the end-of-school and the appearance of outsiders becomes greater. But picnic. The meeting is hectice, with jokes, laughter and with a student population of more than 2,000 and conversation filtering in and ut of the business items. coinciding understaffing, the potential for a large scale But Cordoba said when the time comes for each event, incident exists throughout the day. each member assigned specific tasks on the various It's not unusual for fights to break out. "It takes only committees always comes through. one," Cordoba said to cause a major riot. The fights Like any other high school, Balboa has its share of and scuffles are made all the more dangerous because problems and successes. The specific needs of the of the presence of weapons. increasing Filipino population, however, are becoming "About two years ago, I chased this small Filipino more severe while the importance of adequate kid," Cordoba remembered. "He was in a fight and 1 counseling services is less emphasized. Of course, not guess back them I was gung-ho to catch him. It wasnt't all students are problem students. Balboa's last two until I brought him back into my office that I found he student body presidents have been Filipino. had a gun, loaded and ready to go." 'We're trying to do the best (for our students) with if there are Filipinos, particularlyimmigrants, what we have," Cordoba said, "although what we involved, there are sure to be weapons. Filipino have may not be the best." 65 Week of April 27, 1983 PART THREE 35 don't haveafeeling of belonging'

SAN FRANCISCO The first minor to be triedany one of the counseling centers and the parents are school or a probation officer do they realize that their as an adult under a major crimes law was 17year. notified immediately. They go either to the center or the child has been missing school regularly and subse- old Julius Domantay, a habitual truant since the school. quently failing in many of the courses. age of 14 from his San Francisco High School. Counselors at the center do not send the students to tt T T'S NOT that they can't do the work, it's just "Truancy and violence go handinhand," said Rosa.the Youth Guidance Center, said Bob Figone, coordi- they're not doing it," said Faye Santos Vickroy, dia Escueta, warning that the truancy problem amongnator for the project, "they send themselves there." head counselor at Woodrow Wilson High Filipino students "is almost like an epidemic." The Project does have a Student Attendance Review School. Escueta has been a probation officer for 10 years and Board made up of community and district people. As a In her year at Wilson, Vickroy said she has teen works at the Youth Guidance Center, where studentslast resort, they can file a truancy petition for non- Filipinos who have failed courses and remain stuck in in trouble with the law and with the schools report toattendance. But befoie the petition is filed, all possible the lower grades quit school when they reach 18. "I probation officers like her or appear before a Juvenile means are taken to resolve the problem. have some who are nearing 18 and they're still in the Court judge. Mallare works at the John McLaren Counseling ninth grade." Truancy is a statutory offense, a fact that makesCenter on Sunnydale Avenue and sees the highest Balboa High School, too, maintains a "D, F and I Escueta say, "By the time they get to me, they've corn.number of Filipinos there because Balboa and Wood. (Incomplete)" list with some 70 to 75 Filipino names. mitted some kind of crime. By the time I get to them,row Wilson high schools are its "feeder schools." Bal. That isa small percentage of the total number, but Lay they've been truant a long time." boa and Wilson have the highest number of Filipino Cordoba, head counselor, said there may be as many The truancy problem has been going on a long time students in the district. as 40 of those Filipinos on the list who are failing four or but has become magnified because the largeness of the They come in third in the number of truancies more courses. Filipino population allows its students to "get lost withinreported to lief, Mallare said. Once parents are aware of their child's attendance each other. Kids group together and can hide each Mallare and Escueta gave similar reasons for Filipino problems and adjacent academic problems, they are other," Escueta said. truancy, citing primarily cultural differences between very concerned because of the high value of education "Most often, they 'cut' as a group, " as many as eightthe U.S. and the Philippines' way of life. that is inherent in their culture. Their convIrn and at a time, said Salud Mallare, a student adviser at one of "Most have a hard time adjusting," Mallare said. In alarm, however, are not matched by their children. the four San Francisco Unified School District's coun- the Philippines, students are accustomed to struc Escueta said she worked with one Filipino youth who seling centers. tured, disciplined school regimen unlike what they find had been transferred from Mission High School to Bal- Less than two years ago, the school district imple in American with a choice of subjects, electives and boa but continued to cut classes in order to visit his mented Project Stay-At-School designed to reduce freedom to adjust. friends at his former high school. He would instigate truancy and excessive absenteeism. The project is Family life changes, too, as both parents leave the fights there and be consistently caught. Escueta's sponsored by the district, the Mayor's Office, the Policehome to work. The concept of a broken home is new to check into his academic background showed that in Department, the Probation Department, the Juvenilemany Filipino youth who once lived in a country where three years of high school, the youth had earned only Court and the Department of Social Services. divorce is illegal. six credits. Students who are stopped by officers of the School `Nothing engages them in school," Escueta said. "He had been truant for a year," Escueta said, "but Patrol Unit of the police department are taken to a "We've got to get them interested in their environment. his parents were hardworking." At first, the parents counseling center if they cannot provide any valid rea- A lot of them don't have a feeling of belonging." found it hard to believe their son could be doing so son for being out of school The students are taken to Usually, it is not until the parents are notified by the badly in school. "Everything was a denial " Butonce they 66

, Week of May 19, 1983 PART F OUR Counseling... 36

Mallare admits to using her own personal time toWhen she does refer them, they usually return to her contact parents and sometimes has them meet with herwith complaints that they do not feel comfortable, in her own home to talk about their children. especially if they are sent to a center which is domi- "The problem is that there is no specific organizationnated by another ethnic group. Career and college to refer the kids," said Figone. Figone, who said his owncounseling is a priority for Mallare who sees students mother does not speak English, recognizes the need forwho are unaware of the opportunities which could lie counseling services and counselors that are of the sameahead for them. ethnic background as the family. "Basically, it's the same people experiencing truancy Mallare, Vickroy and Escueta cited the need forproblems," said Cordoba. "The counseling there (at some kind of comprehensive counseling service or cen-the centers) is not enough to solve the problems. The ter similar to that for other communities. Figone saidkids are sent back to school, placed in detention and the Spanish-speaking community, and even the Samoantheir parents are called. They're at it again, later. community, has counseling services available to its "We need a lot more intensive counseling arid families. follow-up." Home and school must work together in meeting the Statistics have not been released yet to reveal the problems, said Vickroy. Counseling for students whoextent of the truancy and academic problem Filipino cannot graduate but may be eligible for the GED equifamilies, but Escueta's decade of observance has noted valent is sorely needed. Vickroy said she has no placelarger and larger numbers of Filipino youth entering the to send her older students for that kind of counseling.doors at the Youth Guidance Center.

ESCU ETA The community realized the magnitude of the problem, the "parents SAN FRANCISCO With parents usually toothe West Bay Pilipino Multi-Services Corporation want you to remedy everything that has gone wrong. busy with their professions to help and schoolsinschool work experience program a 10-hour-a- Parents want someone in authority to come in with a culturally insensitive to understand, Filipinoweek job training program. 'People need to reassess magic wand," Escueta said. youth in San Francisco high schools have anotherwhat is happening and question why we don't have the School counselors, who must deal with hundreds of alternativethe community. same programs as other communities." students, cannot conduct the intensive, oneon-one But youth advocates and workers in the community West Bay is the only community organization that counseling that is needed to reach both students and agree that the support is not there or, at best, isadvocates for youth and youth issues on a full-time parents caught in these dilemn a. The counseling cen- limited. basis. The organization grew in 1977 from goals and ters, too, cannot provide the followup and consistent The community as a whole does not address theprinciples set forth by the Filipino Youth Coordinating care that is sometimes desperately needed by families. issue," said Jennifer Ereno, one of two coordinators ofCommittee, Inc., formed three yearsearlierto 68 69 37

combine services offered by the Filipino YouthEreno said, "we can't lecture them about it." Rod Santos of San Francisco State University is an Organization-Bayanihan, Filipino Organizing Group Ereno and Mabalatan said the outreach necessary to instructor and coordinator of the Learning Bridge and the Filipino Adult-Youth Catholic Organizationeducate community organizations and individuals Project. In its first year, the program enrolled 28 (FAYCO). Its supporters say that it is consistently thecannot be done by West Bay because the resources, Filipinos to work on a one-to-one basis with students most underfunded Asian youth agency in the city. both physical and monetary are extremely limited. at Balboa High School's re-entry program. The SFSU By contrast,the Chinatown Youth Center in "Everyone hasitsown agenda," said Ramon students also to work with "gifted students classrooms existence for 13 years offers programs in interventionCalabaquid of Asian American Community for at the school. and counseling for youth and has had "continuousEducation (AACE). Calabaquid said when he was part The university students are required to keep a community support." Last fiscal year, the center said itof FYCC, truancy was already a growing problem at detailed log chronicling theiractivities with the served more than 1,800 youths. Mission High School. Today, he said the problem is students, faculty and family. still there and has been compounded by the influx of The re-entry portion of the project came after West Bay, on the other hand, is able to serve 52Philippine immigrants. Balboa High School principal Shirley Thornton and youths in its in school program. Twenty-one of them' AACE is a "talent search" program to promote post head counselor Ray Cordoba requested Santos' help. are Filipino. secondary education to youth or keep them in high "There is a definite community base (to the program) The Japanese Community Youth Council has beenschool. It also offers workshops and counseling. But because the community called out for assistance," inexistenceformorethan10years.TheCalabaquid admits that the Filipino community, while Santos said. Spanish-speaking community hasseveralyouthavailing itself of programs available, must answer the The "sense of community" that the project tries to agencies and programs and other ethnic communities,question "What is the problem?" Otherwise, he said, instill in its students is intentional. Santos explained including the Samoan and Vietnamese, are beginningthe services will provide only "band-aid solutions." that the School of Ethnic Studies was organized by to offer those same kinds of youth programs. HE FRUSTRATIONthatveteranyouth ethnic people in the community and it is the role of the advocates feel is being felt by another group of school and himself as an instructor to impose that West Bay has been rejected for United Way funding Filipinos, younger and less experienced in philosophical base on the students. five times, said Dan Mabalatan of West Bay, becausecommunity work. The project also serves an academic purpose since it there is no community support of the program. fulfills a General Education requirement in Behavioral United Way funds are gathered from public and Social Sciences. private institutions and from community individuals. "It disturbs me to see people go through our school It hat. a program where contributors can earmark without that sensitivity," Santos said. His students donations for specific non-profit services. "will know more about the problems of our youth in this city of ours than they knew before." Besidesbeingunderfunded, West Bay is Before students began work in the course, Santos understaffed with each worker "wearing two to three said he told them "every horror story possible" to different hats" as service provider, grants writer and scare them out of the dass. Not one, he said, of the advocate. original enrollment dropped his course. "The problem is that there is a core group of people doing all the work getting the funding, putting At left, Learning Bridge programs together and contacting people. It should be student Valerie Ann Perez a mutual effort with the community," Mabalatan said. (left) of SFSU, tutors Jean Tacdol of Balboa High "The community needs to recognize the need," School 71 Counseling... 38

The SFSU students who talked freely of their Know-It-All.' Other times, I'm just winding my hair.mother denied everything," he said."Later, she experience with the re-entry Filipinos said for the most "But there's always someone in your life that youadmitted it and insisted on my help." part that they were unprepared despite Santos' can reflect on. We may not be that so much now, but Carol said she was able to convince her student, an warning of what they found. maybe later in their lives they'll remember us." 18-year-old who was still a sophomore, to stay in "I wasn't expecting students to be that bright and Rizal said he did not accomplish much grade-wiseschool. 'We give students a view of an alternative," intelligent and still have problems in school," said with his student, but made parents realize that theirshe said. "we touchsomeoneinside. Sometimes, that's Santos. His experience, he said, has been an "eye son had a sexual identity problem. "At first,hiswhat's missing in their lives." opener." Other students expressed similar sentiments saying they discovered "proof of our own thinking about the community" and frustration at the help available to the youth. MORE THAN onesaidtheparents' involvementwiththeirchildrenwas inadequate because they were "too busy" or "apathetic" and unbelieving about what is happening in the school environment. 'The parents are too busy," said Lozano, 'The students are not given guidance after school." The students have become, by choice, personally and emotionally involved with their students, tutoring them, counseling them and in some cases meeting and working with their families. They consider themselves the only source of help for some of the Filipino youth. "No one is out there to help these kids," said one student. "Many of them don't have anyone to talk to," said n^4 one student who described the Learning Project as similar to a Big Brother or Big Sister program. "My feelings fluctuate," said Wilma. "One minute I get a feeling of accomplishment, that I'm 'Miss

RODSANTOS,SanFran- structor, above, meets- cisco State University in- weekly with Learning Bridge students and provides one dayforan informal "rap session" for participants to compare 72 notes and air frustrations. 73. Statesman Journal Salem, Oregon

Southeast Asian Refugees in Schools

A Four-Part Series By John C. Furey Southeast Asian Refugees Sunday May 1, 1983 in Schools imm 41 Hope dwells walked with a limp since he was 2 years old. He About the Author lives with a brother and sister. He is not sure he will ever see his parents JOHN C. FUREY has been a staff re- in U.S. again. "It will cost a lot.of money" for them to leave their country, he said. porter for the Statesman-Journal news- Pat Flynn. a teacher at Seattle's Sharpies paper since 1974, after working for two Orientation Center. said he was pleasantly sur- years for a weekly newspaper in Oregon. prised by the way his new Southeast Asian refu- classrooms gee students have treated him. He said he had grown accustomed to poor student attitudes in A 1972 Oregon State University gradu- American schools. ate. Furey earned a bachelor's degree in Two teen-aged girls approached a world map "Don't tell anybody," Flynn said, "but I have Mathematics. He started his journalism in Waldo Middle School's Newcomer Center. the best job in the district?' Unable to speak each other's language, one Overcrowded schools. Uncertain futures. A career as a photographer, then worked pointed to her homeland in Vietnam. The other growing awareness of a seldom-understood peo- for several years as a sports reporter. He moved her finger across a sea of blue space and ple. switched to news reporting in 1978, and pointed to Central America. The classroom scenes suggest both a glimmer has since covered police, courts and They smiled at each other, as if to say, "Now I of hope and long struggles ahead for the refu- know something about you." gees. education news. But it would be some time before the two Their path has taken them through crowded Waldo students would share a common lan- boats at sea, steamy jungles, physical torture Furey's research focused on the edu- guage. and political repression. They were part of a class for Southeast Asian Now many refugees believe their fate is cation programs for Southeast Asian refugee students and others with little or no En- directly related to how well they do in schools. It refugees in the United States. He con- glish-speaking skills. is their way of surviving in a country which has centrated his studies on the west coast, Language bathers are at the heart of the con- increasingly turned its attention to economic where the majority of refugees have tinuing survival story of the 625.000 Southeast woes. Asian refugees who have come to the United "It takes time for us:' said Hung Nguyen, a settled since first coming here in 1975. States since 1975. Vietnamese counselor and instructor at Cheme- In his studies, he explored many new Their stories unfold daily inside the American keta Community College in Salem. "We don't ask programs being developed for refugees classroom: for more, just for enough to prepare ourselves." In a poorly lit hallway in San Diego's Euclid Nguyen adds, "The main thing we want is on a district-wide basis. Furey found Elementary School, some H'mong children from education." that programs are helping the refugees' the hills of northern Laos are taught in their The refugees' emphasis on education is based cause, but much still needs to be done native tongue. both on culture and economics. to help the newcomers overcome their Overcrowding, due largely to a recent influx of Culturally, education is viewed as a pride of Southeast Asian students, has forced Euclid edu- the family in Southeast Asian countries. cultural, economic and educational cators to hold several classes for the school's "If a student fails in school, he brings shame to problems. 1.025 students in the library, auditorium and hall- the whole family," according to Thanh Hai Vo- ways. mink a program director for the Southeast Asian Tam Bui, a 15-year-old freshman at Port- Refugee Federation in Portland. land's Madison High School. talks about becom- "The individual's first loyalty and obligation ing an engineer. are to his family, then to the nation and religion." An honor student, the Vietnamese boy has he said.

As 75 .- I .., Refugees.. . 42

But refugees also understand the relationship dents are concentrated in the cities of Los An- They did so out of necessity. They were start- of education to their economic livelihood. geles (23 percent), Long Beach (26.6 percent) ing with virtually no textbooks and with few Last year, the length of time refugees could and San Diego (19.7 percent). teachers who could speak the refugee students' receive federal financial assistance under the Ten years ago, there were no Vietnamese in language. Refugee Act of 1980 was reduced from 36 to 18 the San Francisco School District. Now Vietnam- Today, school districts like Seattle and San months. In Oregon, cash and medical benefits ese students make up 8 to 9 percent of the school Diego are developing their own curriculum ma- were eliminated for about 6,200 of the state's population. terials in Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian. 17,500 refugees. In Washington, the Asian population has more But lack of textbook materials still is a prob- Unemployment rates for refugees in Oregon than tripled in the last 12 years. The state's lem. continue to hover around 50 percent. And many 131,000 Asians have become its second largest ra- Some districts have begun training Southeast refugees still rely on low-pay and summer agri- cial group, after whites. Asians to teach in this country. Others are devel- cultural work. ln Oregon, the influx of refugees has increased oping new programs aimed at the general popu- Heads of refugee households are discouraged 472 percent during the last five years. lation of students training to be teachers. from going to American universities to improve Oregon currently has about 17,500 refugees At Western Oregon State College in Mon- their situations because they must devote time the ninth largest Southeast Asian population in mouth, a program was recently developed tb and energy to supporting a family. the United States. It also is the third state per provide cultural awareness to all students study-

Economics has forced many families to move capita for refugees from Southeast Asia. ing to be teachers. 6 to lower-priced housing or flee the state in search Enrollment figures for fall 1982 showed that of better welfare benefits. 503 of about 22,000 students in the Salem School ln Portland public schools last year, about half District were from Southeast Asia, and new refu- of the refugee students left the system, according gees continue to come into the community. to John Withers, head of the bilingual depart- These dramatic changes have forced educa- ment. tors to tackle the issue of teaching English as a However, another wave of refugees, most of second language. whom moved from other states, kept the refugee Also forcing the issue is a 1974 U.S. Supreme student population in Portland at the same level Court decision stating students who have little or tuxThe training is geared to preventing teachers this year. no English have a right to special language ser- from allowing "a kid to just sit by the window," Clearly, the refugees' Iong-range future rests vices. according to Beatriz Andrews, bilingual educa- with the success of elementary and secondary The case of Lau vs. Nichols involved about tion coordinator at WOSC. students. Their short-range future lies with lan- 3P00 Chinese-speaking students in San Francisco Andrews, who headed the Salem School Dis- guage and job-training programs geared for schools. In the decision, Justice William 0. Doug- trict's bilingual department last year, said the household heads and other adults. las wrote: state does not require students to pass a cultur- ln addressing younger refugees' needs, educa- "There is no equality of treatment merely by al awareness class before becoming certified. tors are struggling to keep up with the changing providing students with the same facilities, text- However, she believes the state should make face of their schools. The changes are particular- books, teachers and curriculum, for students who such a requirement. ly sharp on the West Coast. do not understand English are effectively fore- "It seems we're out of step," Andrews said. ln California, nearly one of every five school closed from any meaningful education." "Education, like the economy, should be going children speaks little or no English. And the trend Debate since then has centered on what meth- global. is growing. od to use in providing limited-English speaking The motivation behind new refugee programs One half of the children in San Francisco students with the best education. should go beyond providing equal educational op- schools come from homes where a dialect of Chi- But in the case of the refugees, educators of ten portunity, Andrews said. nese, Vietnamese or Spanish is spoken. have thrown their old programs out the window "Education's job is to be humane," she says. High percentages of non-English speaking stu- and started over. "We're not here to make a buck."

- 77 43 `A death that will Thaili4d 0 ? remain with me' E 0 EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanh Trang, now a seventh-grader at Salem's Leslie Middle School, fled Vietnam with his family in I979. He endured a Cambodia harrowing ordeal in a small boat on the South China Sea before reaching safety in Malaysia. Here is his story, in his own words: r- > Saigon

After 1975, the Communists had taken over Vietnam. Because they South China Sea were cruel, they took all our property and forced everyone to work with not enough food to eat. For that reason, many people decided to escape a %, from Vietnam on a small boat with many miserable days on the sea. On November 9,1979, my family decided to leave home on a 23foot long and 12footwide boat. There were 300 people, consisting of 125 Pulau Tioman men, 150 women and 75 children. At I p.m., everybody had been seated by = the captain. (Then) our small boat was spotted by the sea patrol (and) shot at ... Unfortunately, we escaped with six injured. s. .... At 6 p.m., we met a terrible storm. The seawater smashed into our boat -Ill" and we were wet, cold and hungry. The children were crying for food and drink and everybody began to throw up. On Nov. I2, the engine had stopped working and all the foods and sweet Mersing . water were gbne. We were hopeless, living on the edge of death. We were understanding how valuable freedom was. Day after day, night after night, the small boat drifted around the sea. We had given signals for help to ships from Poland, (the) USSR and Cuba, but they didn't stop. On Nov. 16, the small boat drifted to Indonesia. (The authorities) gave us many foods and sweet water. They also fixed our engine and gave us 100 gallons of gas. The captain of that island said they would welcome us to stay with them, but they had run out of space for refugees. Then they gave us directions to Malaysia. After four days, we were still lost on the sea. Luckily, we drifted to Indonesia Mersing on the fifth day morning before we devoured each other. We were brought to Palau Tioman camp, which is where I lived for a year. Then my whole family came to (the) U.SA. Now that I have been living in the U.SA., never again win i forget the lb suffering, discouragement and maddening nights at sea as long as I live. It was a death that will remain with me forever as we thank God for our rebirth and Chance to live as human beings in freedom in America. 80 .9?4 Sunday May 1, 1983 PART TWO Refugees... 44

rr Teachers, Sandy Banasik looked like she was playing a game of charades. In a way, she was. Only she was allowed to sPeak- Hands waving, fingers pointing, the 42-year-old Salem teacher used all available means to cross the wide language gaps of a class of Southeast. Asian refugee studentl. "Pick up the pencil," she said as she clasped the No. 2 lead. Slurring a few consonants, the students repeated the words in unison. Banasik continued, "Sharpen, the pencil," and she rolled her right hand like she was cranking a wheel. "Feel the point. Ouch. It's sharp," she said using more body language and articulation. AFTER CALLING out English phrases, she stopped to let her students repeat the words. When describing the word "light," she pointed to a fixture on the ceiling. Again, using hand mo- tions, she noted that the same word can be used to describe "light as a feather." The students in Waldo Middle School's New- comer Center spoke little English. And Banasik, a linguiit, spoke few words of their native lan- 'Pages. But learning was taking place. If is the kind of learning happening throughout the country in classes designed primarily for Southeast Asian refugee students. SIGNIFICANT changes have been made in education programs for refugees since they first came to the U.S. in 1975. StaiesinnwJeweal plate by Gerry Lewin In many cases, those changes were the result IMPORTANT COMMUNICATIONS Instruc- language, uses lots of body motion to communi- of the changing needs of the refugees now enter- tor Sandy Banasik works with students at Salem cate with her students. The students often stay in ing the school system. School District's Newcomer Center, a program the center. located at Waldo Middle School, for as Changes also have evolved as educators explore more creative ways to teach children a sec- long as six months. Above, she works with students designed for Southeast Asian refugee students who ond language. have just entered the school system. Dataslk, a (left to right) Piseth Kang, Thank Tran and Mai linguist who does not speak any Southeast Asian Dlep (standing). .81 45 pupils climb language barrier

The success of those programs are a trey to the In fitting with the times, Haverson and many A CHILD recalled his days of hunting for frogs difficult years just ahead for the refugees. others are using a "natural approach" to teach in the rain when he was in Vietnam. The story During the late 1970s, when refugees from English to refugees. brought laughter, jogging the memories of his Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos first began coming "There is a natural development of language if fellow students. to this country. refugee students generally were meaningful input occurs," said Haverson, who Haverson encouraged conversation about more educated. But most could not speak En- helped start the Southeast Asian refugee pro- their childhood experiences in Southeast Asia. glish. grams at Waldo. Later in the class, a child asked Haverson why TODAY, THE majority of refugees still come Tracy Terrell, a language authority from the the word "carefully" had an "ly" on the end of to the country without English skills. They often University of California at Irvine, is perhaps best it. have missed large portions of school in their na- known as the originator of the "Natural Ap- Haverson declined to explain, saying, "You tive lands as well. proach." will see that later on." Ma result, they are forced to play catch-up in HE SAID, "The majority of our students in Grammar will come later, she told a reporter school, more so than those who preceeded them one-and two-year language courses do not attain visiting the classroom. The key is to keep the in this country. even a minimal level of communicative compe students talking and communicating. The older refugee students, expected to gradu- tense." A NOISY classroom is the best classroom, ac- ate within a few months to a few years, have the Terrell's method is an alternative to the tradi- cording to Banasik, who taught African students most difficult task. tional grammar-based approach that, for exam- for eight years before coming to Salem last fall. They must pass the usual required courses, ple, teaches students to correctly use the two Harold Wingard, head of the second language such as social studies, science and math. But forms of the verb "be" in the past tense. department in the San Diego School District, also language is a major barrier, particularly when Terrell believes language instruction should likes" oisy classrooms. they are placed in a regular classroom setting be focusing on communication rather than However, left to their own ways, some teach- with English-speaking children. grammar. ers still prefer the traditional classes featuring WITH THIS sort of backdrop, educators con- Another popular method of language instruc- written tests, drill and practice. tinue to ask the same question: "How do we tion involves students learning a second lanl Wingard said he recently spent a day as a sub- teach these people a second language in time to guage subconsciously, according to Stepehn Kra- stitute teacher in a class of Southeast Asian stu- prepare them for a complex world in a strange shen, professor of linguistics at the University of dents. The regular teacher left him several work- land?" Southern California. sheets to assign to the students. The response varies from district to district KRASHEN COMPARES it to the way a child THE STUDZNTS sat there "filling in 'has' and school to school. learns language. The child picks up most of the and 'have' on blanks," Wingard said. "It was dif- It is like a giant science labratory, complete language through day-to-day activities and ficult to make the class oral. They were so with failed experiments and new discoveries. "meaningful input" rather than through a struc- quiet." Results likely will not be shown for years, al- tured langauge approach. "And the school thinks she's a topnotch though many educators believe they now are on "Research has discovered another way to teacher," he said. the right track. drill, drill, drill," said Waldo instructor Mary Lou San Diego schools are in the forefront of an- "Our awareness of the kids' needs has in- Obloy. She calls it "tricking the mind into think- other "experiment" in programs for Southeast creased," said Sue Haverson, who teaches En- ing they are learning something else." Asian students with limited-English speaking glish as a Second Language at Waldo. "I've The "tricking" process goes on in various skills. changed my teaching approach." classrooms. It involves keeping children active In San Diego, the number of Southeast Asian HAVERSON IS part of a growing wave of bi- and talking. refugee students has increased from 474 in 1975-* lingual teachers who are experimenting with During one of Haverson's recent classes, stu- 76 to 6,480 last year. new approaches to teaching a second language. dents were discussing rainy weather. The district has had a high percentage of His-

. 83 ...... e. 84 Monday May 2, 1983 PART THREE Refugees... 46

panic students for several years. It has gone teaching a second language. "I wasn't sure I through the usual political battles over issues re- liked it." Adjusting lated to bilingual education. Bush now says the "benefits are tremendous," 10 ADDRESS the special problems of refu- and the enthusiasm showed during a visit to her gees, the district adopted an experimental pro- classroom. Sometimes the hurt is blatant. gram called "sheltered English," which is used The students were visibly excited when they Like the time someone yelled, "Go back by a few others in the country. correctly identified a long list of orchestra in- home" to Chhay Kea, a Cambodian refugee now The program is an alternative to mainstream- struments. They learned only a few of those living in Salem. ing, which places limited-English speaking stu- words last year, she said. Or when a student walked up to a Salem dents in regular classrooms. "IN THE PAST, kids were thrown into EngliSh youngster and chanted, "Ching, chang, chow." In most school districts, refugee students are language courses with no success," Wingard Fortunately, the ugly racial incidents are the segregated for classes like English and social said. . result of only a few people, says Kea, "so I don't studies, but placed with English-speaking stu- Salem's McKay High School instructors also care." dents in classes like math and physical educa- have sought to solve the problem of refugee stu- A more pressing concern to refugees is the dents getting lost in the crowd. subtle but wide cultural gap that still exists be- "Everybody was shaking their heads, saying tween Americans and Asians eight years after there's got to be something else we can try," said the first refugees set foot in this country. McKay instructor Linda Hoover. Besides overcoming language and economic McKay developed a transition course for those barriers in this country, the Southeast refugees students getting ready to enter a regular class- cry to be understood. room. In schools, the lack of cultural understanding tiOn, which rely less on language and concepts. The classes are similar to what they would get affects the way they are treated by fellow stu- CONTROVERSY over bilingual education, in a mainstream setting. But like- the-sheltered dents and teachers. and the limited number of language teachers, has English courses, the McKay courses are toned A 15-year-old high school student in Seattle re- encouraged schools to move these students into down to a slower pace for limited-English speak- cently was asked about a fellow student from regular classrooms as soon as possible. ing students. They are taught in English, often by Cambodia. But many educators have discovered refugee teachers with no previous experience in bilingual "At first, I thought he was dumb because he students are getting "lost in the crowd" of En- education. couldn't do worksheets," the Ballard High School glish-speaking classes if they have not mastered "AT FIRST, I had a real concern," Hoover stud-va said, "but I realize it was just because he their new language. said. "It was isolation of students." couldn't speak English." For example, Barbara Bush taught music last But the success of the refugees has changed The cultural gaps in American schools are dif- year to classes of Laotians and English-speaking her mind. The success also has stirred a new ficult to measure, But a glance at some American students at Pershing Junior High in San Diego. wave of enthusiasm among teachers. social studies textbooks says a lot. The Laotian students generally got so far be- "Teachers were standing in line when word The books often ignore such nations as Viet- hind other students after a couple of weeks that got out about what it is like working with these nam, Cambodia and Laos. Instead, they focus on they learned little during the school semester, students," Hoover said. Japan, China and Korean in their Asian sec- she said. Doll' Asaro, who runs a reading program at tions. THIS YEAR, the Laotians were placed togeth- San Diego's Montgomery Junior. High School, The gap also is measured by the general lack er as part of a new sheltered English approach. echoes that enthusiasm. of knowledge Americans have about their new And although the dais covers only half of the "They take it much more seriously," Asaro neighbors from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. regular curriculum, the Laotians have excelled said of her Southeast Asian students. "They're Helen Koopman, a Jefferson High School at the slower pace, Bush said. just like hungry little birds." teacher, said she thought at the beginning of the "1 was overwhelmed with the slowness at She added, "it's something our students seem school year that all of her Southeast Asian stu- first," said Bush, who has had no training in to have lost, and that's kind of sad." dents spoke the same language. 85 47 ;

is painfu can't think of providing English," said Beatriz Andrews, bilingual coordinator at Western Ore- Others, she said, thought the new wave of refu- Asian classmates. gon State College in Monmouth. "Family expec- gee students coming to the Portland school were Montgomery, an instructor, said the idea was tations are different. Children feel rejected in the all from Vietnam. to set up a situation in freshman social studies new culture, but if they accept the new ways, Koopman has learned a lot since then. classes, where every student would have contact they can't communicate with their parents." As head of an experimental science class, de- with a refugee student. And just as the students need educating about signed for limited-English speaking students, she During a three-day period early in the school the newcomers, so do instructors. has learned much about the people themselves, year, each freshman student is required to inter- Vominh, of the refugee federation, explains the as well as some creative ways to teach science to view a refugee student, then write an essay about type of problem an uninformed teacher may students with a limited vocabulary of English. the experience. face. "If they can see it, do it, they'll remember it," "It has reduced fights," Montgomery said. "A Southeast Asian smile is a puzzle to many said Koopman, who relies heavily on experi-.. .."We used to have some major ones." Americans," Vominh said. "Where the smile ments, diagrams and photographs. She said, "A lot of them have a lot of hostilities seems to be inappropriate, it could be an expres- Throughout the country, educators and stu- and they need this forum to get their questions sion of friendliness, shyness, disappointment, dents continue to be caught off guard when they answered." anger or worry." first encounter the Southeast Asian culture. A more ambitious program to increase aware- She cited an example of a teacher who was A suburban Portland physical education teach- ness of refugees was started this year in Seattle upset because his Indochinese student never er recently asked Thanh Hai Vominh to help him Public Schools. answered when asked whether or not she under- translate about 35 Southeast Asian names into Bilingual teachers Emilio Castillo and Gre- stood a lesson. English. gory Chan are heading a one-year, federally The student just sat there and smiled, Vominh Vominh, program director for the Southeast funded pilot project involving 10 sessions a quar- said. She couldn't say she understood, because Asian Refugee Federation in Portland, termed ter on Southeast Asian cultures. The .,lasses, held she didn't. She couldn't say she didn't under- the request an insult to the Southeast Asian zt-m- at Ballard High School, are geared to fit in lo the stand, because it would imply the teacher was munity. regular social studies curriculum. not very good. "These people have left everything behind," "Our purpose is not to change attitudes," saki "In this case, the safest thing is not to say any- said Vominh, who came to the United States from Chan, "but they have to be sensitive to their situ- thing and use the smile to cover embarrass-

Vietnam 14 years ago. "Their names are the only ation." ment," Vominh said. . thing they have left." "If the Seattle desegregation plan is to suc- An instructor also needs to know about various Most school officials admit they knew little ceed, it should involve more than just busing," he ways Southeast Asians are taught to be polite, about the Southeast Asians before they arrived in said. Vominh said. this country. And most officials have addressed Castillo said that in past social studies courses, "The polite response of not looking in the eye the problem in a limited way. "there was no such thing as the Southeast Asian while talking could be misinterpreted as a re- Often educators deal with it piecemeal, spon- perspective." sponse of an insecure, dishonest or even emotion- soring activities such as in-service training for Based on questionnaires given before and ally disturbed person," she said. "In Southeast teachers and presentations of Southeast Asian after the first semester of the pilot program, it Asia, looking in people's eyes could mean disre-

dances and foods. appears many students felt more positive about spect or challenge." - Some schools, however, have taken extra the refugees, Castillo said. Cultural awareness programs for teachers is measures to create understanding between the The program is not meant to take the place of important, Vominh said, but the attitiude of newcomers and American students. existing courses of study, he said, but rather, to teachers is even more crucial. At Portland's Madison High School, Kriss "enrich that which has been so cursorily treat- "If you don't feel accepted, it won't work," she Montgomery developed a program to help fresh- NI... said. "It comes first from your heart, then every- man students understand their new Southeast "The cultural gap is so broad that you just thing will follow."

8#8 Monday May 2. 1983 Refugees ... 48 Programs varywidel

They are Cambodian and share Um same career goal: Both Sochitra Heng and Bouarom Phan would like to teach in American schools. But Heng, of San Diego, clearly is closer to achieving tier a itn. Phan, who lives in Salem, sees little chance of getting his teaching credential. The disparity in their futures helps describe the state of refugees in this country. Opportunities are emerging, but the pace is slow and likely to continue that way for some time The two already passed the test overseas. Passing the test here hinges on their survival skills in our culture. It also hinges on options open to them in various American schools. Heng, a 23-year-old refugee, is involved in an extensive three-year teacher-intern program offered by the San Diego School District. Now in its second year, the ambitious program has 23 participating interns. The district pays refugees to work in a supervised classroom similar to that provided to a student teacher. It also pays them to attend college classes after school and on weekends. "It's a great opportunity for me to work with students in my own language," Heng said during a class break at Euclid Elementary School. Phan, 7$, an aide and interpreter at Washing- ton Elementary School, does not have the same opportunity in Salem. Given the chance, Phan said he probably would attempt to get his teachiftg credential. But taking a few years off to return to college at his own expense poses hardships. Sterward4serod pboto ly Dem Koepner A former teacher in Cambodia, he now has a family to support and bills to pay. And his wife Cambodian Sokehea Chin explores new lands in Washington Elementary class has tuberculosis. gees long before the Southeast Asians came to "Some months I have to pay for the hospital," this country. But their unfamiliarity with people Phan said. "Some months my money is not from Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia has thrown enough." new hitches into the works. A lack of Southeast Asian teachers in this Innovation has become an important factor in country's schools remains a major concern of the many schools, including those in Salem. refugees. Susan Haverson, who teaches at Waldo Middle Bringing them into the school system is one School in Salem, said federal funds and the dis- way of improving their situation here, refugeestrict administration have "allowed us to be ex- and American educators generally agree. It posed to state-of-the-art speakers." would bridge some of the language and cultural She said she taught English to Spanish-speak- gaps that exist for all students, they say. ing students for 12 years in California schools. Heng spends an hour a day in an English- "But l have been stimulated more here, be- speaking class. She spends much of her time an- cause we've been exposed to exciting new ideas," swering questions from American students about she said. her homeland. Salem takes pride in its 3-year-old Newcomer The addition of Southeast Asiaeleachers Center, a refugee program other school districts would be a positive step in the long journey for have emulated. refugees, all agree. The center, at Waldo Middle School, is starting But what is the most efficient means of getting point for all refugees entering the district. Stu- Southeast Asians into the school system? And dents often stay there for more than a year, until given the limited resources of smaller districts they are ready for the regular classroom. like Salem, is it practical to launch a program Salem also is at the forefront in methods of here? teaching English as a second language. And it The questions go on and on. has developed some special programs to fit its How do districts best address the lack of cul- particular needs. tural awareness among students and educators? Looking ahead, the district is seeking federal What language programs are best-suited for funds to start a special computer-assisted refugee students? gual program. How do districts best prepare refugee students Looking at the variety of districts on the West for the real world, fraught with a shortage of Coast, it is difficult to compare the quality of jobs? their refugee education programs. The questions are easy. The answers are not. The districts vary considerably in size, as well The key seems to lie in communication with as in their ethnic makeup and gedgraphical loca- one another from district to district, from lion. school to school, from educator to educator. Their problems also differ. It sounds simplistic, but during recent visits to In Seattle, teacher layoffs shook up the pro- several West Coast school districts, a reporter grams for limited-English students because the was told repeatedly by teed-, . id administra- instructors with less experience were first to lose tors that they were una ..movative and their jobs. They were replaced by teachers with successful programs eiseve.i...e. Several said more overall experience but little or no experi- they would like the opportunity to explore what ence in teaching a second language. others are doing. In San Diego, the word "bilingual" is so politi- Educators dealt with bilingual issues and refu- cal Hal Wingard eliminated it when he took over 91 50

his department. He now heads the "Second Lan- devotes most of her shift to job counseling and guage" program in San Diego. referral of refugee students to job-training pro- "What you have is tremendous demagoguery, grams. tremendous advocacy, people crying to eliminate "I'm seeing more and more students coming bilingual programs," Wingard said. off public assistance," Chew said. "We're still in a guess-and-by-golly stage," Seattle also is trying to address another. big said Kriss Montgomery, discussing placement refugee concern, the lack of school counselors. criteria for refugee students at Portland's Madi- Janet Lit, project director of federally hauled son High School. Title 7 programs in the Seattle schools, said she In Salem, schools have had to develop refugee has proposed to add six refugee counselors and programs using English-speaking teachers. social workers. To help each refugee students into mainstream The proposal would help provide equitable classroom settings. Salem's McKay High School treatment for refugee students, decrease disci- relies on regular classroom teachers like Ann plinary cases and increase the cultural aware- Terry, the daughter of Russian immigrants who ness of other counselors, Lu believes. also had to learn English as a second language. In the final analysis, the Southeast Asians Terry, an English teacher, works with the lim- want to be treated like their fellow students. ited-English-speaking children one period a day. They want counseling, job training and a Statoommloormi photo by Roe Coops "Oh, do I know the pitfalls," she said. Chance to attend college. They want to learn En- McKay also used logic and creativity in hiring glish. They want to be accepted. McKay teacher Larry Nelsen in new class dean elementary school teacher, Louise Ballan- The pleas are heard by students of all cul- dgned for refugee students tyne, to teach secondary students. tures. Her students are Southeast Asian refugees, but To address the refugees' needs is to address their skills levels are still at the elementary level the concerns of all people. when they first come to McKay. Students and teachers in this country could Salem also has the advantage of Chemeketa benefit by the increased understanding cf people Community College in its neighborhood. from distant lands. Joyce Wilson, who has been involved in lan- The job-training programs developed to help guage instruction since the 1950s, came to Che- refugees likely will benefit the entire communi- meketa as a volunteer in 1975. ty. She now heads a successful program, which The attention now being given to teaching a has used 10 separate federal and state grants, as second language also will be important. well as local funds, to help provide language and Meanwhile, educators continue to search for vocational training for refugees. new ways to address the refugees' special needs. Chemeketa has been at the forefront of devel- And they may need only to look next door. oping language material for refugees, Wilson said. Other school districts have also developed programs worth emulating. The Seattle School District is engaged in a new Refugees program to help find jobs and vocational programs for "over-aged" refugee students nearing graduation from high school. Sharon Chew, a Half-time district employee, in school 93 Main Stream Newsletter Plymouth, Michigan Indian Children in Detroit

By Rick Smith June 1983 Indian Children in Detroita; 53

Strangers to the City? About the Author RICK SMITH has beeninvolved with Indian education throughoutthe Detroit Native Americans have long been a hidden area since segment of America's cities. 1978. Currently employed by Lured to the city in search of economic the Plymouth-Canton Community opportunity. Native Americans residing in Schools, Plymouth. Michigan. as Project urban areas have experienced a tremendous Director of the Plymouth-Canton Indian growth in population over the last decade Education Center, Smith authors "The leading to a new breed of American Indian: Mainstream," a quarterly newsletter The Urban Indian. published by the Center. Trying to hold on to a cultural identity diametrically opposed to mainstream Smith holds a BS degree in Anthropology American values. Indians walk a delicate from Western Michigan University, and tightrope between two worlds in order to is currently completing a master's degree survive in urban America. atthe University "We don't commit cultural genocide", says of Michigan School of "Russell Wright, Director of Detroit Urban Education. Indian Affairs. "We must walk in two worlds". says Wright. Smith is also a freelance photographer/ "The Detroit area has long been a mecca for reporter for The Community Crier. a Indianpeople",says Edmund Danziger, weekly newspaper located in Plymouth. Professor of American Indian History at Michigan, and the Observer/Eccentric Bowling Green University. Newspapers, a bi-weekly chain of sub- "I've made it in the white world, that's how I urban newspapers in the Detroit metro- am viewed here on the Island. They thought it politan areas. -.....,,, was better out there, in the white world, and I thought it was better here", says Dean Jacobs. Author's Note: This story is not com- k.. Director of the Research Center on the Walpole Island Indian Reservation, who gave plete without a word of gratitude and Georgie Bearskin,a new up the promise of a successful career in the thanks to the Detroit and Walpole Island generation of Urban Indian. city to work for his people. Indiancommunities. Never had I met a Photo Rick Smith TheDetroitAmericanIndianCulture more friendly and sharing people. School, located in the Cass Corridor, known for its large inner city Indian population, is attempting to bridge the gap between the reservation and the strangeness of the city. 95 - .. 96 Indian Children ...

Every Saturday when most kids are glued to theT.V.screen watchingtheirfavorite cartoons, four year old Georgie Bearskin wakes up, gets dressed and rushes off to school. Once atschool,Georgie joinsfriend Samantha Aikens and 200 other Native American classmates to learn of their common heritage. A new migrant to Detroit from the Walpole Island indian Reservation, located across the St. Clair River in the swamplands of southern Ontario,four year old Samantha Aikens attends the culture school each Saturday to learn of her Native American heritage, first hand, from other Indian people. "It's the only chance for my kids to see other Indian kids", claims Pueblo Indian Jessica Bearskin, instructor at the school. "Indian students are isolated in the schools, and this is the only opportunity for them to Four year old Samantha Aikens, come together with other Indian people", says Judy Mays, Director of the school, and also a freshoffthe WalpoleIsland Native American resident of Detroit. Reservation,maintainscontact Mays estimates that 25% of the children with Indian people at the Detroit enrolled in the school are reservation people American Indian Culture School. who, "a lot of times have adjustment problems Photo Rick Smith coming from the reservation to the city, so we serve as a support group for the kids and for their parents." Working to improve the student's self image the school's curriculum includes instruction in suchsubjectsas , AmericanIndian History/Culture, Pow-Wow Dancing, American Indian Art,as well as in such traditional subjects as reading and math. "A- central portion of our program is cultural 97 awareness which improves the student's self "We have broken down the negative barrier image", says Mays. of tribalism", says Wright. The school works. The Detroit "Honor Our Children Pow- Indian students enrolled in the school do Wow" held each June 4th. in celebration of betterintheir regular school courses. Pontiac's Rebellion against the British (1763) is According to the Office of Federal/State and but one example of Indians from many Special Programs for the Detroit Public different tribal backgrounds coming together Schools, Indian students participating in the for a common purpose. culture school show an additional increase of Held at Fort Wayne, the annual Pow-Wow is 7.5 months per year on standardized reading sponsored by the Detroit American Indian and math examinations. .. Culture School. Part of each Saturday is spent For Judy Mays and the six other Native preparing for the event, with each student American instructors who teach-at the school, learning old traditional dances, as well as new it's not the individual attention and instruction "inner tribal" dances, dances which have that makes Indian children stay in school developed within the last two decades, and are longer,buta senseofbelongingtoa specific to no one tribe. community that keeps them in school. The Indian population in Detroit is growing "It's hard to have a sense of community in faster than any other population in the city. the city, and programs like ours tend to foster a According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the sense of community among Indian people Native American population in Detroit has living in the city", says Mays. increased by 240% over the last decade, from "Urban Indians speak with no reservations", 1970 to 1980. The population in 1970 stood at says Russell Wright. Wright has headed up the 5,203 and in 1980 the Indian population in Urban Indian Affairs Office in Detroit for the Detroit had topped 12,487, nearly a third of the past four decades. He has represented Native total Indian population in Michigan. peopleinthecitylegally,socially, "There's a magnetic attraction back and economically, and culturally. forth between the reservation and Detroit", Over the years Wright has witnessed the says Edmund Danziger. growth of a new generation of Indian.City Moving in "loops'l as the Detroit Indians call bred Indians, according to Wright, are more them, today's urban Indians do not totally give tolerant of tribal differences, which has lead to up reservation life for city life Jut, according to thedevelopmentof a "Pan-lndianism" Danziger, many follow a path back and forth movement currently spreading throughout the between the city and reservation, creating a major cities of this nation. very transient, mobile population. "Pan-Indianism" movesbeyonotribal "Every summer my mother would come back differences drawing on themes that all Indian to the Island with us kids for thesummer", says people have in common. Dean Jacobs. y

Jacobs, unlike many of his Indian counter parts born on the Island, was raised in Grosse Pointe, one of the more affluent areas of the Detroit metropolitan area. Upon graduating from Grosse Pointe High School, Jacobs attended Eastern Michigan University, but for some reason even Jacobs is not sure of, he returned to the Island. In 1974 he was elected to the tribal council, and today he has found inner peace with what he is and what his:life is all about. "By working for the tribe it gives me a sense of being more worthwhile, I want to see if I could do something in a small way for the tribe", said Jacobs.

AN. Jacobs recalls that while his "loop" was shorter and lead him back to the reserve early in life, his fellow tribesmen viewed his move 01 back with a suspicious eye.His friends In Grosse Pointe thought his move back was, "flashy, vogue, the thing to do, but when they come to visit, they see a different world, and they see I am at peace with myself."

. Two Generations of Urban Indians, struggling to pass on traditions and values while immersed in mainstream America. Photo Rick Smith. 99 The Dakota Sun Fort Yates, North Dakota Tribally Controlled Community Colleges

An Article ItitiAlbert E. Bruno Tribally Controlled Thursday. May 26. 1983 Community Colleges PART ONE 59

Passage of tribally-controlled community About the Author ALBERT E. BRUNO, 26. has been the college bill is critical managing editor of The Dakota Sun. a weekly newspaper located at Fort Yates. North Dakota. on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. for the past three Some background... policy, curriculum develop- TCCCs, 17 are active mem- ment, personnel decisions, bers of the American Indian and one-half years. Tribally-controlled com- etc. Higher Education Consortium munity colleges (TCCCs) on 18 TCCCs were created in the (AIHEC). His reporting specialties are Indian juris- reservations are presently late 60's and early 70's,in AIHEC is committed to the dictional issues such as Indian treaty facing their toughest testin part, as a response to the high betterment of higher educa- and water rights as well as issues their search for fiscal stability. dropout rate of Indian stu- tion for American Indians and involving state and federal funding. Public Law 95-471 or the dents attendingoff-reserva- AlaskanNatives. AIHEC Tribally-Controlled Communi- tion higher educational institu- views all 18 TCCCs as similar In July of 1981, Bruno was recognized as ty College Assistance Act of tions. In fact, a recent survey in the respect that they are all: an Outstanding Young Man of America 1978 has failed twice in the at the Universityof North 1) tribally chartered and under for his dedicated community service political arena of Washington, Dakota convincingly indicates the authority of a tribal and outstanding professional achieve- D.C., in 1983. that Indian students attending government, 2) governing ments. He is both a member of Sigma The recent setbacks in TCCCs before attending an boards are made up of Indian Delta Chi (Society of Professional Jour- getting reauthorized worries off-reservation institution per- people, 3) the majority of the form much better overall than students who attend are In- nalists) and the North Dakota Newspaper Indian educators because con- Association. tinuance of funding isof students who do not attend a dian, 4) they are located on TCCC before enrolling at an Indian reservations,5) they critical importance to tribes Bruno is a 1979 journalism graduate of and reservation people for the off-reservation college. reinforce tribal cultures and everyday operations and im- The Navajo Community still offer a traditional curricu- Canisius College in Buffalo. New York. provement of TCCCs. College was the first Indian lum giving students skills He was recently awarded a teaching The first passing of the bill organized and controlled in- necessary for a future in what- assistantship from the University of on October 17, 1978, was a stitution of higher education ever field they choose while Illinois at Urbana, Illinois, to pursue a landmark breakthrough for In- on an Indian reservation and retaining their cultural heri- Master of Arts Degree in Journalism. dian education because it gave was founded in 1968. tage, and 6) they offer com- stability to the growing com- At present, there are a munity services. munity college movement on a total of 18 TCCCs in Montana, number of western reserva- North Dakota, South Dakota, Two bills fail... tions in such areas as im- Arizona, Washington, Nebras- plementation of educational ka, and California. Of those 18 The most recent defeat of 1-02 Community Colleges...

the TCCC bill occurred on Ma; sector. "such sums as may be ne- 5, 1983, in which the House Rep. Paul Simon (D-ILL), cessary" for construction and voted not to suspend its proce- sponsor of the bill, insisted the renovation of buildings at the dures rules and forced the bill would not mandate new schools. Tribes would be re- sponsors of the reauthoriza- construction but simply permit quired to match 25 percent of tion effort of the TCCC Act to itif the General Services federal lands provided for con- takeitthrough the normal Administration recommended struction and 100 percent of House process of amendments it and the Appropriations the funds targeted for endow- and majority vote. Committee approved it. ments. Reagan administration The bill received a 255-148 Senator Mark Andrews allies mounted a campaign in majority but needed two- (R-ND) is presently preparing the House which led to the thirds majority - or 269 - votes an identical bill that is expect- for passage. The passage of defeat of the bill. ed to be reviewed by the the bill was 14 votes short of Rep. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) Senate in the next couple of and other lawmakers said the the mark. weeks. The bill,ifit would have colleges are a good way to AIHEC president Wayne passed, would have authorized alleviate continued high unem- Stein Is confident that the bill $33.2 million a year through ployment on the reservations. will be reauthorized. He said 1987 to 18 TCCCs for opera- "I just think you have tothe present bill is authorized tional costs and technical make investments in people," until September 30, 1984. assistance. said Dorgan. Stein focused in on what he "Paying welfare will not On May 3, ranking minori- perceives to be the problem solve their future problems, ty member john N. Erlenbom with the bill's passage, "The but investing in education will (R-ILL) told the House that the bill is in trouble with the Office prepare them for tomorrow," administration opposed new of Management and Budget," programs created by the bill. said Dorgan. said Stein. Erlenborn said the Office Simcn said he expects "It's a people's bill, not a and Management and Budget thebilltopass inthe defense bill," said Stein. feared the provision of con- coming weeks when itis The other defeat of the bill struction authorization which brought back to the House occurred earlier this year on could resultin"a fairly signifi- floor under regular procedures January 4, 1983, in which the cant expenditure offederal that require a simple majority billcleared both the House funds." vote for passage. and Senate and headed to the He also felt that endow- The bill, in effect, would President at the end of a Con- ments should remain the re- authorize $5 million a year to gressional session who simply sponsibility of the private help build endowments and decided to "pocket veto" the 103 create legal obligations and entitlements that are not clear- lyintended or understood. Such a delcaration is wholly unnecessary to the continua- tion of a successful program of federal assistance to tribally- controlled community colleges...," said Reagan. The President also objected to a section of the bill that allowed federal grants to be used for expansion of physical facilities. "...When the program of assistance to tribally-controlled community colleges was Pictured above is Standing Rock Community College [SRCCI in originally conceived, the Con- Fort Yates, North Dakota. SRCC is one of the 113 tribally-controlled community colleges in the United States. gress contemplated the use of existing community facilities. SRCC is also an active member of the American Indian Nigher To begin a major new building Education Consortium fAIHECI. program when there are so many other competing tribal needs would be duplicative, unwarranted, and ill-advised bill until the next congression tional opportunities for Ameri- under current economic condi- al session, an apparent mid- can Indians but objected to tions. Funds provided through stream decision by the ad- certain trust language in the the Bureau of Indian Affairs ministration. He also had the text of the billthat would for the tribally-controlled com- options of either signing into legally bind the government. munity college assistance pro- law or outright vetoing it. "...College-level Indian gram are for program support In his memorandum of dis- education has never been only, and should remain approvalofthebilldated characterized in law or treaty so...," said Reagan. January 4,1983, the Presi- as a trust responsibility of the Reagan also disagreed with dent was explicit in his com- federal government, and to do a provision in thebillthat mitment to providing educa- so now would potentially would give Congress the Community Colleges .

authority to veto regulations "It's like every. other bill, it colleges," Andrade said. established by the Department comes second to jobs and de- Don McCabe, chief of the of the Interior to administer fense bills," said Stein. division for postsecondary the program. "If it fails to pass," said education for the Bureau of "...Such a provision un- Stein, "tribally-controlled Indian Affairs (BIA) in Wash- constitutionally encroaches on community colleges would ington,D.C., said he fully the principle of separation of continue to offer higher educa- endorses the TCCC bill. Prior powers that is the foundation tion but the diversity of the to his appointment in Wash- of our government...," said educational curriculums would ington,D.C., McCabe was Reagan. oe more limited." president of the Navajo Com- In his closing remarks in Stein said for the TCCCs munity College. the memo, Reagan assured with the largest budgets, the "Hell, we're shipping out TCCC authorities that present TCCC bill may be about 40 billions of dollars to all these funding is not scheduled to percent of their total budget other countries, why not give expireuntil September 30, whereas it may as much as 70 some of that money to the 1984. He also added that the percent for the small colleges Indians," said McCabe. administration would not in- and about 50 to 60 percent for "They (the federal govern- terfere with the present pro- midsized TCCCs. ment) must take care of their gram activities as a result of He said other funding own first," said McCabe. his note of disapproval. sources for TCCCs include title McCabe said he supports "...It is my hope that programs, vocational educa- the TCCC bill because of the Congress will reconsider legis- tion programs, foundation tremendous help it gives stu- lation extending the act early monies, private endowments, dents making the transition in the next session and enact a grants, etc. from high school on a reserva- bill which both advances the Former National 0.3ress tion to a four-year college off- program's objectives and of American Indians (NCAI) the-reservation. meets the administration's ob- Executive Director Ronald An- "I've seen it work successfully jectives...," said Reagan. drade said NCAI fully supports firsthand,- said the TCCC bill. McCabe. In tact, Andrade said, The MA head criticized What some Indian "NCAI was one of the ori- tribes for lacking to give "real headers are saying... ginal supporters of the TCCC support" to TCCCs. bill of 1978." "The support of the tribes AIHEC president Wayne "The federal government isminimalfortribally-con- Stein said if the TCCC bill fails should view and treat tribally- trolled community colleges, to get enacted, it could pose controlled community colleges it's a token support," said serious problems for TCCCs. the same way as they do Black McCabe. 105 Section Two Desegregation in the Eighties Ay, The Virginian-Pilot Norfolk, Virginia Putting the Brakeson Busing

A Five-Part Series By Amy Goldstein 107 Putting the Brakes Sunday. July PI 1983 on Busing PART ONE 67

Studycastsdoubton About the Author AMY GOLDSTEIN received an AB in American Civilization, magna cum laude, from Brown University. Since Norfolk's school plan June 1979. she has worked in Norfolk. Virginia at the Ledger-Star. which Norfolk lacks qualities that have persuad-lawyers and government authorities on merged last fall with the Virginian-Pilot. ed federal judges to let school systems haltschool desegregation recommended those cross-town busing, according to a study ofcommunities as likely to shed light on Nor- three cities that have pursued neighborhoodfolk's prospects for succeeding in its cam- schools. paign to end cross-town busing. Goldstein's work over the last few years In joining a new wave of resistance to The study says Norfolk's effort may be has won several awards, including the busing for desegregation, the city has em-hindered by these characteristics: barked on a high-risk venture, the study, The schools have a lower percentage of Virginia Press Association's 1982 public conducted by The Virginian-Pilot and Theblack students than systems that have suc- service award for the newspaper's cover- Ledger-Star, suggests. ceeded in reverting to a neighborhood plan. age of the Norfolk busing controversy. But the courts have been so erratic and the The proposal to end cross-town busing number of parallel cases so small that no Onewould lead to a higher level of segregation She has been named the Virginia Young and would create several schools with white Journalist of the year by the state's UPI majorities. advisory board and the Ledger-Star MR as The School Board is divided over busing. writer-of-the-year. Tni7i i PMa. The city's leadership includes relatively I few blacks. OMMOM1=1 Norfolk's neighborhood school proposal is Goldstein's series stems from the school MOI=11 comprehensive and well-documented, the system's efforts to create neighborhood study shows. But the School Board, by drafting the plan without extensively consulting elementary schools to replace its 11-year parents and other interested citizens, may program of cross-town busing for deseg- have hampered its chances of success. ration. She examined three school sys- Putting the brakes on-- The research also indicates that school systems trying to stop busing for desegrega- tems around the country that have tion are flirting with unwanted side effects, made similar attemptsLittle Rock, regardless- of whether their campaigns suc- BUSING ceed, Race relations and community support Arkansas; Richmond, Virginia: and for public schools may erode during the bus- Denver, Colorado. The resulting stories can predict with certainty which districtsing debate, and courts may impose new re- explore the factors that determine will succeed. quirements regarding treatment of The six-week study, undertaken with aminorities. whether a school system succeeds in grant from the Institute for Educational Even districts that return to neighborhood eliminating busing and the effects of a Leadership Inc.. a research foundation, fo-schools, the study shows, do not always de- cused on Denver, Colo; Little Rock, Ark.;rive every benefit the Norfolk School Board return to neighborhood schools. and Richmond. expects. The enrollment of white students A dozen of the nation's leading scholars,may continue to decline; for example, and 10: 109'- Brakes on Busing... 68

parental involvementineducation have different histories of desegrega- does unt always increase. And al- tion. Their populations differ. And though some black schools are likely 'There are going to they are at different stages in their to succeed academically, those in be some parts of the efforts to undo years of court-ordered poor neighborhoods probably will be busing. ripe for problems. community that by Yet each, like Norfolk, has been The examination of the three com- history, economy, social shaken over the last few decades by munities indicates that Norfolk's at- factors will be more the flight of white and middle-cla.ss tempt to abandon cross-town busing families to the suburbs. is clouded by uncertainty. supportive of the In the wake of such population But the survey is notdefinitive. Its schools than others. shifts, urban districts are seeking conclusions come from studying just new ways to foster desegregation in a quarter of the dozen urban school Simply by saying, We'll their schoc-is. Some educators, for in- systems that in recent years have create neighborhood stznce, are collaborating with hous- sought to abandon desegregation pro- ing officials to promote integrated grams they did not want. schools' does not mean neighborhoods. Others are looking to- Indeed, educators and desegrega- parents will come ward mergers with surrounding sub- tion authorities agree that the fate of automatically. It urbs, which often contain reservoirs any attempt to reduce cross-town of white students. busing may stand or fall on the views is not true." Moreover, the campaign to halt cross-town busing has been spurred of one judge. Ed Kelly, superintendent "Every time you go back into by a swift and unprecedented rever- court, it becomes a crap shoot," said Little Rock, Ark., schools sal of federal policy. Some desegre- Mark A. Smylie, who keeps track of gation authorities believe that the school desegregation cases as direc- promise of federal backing in the tor of the Education Equity Project many Denver residents believed that recent interview. "I could not see fight against busing may prove hol- at Vanderbilt University's Institute the judge would agree to supplant just some blind adherence to some- low, but the full impact of the new for Public Policy Studies. forced busing with an array of spe- thing that was not accomplishing mood in Washington has yet to be Even David J. Armor, a sociologist cial-Interest schools open to any child anything." felt. who opposes cross -town busing and in the district. Although these trends have helped whose controversial research in Nor- But after two weeks of testimony, In Richmond, the School Board motivate busing opponents across the folkhelped undergirdthe School Matsch branded the proposal "an ex. quietly agreed during the late 1970s nation, their fate depends on the Board's decision, agreed that any bid ercise in escapism" and tossed it out to halt cross-town busing for almost characteristics of their communities. to end busing is fraught with uncer- of court. all elementary students. Five years Among the key determinants of tainty. earlier, the community had been torn success is a district's racial composi- "It's such a new area," Armor In Little Rock last year, the by an unsuccessful fight to merge the tion, the study says. The higher the said in a recent interview, "it's diffi- School Board released nine of its 27 city and surrounding counties into a percentage of minorities, the less cult to forecast the details of which elementary schools from a cross- single school district. likely a judge is to insist upon contin- ones will be successful." town busing plan. Little Rock's histo- But the move from busing was so ued busing. The three communities examined ry is scarred by a deep resistance to peaceful, school administrators said, "School districts have a better by The Pilot and The Ledger under- integration, and many observers that it drew no opposition from Hen- chance of getting some reduction if score that point: thought the court would frown on the ry L. Marsh III, a longtime civil they have a very high black percent- proposal because it would have left rights lawyer who was then Rich- age," said Norman Chachkin, deputy In Denver, the School Board four racially balanced schools with mond's mayor. Today he represents director of the Lawyers Committee asked last year that U.S. District virtually no white students. blacks combatting the School Board's for Civil Rights Under Law, a group, Judge Richard Matsch rule on a plan U.S. District Judge William R. anti-busing plan in Norfolk. based in Washington, D.C., that has to end a decade of cross-town busing. Overton ratified the plan. been active in school desegregation The city had been unusually success- "I concluded there was nothing un- cases. ful in desegregating its schools, and lawful about it," Overton said in a Denver, Little Rock and Richmond Although there appears to be no 110 111 69

magic percentage beyond which judges readily agree to abandon busing, Richmond in the late 1970s clearly was above the line.Its school system was 70 percent black a dozen years ago, when busing began, and is now 86 percent black. Norfolk's school system is about 59 percent black. Even with a cross-town busing program, Smylie at Vanderbilt said that Richmond's huge black majority would make it "very hard to achieve a substantial number' of whites in every school." Closely related to the overall black percentage of a district is the effect a return to neighborhood schools would have on the level of desegregation in each school. In Richmond and Little Rock, cit- wr ies that actually have reduced bus- - ing, the switch resulted in a net gain *.A, in the number of desegregated 1.\* schools. Richmond gradually ended the - . pairing of elementary schools be- :,.;01; tween 1976 and 1978. As the process ' unfolded, 13 schools became less seg- regatedthat is, they had a higher percentage of white students while 11 became more segregated. Similarly, Little Rock's reorgani- , zation of elementary schools meant that four previously desegregated schools became all black. But at the same time, six schools ended up more integrated. The improvement occurred as the city's white students were spread among fewer buildings. In Tiddler district did the move towerd neighborhood schools result in any predominantly white schools. The percentages in those two systems contrast sharply with the numbers in Denver and the projected result of Norfolk's neighborhood school plan.

. . 112 Brakes on Busing... 70

Unlike the Norfolk proposal, Den- colleagues, contending they were not "We got everyone in town to sit down case can be just as significant as the ver's plan called for an unspecified moving swiftly enough to abandon together. We invited the NAACP edu- character of the community and.the number of special-interest, or "mag- the busing plan. cation committee representative." school system. net," schools. In a system that is 39 In Denver, both friends and foes of In Richmond today, the mayor, "Like the ones that got busing in percent white, every child would be busing deride what one membercity manager, School Board chair- the first place," Armor said, "it will free to attend any public school in called the "ultrapolitical" nature ofman and school superintendent are depend very heavily on the reaction the City. the elected School Board. black. So is the majority of both the of a local court." The district did not submit to the The Board's tack has altered re-City Council and the School Board. And regardless of the outcome of court any estimate of the resulting peatedly as pro-busing and anti-bus- In Norfolk, three of the seven the case, a school district that re- racial balances, contending it was ing majorities came into power. The School Board members are black, opens the delicate issue of busing impossible to know how many chil- result has been a dizzying array of and the seven-person city council has should be prepared for an escalation dren would choose to attend a spe- desegregation plans that were debat-one black member. The School of tension between the races, the cial- interestschool. Busing ed and sometimes submitted to the Board's chairman, Thomas G. John- three-city study says. proponents argued that the number court in recent years. son Jr.; the mayor; and the city "It Is a sapping experience," Bahl of newly segregated schools would Many Denver observers contend manager are white, though the Overton, the federal judge in Little soar. that, because the Board failed to pro- school system got its first black su- Rock. "Every hearing we've had in The pro-busing plaintiff said that, vide clear direction, the anti-busingperintendent when Gene R. Carter the case, we've had big crowds, a lot if most children did not leave their plan the court rejected had been took over July 1. of interest.Ittendsto open up neighborhoods, halfthe city's ele- drawn hastily and inadequately sub- At a busing hearing in spring 1982, wounds. You just sort of keep this mentary schools would be predomi- stantiated. William P. Robinson Jr., a black del- festering sore open all the time." nantly white. Nine of the city's 79 On the other hand, the switch toegate, reflected the difference be- Omar Blair, a black School Board elementary schools would be less neighborhood elementary schools in tween Richmond and Norfolk when member in Deaver who favors bus- than 10 percent white, according to Richmond was very smooth. Manyhe said:"When Tommy Johnson ing, saw a similar phenomenon. exhibits filed in U.S. District Court in residents believe that a key reasonsays to the black community, 'Why "Any time you have a public dis- Denver. was the number of blacks running don't you trust us?' there just is noth- play of difference of opinion on a Norfolk school district projections the school system and the city. ing to indicate we could or should." school board, there is a domino ef- show thatthe neighborhood plan "Part of it is the manner in which But desegregation experts and fect," he said. "If the board is dis- would mean that 12 of thecity's36 itis approached," said Richard C. school authorities agree that the atti- ruptive and upset, the staff starts elementary schools would be more Hunter, the school superintendent. tude of the judge who hears a busing choosing up sides." than 50 percent white, and 10 would And such uneasiness may prompt be at least 95 percent black. a continuing drain of white and mid- Although a system's racial compo- dle-class students from the public sition appears to affect the likelihood "If a judge is going to be brought out of schools. that a court would permit less bus- "Every time we have a major ing, the political climate surrounding slumber in one of these cases, he'll hear a change hi a court order in this city, the initiative is also an important that's when we experience our great- factor, the study indicates. The more lot testimony they'd rather he didn't est loss of kids," said Robert Crider, unified a School Board, the more hear. Norfolk has a last-generation school a former president of the Denver probable it is that an anti-busing plan School Board and an opponent of bus- would be approved. order now. The new orders ask for much ing. Two of Norfolk'sSchool Board By sending the courts a plan to end members, the Rev. John H. Foster more." busing, a school system also may be and Lucy R. Wilson, dissented from inviting new judicial intervention. the January decision to pursue the Gary Orfiela, professor ofpoliticalscience at the University of In rejecting the Denver plan, for neighborhood school plan in court. Chicago.. example, Judge Matsch made 10 de- More recently, another member, mends that included more housing Robert L. Hicks, has denounced his integration, the hiring of additional S 71 Oppositionto busing blacks and Hispanics end the elimi-one-race school and the quantity of nation of inconsistencies in disciplin-parental involvement, the study indi- ing white and minority students. cates, seem to depend heavily on the Armor suggested that such re-social and economic class of the stu- quirements probably would trouble dents. has spreadacross school officials more than the public. "There are going to be some parts "How much worse can it be?" heof the community that by history, asked. "They still have mandatoryeconomy, social factors will be more busing." supportive of the schools than oth- Gary Orfield, a professor of politi- ers," said Ed Kelly, Little Rock's thecountry cal science at the University of Chi-superintendent. "Simply by saying, cago and a leading researcher into 'We'll create neighborhood schools' schooldesegregation, says judgesdoes not mean parents will come faced with busing disputes tend toautomatically. It is not true." The fervor over busing that has seized Between 1968 and 1980, Atlanta lost 86 meddle in broad issues such as hous- In Little Rock, three of the new Norfolk for the last 20 months is part of a percent of its white students, while Detroit ing integration and educational quali- black schools seem to be succeeding powerful movement around the country lost 78 percent and Chicago 62 percent, ty, along with the racial balance ofacademically, but the one in the that, as one civil rights attorney said, may according to the study that was conducted the schools. city's poorest neighborhood appears "spell the end to the second Reconstruc- for a congressional committee that last "If a judge is going to be broughtto have been, as one teacher said, tion." year held hearings into school desegrega- out of slumber in one of these cases,"programmed for failure from the So far, about a dozen large city school tion. he'll hear a lot testimony they'd rath-start." systems have triedto overthrow their While debate flares over the role of bus- er he didn't hear," said Orfield, who "The ones that have the chances of cross-town busing plans. ing in this "white flight," one fact remains advocates busing plans that includebeing least successful are in low eco- "You're just starting to see the cycle clear: In many school districts, desegrega- cities and their suburbs. nomic areas," Kelly said. "If you now," David J. Armor, a sociologist, said tion has become increasingly elusive as the "Norfolk has a last-generationhad a white ghetto, you would have recently. "I would expect to see more of it number of white children wanes. school order now," Orfield said.as many problems as an all-black in the '80s." As such shifts occur, racially separate "The new orders ask for muchghetto. More than a decade after a landmark school systems once again are becoming a more." "If you talk about integration and Supreme Court decision permitted children fact of American urban life. And the reviv- Finally, the study suggests, if aequality, you have to talk about so- to be transported across town in the name al of the seemingly once-resolved issue has district manages to move from bus-cioeconomic lines, not justracial of desegregation, why are school districts raised broad questions as to whether inte- ing, the effect on the schools is farlines," he said. "To have a school trying to halt the buses? gration tools such as busing, invented when from certain. system integrated racially but not The movement is the product of two mi- The number of white students iseconomically school systems had a different racial com- the school system is grations of white and middle-class fam- position, are appropriate implements today. not likely to swell quickly. In Rich-going to be left to the underclass. ilies to the suburbs and of federal policy to mond, for example, an increasingIt'll be black and white, but it is still the right side of the political spectrum. Although the trend by no means has by- number of white children are attend-poor." Like Norfolk, almost all urban areas in passed cities such as Norfolk, school dis- ing a neighborhood elementary the country have undergone a population tricts in Southern and border states tended school in the city's affluent West change over the last few decades. to make progress in integration since the End. But the number of whites in the A few quick facts underscore the point: mid-1960s, while their counterparts in the district as a whole continues its de- North and West increasingly became segre- cline of three decades. A study released this year by the gated. And despite the new neighborhood Washington-based Joint Center for Political Alongside the changing urban population schools in Little Rock, the number of Studies says that, as of 1980, 16 of the has emerged a second, more sudden trend: white children in the system last fall nation's 50 largest school districts had a a reversal in federal school desegregation was three percentage points lower majority of white students. Norfolk ranked policy. than a year earlier. 47th in size on the list, with a 59 percent A decade of public opinion polls attests Both the quality of education in a black enrollment. that busing has never been popular among 17 116.* Monday. July 11, 1983 PART TWO Brakes on Busing... 72 ....

the majority of the American public. But ing for desegregation. The bills have been Yet some desegregation authorities cau- communities have implemented desegrega- unsuccessful. tion that those rules may prove tough to tion programs because the U.S. Justice De- Busing foes and supporters alike say they break. partment has sued or threatened to sue believe that the new mood in Washington Among top Justice Department officials, segregated school systems. For commu- has infused school systems with hope thatthe elimination of busing "is clearly the nities that failed to comply, the U.S. De- they could at last act to abandon cross-townpolitical turf they want to stake out for partment of Education dangled the whip of busing programs they have long disliked. themselves," said a trial lawyer in the de- withholding federal money. Mary Berry. commissioner of the U.S.partment's civil rights division who re- But under the Reagan administration, Civil Rights Commission, which staunchlyquested anonymity for fear of losing his Justice Department suits against segregat- supports busing, said: "Everywhere I go in job. ed school systems have stopped. In their the country, people feel, since the adminis- "But they're faced with a very serious place have emerged offers of help to a tration isn't going to cut off any money, itlegal problem," the lawyer said, "because number of districts seeking to get rid of will support you if you cut off desegrega-the effort to do that as thoroughly as they busing.Justice officials have conferred tion." would like for political and ideological rea- with Norfolk school administrators and at- William L. Taylor, director of the Center sons has very little support legally." torneys, although disagreements over the for National Policy Review at Catholic Uni- "To say after a few years of reassigning means of testing the plan in court have versity in Washington, D.C., agreed. students, 'All the discrimination has been prevented collaboration so far. "You get an administration in Washing- eradicated'isnot to look at the facts Congress has joined in the refrain, with ton which is very opposed to any school squarely," said Taylor, who is an authority the introduction over the last few years of a desegregation remedy," Taylor said, "andon desegregation litigation. "I don't think variety of legislation that would limit bus- people think the old rules don't apply." the Justice Department will get very far." A cityeases cross-townbusing But Little Rock, Ark., is still struggling with segregation

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. A genera- children quietly enrolled in segregat- The logicis compelling:If the gest that Little Rock is unlikely to tion ago, a throng of jeering whites ed elementary schools. courts allowed a busing reduction in offer Norfolk a clear legal precedent. watched National Guardsmen escort At first blush, the change, which Little Rock, with its tarnished histo- For one thing, the Little Rock reor- nine black teenagers into Central left one-fifth of the city's black ele- ry, Norfolk's proposal for a return to ganization last fall was designed to High School, and Little Rock became mentary students without white neighborhood schools should receive reduce the busing of black children a symbol of the federal determina- classmates, suggested that this state a warm judicial reception. After all, to predominantly black schools, a tion to stamp out school segregation. capital in the rolling Arkansas farm- the reasons for the busing reduction phenomenon that was far more com- Twenty-five years later, in a reor- land may again have become a sym- in this city nearly 1,000 miles from mon in Little Rock than in Norfolk. ganization blessed by the federal bol a sign that busing in pursuit of Hampton Roads echo as well in the In addition, only a third of Little courts and backed by Little Rock integration soon would be a thing of Norfolk debate. Rock's elementary schools became I parents of both races, 1,600 black the past. But other, more subtle factors sug- exempt from cross -town busing un- 119 73

. . as anything else. If we had plans to

.4. - ..0 -,./ p v.V.I. . .. increase the all-black schools, that 141P41644-s4r- ow.4 ... . '1 .. would be horrible." -wow ..L V While its legal case may not align 40 perfectly with that in Norfolk, the Arkansas district nonetheless offers one of the few examples of a neighborhood-school plan that succeeded despite the reappearance of segregation. The new system, approved by the Eight' 8th Circuit Court of Appeals as well as by a federal district judge, al- ,e lowed nine of the city's 27 elementary schools to become neighborhood

_ schools. Five of the nine are desegregated, but three Carver, Ish and Mitchell are 100 percent black. At Rightsell Ezmentary, fewer than two dozen of ule 350 children are white. After one year, the reorganization has earned mixed reports. A study of the school system's records and dozens of interviews with educators, parents and community leaders disclose these details: The change has not stemmed white flight. Few students are exercising the I option similar to one proposed in Norfolk to choose a school more integrated than the one in their neighborhoods. The caliber of the black schools Is inconsistent. Two of them draw praise, a third has encountered some difficulties and the fourth is cited as a severe trouble spot. The return to neighborhood der the plan. Norfolk is seeking to tablished. Norfolk's plan would The district is pursuing in court the schools has in some but not all cases end the practice in all of its elemen- create 15 schools with white major- goal of balancing its racial composi- prompted parents to become more tary schools. ides. don by merging with nearby systems involved in the education of their And the curb on busing improved Perhaps the most critical differ- that are largely white. children. the level of desegregation in many ence, though, is that even the propo- "This is an intermediate step," L i t t l e R o c k s c h o o l s ; n o p r e d om i n a n t - nents of the reorganization in Little said Ed Kelly, the school superinten- In spite of the district's efforts l y w h i t e e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l s we r e es- Rock view it as merely temporary. dent, "and it was not ever presented to ensure that the four black schools 120 121 Brakes on Busing .. 74

are not slighted, equity remains a of which have parallels in Norfolk. has declined year in and year out, school district's boundaries have re- hotly contested issue. The debate As the 1970s began, the black en- both in years when new busing or- mained fixed. A change in district persists despite a monitoring system rollment in Little Rock and Norfolk ders have been implemented and in boundaries would have required an similar to one in the Norfolk School -r each with populations about 25 years when policies thought to be act of the state Legislature, which Board's plan to curb busing. percent black was around 40 per- attractive to white areas have beenwas unwilling to tanglewith the is- "We have some problems in those cent. Today, Little Rock's schools devised." The report summarized a sue. schools," said J.J. Lacey, special as- have shifted to 69 percent black, and study conducted by 22 social scien- Asa result, 40 percent of the city's sistant to the superintendent for de- Norfolk's to 59 percent. tists, business leaders and educators 88 square miles lay outside the school segregation and federal programs, In the last decade, the number of from across the nation working un- district by the end of 1980, the Austin citing "discipline, disruption in the white students in Little Rock schools der the auspices of the Technical As- study found, and there were in the classroom, chaotic kids, upkeep of has dropped by more than half, from sistance Center at Stephen F. Austin city several virtually all-white county the buildings." 13,413 in 1971 to 5,796 last fall. During State University in Texas. schools that are not included in the Kelly, the superintendent, cau- the same period, Norfolk's white en- The changing racial make-up of busing plan. tioned: "You can't simply say, 'No rollment dipped less sharply, from Little Rock schools has been exag- School officials do not yearn mere- all-black school is going to work.' 25,980 to 13,154. gerated over the last decade because ly for white faces. "There are whites And you can't say, 'Any all-black A 1981 report on desegregation in the city has annexed land from sur- who leave and when they go, they school is going to work.' " Little Rock said: "White enrollment rounding Pulaski County while the unfortunately take their checkbooks

"If you look at it strictly from a historical perspective," said U.S. District judge William R. Overton, who approved the reorganization plan in July 1982, "a lot of blacks might feel, 'Good gracious, here we are in 1983, and we're back to where we were in 1956.' " The parallels exist, but Little Rock has evolved rapidly since the days before its desegregation struggle first became the focus of national attention. Indeed, at Central High, which is a National Landmark and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, the integration drama is no more than a fragment of history. About half of the 2,000 students who attend Arkansas' largest high school are black. Blacks have been elected as student body president and homecoming queen. "There are no separate dances, no separate anything," said Everett Hawkes, an assistant principal. "It's just simply not an issue for the vast majority of students," 4 But the last few decades also have brought less-welcome changes, some 2 123 75

with them," said Lacey, the special Last year, 18 buses carried about increase the overall percentage of any meaningful benefits." assistant for desegregation and fed- 1,000 black elementary students 14 white students. eral programs. Little Rock, a school percent of the total to predomi- If the suit, which was initiated last system with independent taxing au- nantly black schools in Little Rock. November, succeeds, there will be Nearly a year after Overton's rul- thority, has had trouble in recent In contrast, about 750 of nearly more cross-town businginLittle ing, the success of the resulting plan year gaining voter approval for tax 12,000 black elementary students in Rock than there was before the reor- remains unclear. If its purpose was increases. Norfolk or 6 percent of the total ganization last fall. to appeal to white families, it seems Although Norfolk schools depend were bused in the 1981-82 school year While the move toward neighbor- to have failed so far. on the City Council rather than di- of "white" neighborhoods to predom- hood schools inLittle Rock has Little Rock's elementary schools rectly on the voters for funding, ad- inantly black schools, said John stirred no opposition as organized as enrolled 400 fewer whites this year ministrators have complained McLaulin, assistant superintendent that in Norfolk, there still are dissi- than last. Throughout the system, repeatedly that white flight has erod- for management information and pu- dents. Perhaps the most outspoken is white enrollment in all grades had ed popular support for public educa- pil personnel services. The number John Walker, a black lawyer who dropped from 34 percent to 31 per- tion in the city. was about the same this past school since 1964 has been representing the cent since last year an annual If parents, black and white, op- year, McLaulin said. plaintiffs in what he calls "a fight decrease as large as any since mas- posed higher taxes, they also balked In creating four virtually all-black that should not have been needed" to sive busing began in 1973. at seeing their children bused long elementary schools, Little Rock also desegregate the schools, In two de- And there is little apparent enthu- distances. sought to improve the level of deseg- cades of civil rights battles, Walker siasm for a "majority-minority" The four segregated schools were regation in several others by spread- has become a folk hero to many of transfer program that permits chil- chosen on the basis of sentiment ex- ing the white students among fewer the city's blacks. dren attending the four virtually pressed during public hearings at buildings. "This plan brought out the racism black schools to select a less-segre- which many black parents said they Several studies suggest that unless that was dormant," he said. "It is gated elementary school outside their were tired of having their children a school has a "critical mass" of simple state creation of segregated neighborhood. Fewer than a dozen shipped across town, recalled Annie about 20 percent minority students, schools. And to segregate children on students are exercising the option, Abrams, who heads an advisory com- meaningful integration is frustrated, account of race is per se unconstitu- administrators said. mittee, created by court order a de- In smaller numbers, the studies indi- tional." In Norfolk, several board mem- cade ago, that helped devise the cate, the students in the minority But Judge Overton disagreed, and. bers who oppose forced busing have reorganization plan. tend to feel isolated and cling togeth- in April, so did the 8th Circuit Court argued that such transfers would be A graduate of segregated Little er. The minority students also offer a of Appeals. available to black children seeking a Rock schools, Mrs. Abrams was the presence too weak to provide cultural "White flightis something that more integregated education. first black PTA president at Central variety. can't be ignored," Overton said in an "The option is there, theoretically, High, which her four children attend- If Little Rock had not reorganized, interview. "Obviously, if you're out but from a practical standpoint it ed. Today, she said, "it is no differ- Lacey said, the city would have had deliberately creating four all-black isn't happening," said Kelly, the Lit- ent for people to long for the 10 almost entirely black schools. The schools, that has some really consti- tle Rock superintendent. neighborhood school tha.1 to long for change meant that, while the student tutional problems. That is returning "It is not safe to say parents are the neighborhood grocery store." population of four schools became to separate but equal. But the atten- satisfied with an all-black school," Although similar sentiments are more black, six schools became more dance patterns of those schools was he said. Kelly speculated that par- expressed in Norfolk, the city lacks integrated. In Norfolk, the neighbor- not created with race in mind. They ents are reluctant to invite the incon- several characteristics that made the hood-school plan would yield no such were created by naturalcircum- venience of busing. Children, he said, Little Rock plan palatable to the net gain. stances. prefer to go to school with their courts. And, unlike Little Rock, Norfolk "I wish it weren't that way. I wish neighborhood friends. For instance, the Little Rock reor- does not look upor. its proposal as we had a lot of white students in the The children in the neighborhoods ganization was designed largely to only an interim step. district," said Overton, one of whose around Mitchell one of the four stop the busing of black children to Before unanimously approving the two teenage sons attends a Catholic schools that are virtually all black virtually all-black schools. Research- reorganization proposal, theLittle school. attend a pretty school, an airy struc- ers consistently argue that such bus- Rock School Board agreed to file suit "It is a very unfortunate situation ture built in 1908 and just remodeled. ing is foolish because it does not against two predominantly white sub- we've ended up with four virtually Sunlight filters through its tall win- enhance the mingling of black and urban districts in an attempt to con- all-black schools," he added, "but I dows and glints from the sparkling white children. solidate the school systems and don't know any solution to it that has floors. The coffee and burnt-orange 124:: '4* 6 Brakes on Busing ... 76

walls create a sense of coziness. The classrooms are orderly, and the children two-thirds of whom are poor enough to qualify for federally subsidized school lunches appear to be learning. Carver Elementary,10 minutes away, is a different story. The children are unruly and often lag behind academically. Many of the teachers want to be elsewhere. Kelly, the superintendent, concedes: "The physi- ,c:2;41,Ala,-ncergk..-4r.takit_ cal plant is far from good." Though administra- vs say that all four black schools h...e high propor- dons of poor children, Carver's student body is by far the poorest. Even Kelly admits that, given all its prob- NV lems, Carver was probably a bad choice for a neighborhood school. In Norfolk, all three neighborhood elementary schools projected to be 100 percent black Bowling Park, Tidewater Park and Young Park are near pockets of poverty. The Little Rock reorganization is too recent to measure with precision the caliber of education in the four black schools. But many students in . 41AALk each are having academic trouble, the school system's statistics show. For instance, 79 percent of the first-graders at Rightsell and 69 percent at Carver are reading below grade level. They are the only two among the city's 27 elementary schools in which more than half the Ishob by S:Igaen Swots first-graders are below the appropriate level. Ikeisha Lamb, 7, has a momentary lapse in concentration during a class at Carver Elementary School Carver also has the lowest or WA- in Little Rock, Ark. Carver became a black neighborhood school last fall. to-lowest percentages of students at grade level in first-grade math, second-grade reading, third-grade read- ten through sixth grade. Faculty overshadowed by their frustration at "hasn't been too much of a deal ing and math and fifth-grade and members say that such continuity being assigned to the black schools. here," Wallace said, "because I kept sixth-grade reading. makes elementary education smooth- "If you don't have a good, cohesive my staff." Despite such problems, many er and lets teachers watch student group of people, you can expect pr's Teachers at the nine new neighbor- teachers applaud the fact that neigh- progress over the years. lems," said David Wallace, the prin- hood schools were given the chance borhood schools mean children stay Yet in some cases, the teachers' cipal atMitchell.Itsloss of 25 to transfer to other schools involved in the same building from kindergar- fondness for the six-grade system is percent of the white enrollment in the reorganization. At Mitchell and 126 127 77

Ish, every teacher chose to stay. But show, just because a school is all- capital, because all the mothers with and psychological effects of a segre- 17 teachers left Carver, and at Right- black,itstill can have good re- station wagons took the children." gated education. sell, whose problems administrators sources, good teachers," said Janice Walker contended that "equal" op- "You read a story about kids with rank second only to Carver's, about a Shoate, a committee member who portunity is an improper measuring freckles, and they don't know what dozen teachers left. also served on the citizen group that stick. "If you put in the same pupil- they are," said Miss Rip ling. In the At Mitchell,lsh and Rightsell, helped draft the reorganization plan. teacher ratio, it's unfair," he said. At past, she said, she grabbed the arm principals and teachers cite a spurt But some teachers and principals the black schools with a high propor- of a white child and exhibited the in PTA membership and the number say the teams' half-day visits are too tion of low-income, hard-to-educate spots to the class. But this year she of parent volunteers. The improve- short to evaluate fully the quality of children, he said, "the need is great- has no freckled model. ment has been most notable at education in the schools. er." Walker put the matter more Mitchell. Parents were alarmed by "A watchdog committee isnot Some observers speculate that strongly: "What are you going to say the fact that student achievement enough," said Carver's principal, once the novelty of all-black schools to black children when they ask why dropped slightly there after the white Winston Muldrew. "Unless you've fades, the attention focused on main- there are no white children there? students left, and, working with got a tremendously active local com- taining them will wane. But Judge That they're not as good as other teachers, they inaugurated a Satur- munity that will constantly take your Overton said he did not fear a return kids? Or there are too many of day school in which they tutored school board to task, eventually, over to the neglected black schools of pre- them? Or this is the only way they about 100 children a week. time, things will begin to drift into a integregation days. can learn? Or wouldn't it be better if The young black principal of pattern of being overlooked." "I don't think that's a particular they just went away?" Rightsell, Lionel Ward, said he Melissa Rip ling, the teachers' as- danger," he said. "If they aren't fur- Added Kelly: "The four racially thought the reorganization may have sociationpresident who works at nishing comparable equipment, in- identifiable schools have the staff been beneficial for his school. "We Carver, said: "Money doesn't buy struction, facilities, there is always a and resources to do an excellent job have the basic materials as well as equal opportunity. It never will." solution: Pile a petition." to teach children. But they are not some of the extra goodies in greater "There is no money for field trips" But, even among those who believe desirable at all.I don't think they quantity this year," he said. "It may in the school budget, she said. "But students in the black schools will en- are realistic situations." be because we're a racially identifi- the children from Pulaski Heights In- joy equal educational quality, ques- able school. School people are more termediate took a trip to the state tions arose concerning the cultural responsive because we are in a fish- bowl, and people will be watching." Walker, the civil-rightslawyer, disagreed. In the four black schools, he contended, "the expectations are different, the resources are different. Poor, all-black school They don't put as much money into them." In an attemptto defuse such charges, the School Board set up last fall a committee empowered to visit the four black schools every six is 'notahappy place' weeks and report its findings to the Board. A similar system proposed in LITTLE ROCK, Ark. At 10 a.m., The midmorning tattling begins. child, her cheeks painted with tears. Norfolk would be responsible to the the children are spilling onto the "There's someone getting in trou- "Someone hit me," De Saundra Lewis courts. cracked asphalt playground at ble in trouble," a boy informs chokes out betwern sobs. The Little Rock committee has as- Carver Elementary School. Muldrew. "I'll be right there to take care of sessed books, equipment, staff ma Winston Muldrew, the principal, is "That girl's cussin' over there," a it," comes the standard reply. rale and building maintenance, citing standing in sparse grass at the as- tall girl says. "OK, I'll take care of "It was Kevin. He was over at the deficiencies at Carver and, to a less- phalt'sedge,several paces from it," the principal assures her. He basketball court." er extent, Rightsell. jump-rope games and roughhouse does not. "Kevin?" the principal echoes in "It is a good-faith kind of effort to versions of tag. Then approaches a small, delicate 128 129 Brakes on Busing.. 78

surprise. "He shouldn't even have spring, all 500 kindergarten through in the city. Miss Ripling said, "having the mid- been out here now." sixth-graders were black. Almost all Some of the old-timers say Carver dle-class white children there gave This crisis is too large to ignore. are poor. is no worse now than before. an example of good behavior." Minutes later, DeSaundra is sitting Today, most educators in Little "The attitude about the school is As the troubles inside the schools outside the principal's office, tears Rock, including the superintendent, that suddenly it's the worst school in have mounted, the help from chil- squeezing out of her big, brown eyes. say that naming Carver one of the the world," said Frances Johnson, a dren's parents has waned. She's a third grader, pigtails fas- city's four black neighborhood fourth-grade teacher who has worked "When we had busing," Miss Rip- tened with white plastic barrettes, schools may have been a mistake. there for 10 years. "We still have the ling said, "the PTA was mostly white wearing a lacy pink shirt and pastel "This is not a happy place," said same problems and good things we parents." plaid skirt. Martha Strohsahl, a white,fifth- have had." Muldrew, however, remains opti- There is a quick conference with grade teacher who recently finished Others disagree. mistic. The number of parents at- Muldrew, and DeSaundra, her sobs her first year at the school. "There's "This area of town is very danger- tending conferences and PTA diminished to sporadic gulps, is ush- a lot of anger." ous," said Ann Norman, a music meetings increased somewhat after ered out his door with a promise that There is neglect, too. teacher working at Carver one day a January, when the central school ad- Kevin will, eventually, be punished. A bulletin board next to the main week. "My husband doesn't like it." ministration asked ministers of near- Trouble like this, he explains, "is office bearing the words "Star Stu- Ethel Dunbar, a black sixth-grade by churches to preach the virtues of something we are constantly combat- dents" contains no names. teacher, said she decided to stay for visiting the school. Children in some classes day- the experience of working in an all- The principal calls the teachers' Carver Elementary School is the dream, nap or wander about the black school. complaints "adjustment problems." easternmost school in a city where room. But today, Ms. Dunbar, who has And he, along with some central the farther east you go, the blacker worked at Carver for five years, administrators, suggest that Miss and the poorer the neighborhoods In one girl's bathroom, a sink has said, "I wish the reorganization had Ripling has tried to maintain a high ge.t a thick drape of wet paper towels. An not taken place." She added that she, level of discontent among her col- A few yards behind the school unflushed toiletis missing a stall like several teachers, is contemplat- leagues. stands a lumber mill that is being door. On the cinder-block wall, wiit- ing asking for a transfer. Also, Muldrew said that by this converted to a furniture factory. ten in a child's large, uneven hand, "If I had to teach here five days a fall the school should have all the Infront of the one-story brick are the words "Carver is a bitch." week, I would quit," said Ms. Nor- books, materials and playground school building is a boarded-up To be sure, parents from around man, who added that a child had equipment it has needed. "Beginning house, its porch hanging at a precari- the city have volunteered in the last bitten her the previous week. the second year, we'll be exemplary ous angle. Beside the vacant house is few months to perk up the place, compared to any school in the sys- a driveway where Muldrew parks his giving the halls and main office a The children themselves seem di- tem," he predicted. car. bright paint job and colorful signs. vided on the virtues of going to a But the Little Rock school superin- Built as a black school before de- But the signs' messages exagger- black school. tendent, Ed Kelly, is not convinced. segregation began, Carver always ate the sense that this elementary Eleven-year-old Lynn Anderson "Stay away from creatingall- has been a slipshod facility with its school is out of control. "Show re- said she likes the switch. "I think it's black schools," Kelly cautioned. share of poor, black students, teach- spect for others," one reads. "Follow better," she said. "Some white peo- "Your really extremely low socioeco- ers and administrators said. directions of adults in the building," ple think they're tougher than the nomic areas are your most difficult, "It is so hideously tacky," said states another, while a third admon- blacks," "I think Carver will get better," Melissa Ripling, a kindergarten ishes children to "Walk and be quiet But many of her fifth-grade class- he said. "But if you ask me, 'Will teacher who is president of the city's in all areas of the building." mates held a different view. Carver get to a point where I'm sat- teachers union, the Classroom Teach- Before school openedlastfall, "When the white people was isfied with it?' I'll say, 'No.' " ers Association. "The halls are aw- teachers in all nine of Little Rock's here," said Anthony Brown, 12, "we ful, and itis not very well new neighborhood schools were given had more activities, more field trips. maintained." a chance to transfer to any other It was nice." In 1981-82, more than one-fourth of school exempted from the busing Added Rhonda Sullivan, IP "The the 313 fourth-graders through sixth- plan. whites should be able to come to this graders who attended the school At Carver, 12 chose to stay, while school. You miss your white were middle-class and white. 17 transferred. The number who left friends." But during the year ending this was higher than at any other school From an academic standpoint, 110 131 Tuesday, July 12, 19$307PART THREE 79

Richmond's enrollment. "You can't trust black public opin- Law, the advisory committee lead- ion to be very stable on the desegre- er, said: "I do not see how any gation thing," said Robert L. Crain rational person can look at what has of Johns Hopkins University's Center happened and say a busing plan of for the Social Organization of endtobusing any description has any hope of inte- Schools. grating a school system." Some blacks cling to busing as a During Richmond's cross-town symbol of their struggle for integra- busing of elementary children, he tion, Crain said, while others believe quiet, welcomed said, "the schools were being reseg- that busing runs counter to their regated by the very remedy that was quest for power.. tointegrate them. One shouldn't "A lot of black leaders want to have to get pneumonia to know one say, 'We can run our schools and do RICHMOND When Richmond Why was Richmond able to aban- doesn't want it. Norfolk doesn't need just as well as they can,' " Crain traded cross-town busing for neigh- don cross-town busing with none of to drive the whites from the system said. "In Richmond, that's what you borhood elementary schools in the the turmoil the effort has stirred in to suddenly wake up one morning see. late 1970s, hardly anyone took notice. Norfolk? and realize, 'We shouldn't have done "People form their views partly by The switch was barely mentioned Educators and community leaders that.' " asking, 'Who's on the other side?" in the Richmond newspapers. And suggest that the reasons included an Although Richmond reorganized Crain said. He added that, therefore, black leaders including Henry L. overwhelmingly black school popula- its schools without a court fight, the some blacks in Norfolk think, " 'Any- Marsh 1I1, then the mayor and today tion, a black majority on the City neighborhood system has not been thing the Norfolk School Board hates the lawyer for blacks who are fight- Council, the presence of several universally embraced. Among its can't be all bad, right?' Pan of it is ing a neighborhood-school planin blacks in the school system's leader- critics is Earl Wheatfall, who re- the opposite of Richmond. Norfolk is Norfolk uttered not a peep of pub- ship and the fact that the administra- placed Law, a black chemist, as a white-dominated city, and they're lic complaint. tion had quietly consulted a spectrum president of the Richmond PTA coun- fighting city hall. Even ThomasLittle,a retired of community groups before releas- cil last year. "It says a lot about politics and school superintendent who had been ing its neighborhood-school plan. "I think there would still be busing about racial conflict in America. But the architect of Richmond's cross- Today, even black administrators, necessary if the school system were it doesn't say much about whether town busing plan, admitted in an in- politicians and community leaders 100 percent black," said wheatfall, desegregation works." terview thisspring:"I was not say the reduction of cross-town bus- who is also black. aware busing had been almost aban- ing has brought the very benefits the "When we first started, it was for When cross-town busing began in doned." Norfolk School Board hopes to gain. race-mixing," he said. But as the "There was no court hearing," Pointing to rising citywide test movement of whites to the suburbs 1971, the number of white students in said James A. Sartain, a sociology scores and what they claim is grow- left the school district increasingly professor at the University of Rich- ing parental support for education, black, he said, the system moved mond who was once retained by the they argue that the Richmond "beyond race-mixing to class-mix- federal government to advise school schools are better off than they have systems facing desegregation orders. been for years. "Middle-class black kids kids "There was never an announcement The fear that the virtually an- who are talking about being a law- of, 'Hey, we're returning to neighbor- black schools would be neglected and yer, a chemist help encourage low- hood schools, yeah, yeah, yeah.' " inferior a persistent theme in the er-class black kids," Wheatfall said. "Technically, no one has ever de- Norfolk busing debate is almost "We need to maintain busing to clared Richmond has neighborhood never voiced in Richmond. maintain pluralism in aspiration." schools," said Melvin Law, head of And administrators, although em- But an authority on black student an advisory committee that recom- phasizing that white students are not achievement suggests that argu- mended in 1915 the abandonment of essential to quality education, con- ments on both sides of the issue may cross-town busing. "But what Nor- tend that neighborhood schools are, be molded more by political concerns folk is asking for is what we have." at last, stemming the drop in white than by busing's educational effects. ,33 132 Brakes on Busing... 80

Richmond's schools had been drop- eargLVINIMIONa. -5 ping steadily for nearly two decades. Seventy percent of the district's students were black, 11 percent more than in Norfolk today. "There were just not enough white kids to go around," said Sartain, the sociology professor. "The busing of the elementary children was largely busing children of each race to another school that had almost the same racial balance as if they had stayed where they were." Theodore Shaw, a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which strongly supports busing, agreed. "If the system is 86 percent black," as Richmond's is today, "you just get to the point the old plan is ineffective, and even modifications are not going to be very helpful," Shaw said. After losing a legal battle in the early 1970s to merge with the overwhelmingly white Chesterfield and Henrico county school systems, the Richmond School Board named the advisory committee that in 1975 recommended an end to the cross-town busing of elementary students. The first wave of neighborhood schools Staff OM by Raymond Gellman was created in 1976, when 80 percent Lynard Melvin (left) and Billy Wray take a test in Fran Williams' second-grade class in Munford of the district's students were black. Elementary School in Richmond. Munford is beginning to lure larger numbers of white students. Four more neighborhood schools were established in 1977, and the oth- other words, there was a net gain in less segregated, or closer to a 50-50 "The issue is not busing," Marsh, ers were converted the next year. desegregation. racial balance. Eighteen schools the former Richmond mayor, said Today, four schools receive bus- The end to busing on the elemen- would be more segregated. In five, during a recent trip to Norfolk. "The loads of black children from other tary level junior and senior high the percentages would stay the same. issue is racial segregation. The result neighborhoods, but the busing is in- school students are still bused across And in 15 of Norfolk's 35 neighbor- in Norfolk under the plan will mean tended to match enrollments with town produced no schools in which hood elementary schools, more than resegregation. That was not the case school capacity, to prevent over- more than half the students were half the students would be white. in Richmond." crowding in one area while buildings white. "What happened in Richmond did While the relatively small number are half-empty in another. In Norfolk, where the enrollment is not create any predominantly white of white students frustrated integra- According to district figures, 13 59 percent black, a comparison of the schools where some people could get tion in Richmond, the large number neighborhood elementary schools system's neighborhood-school projec- better treatment," said Norman of blacks in leadership positions gained whites that is, became less tions with last September's elemen- Chachkin, deputy director of the helped mute potential resistance to segregated while only II schools tary enrollment figures shows that 12 Washington-based Lawyers Commit- busing's end. had fewer whites after the switch. In elementary schools would become tee for Civil Rights Under the Law, 134 81

"To say politics is not involved, I said, helps explain why blacks his- were consulted early. ly would be lying," said Jack Gravely, torically have pressed for desegre- "We got a copy of the plan," he "Partly," he said, "it's knowing executive secretary of the Virginia gated schools. said. "1 talked with Dick Hunter," how to act around whites. It's just chapter of the NAACP. "The differ- But, he said, "l'm not so sure inte- Cie black superintendent of schools. not being afraid of white people." ence in Norfolk and Richmond in my gration must be pursued educational- "To this very day," Gravely said, Richmond school administrators mind is that black folks have never ly atallCosts. Busingisnot a "Dick Hunter is a member of the have not tried to measure whether had political parity in Norfolk. panacea." NAACP, and he stops in to our meet- They've always been on the outside Although he now says that "there the elementary schools have thrived ings." since cross-town busing ended. They with their noses pressed up against is nothing wrong with having a ma- That relationship is far closer than say, for example, they are unable to the political windowpane." jority-black school or a majority - the tie between black leaders and furnish standardized achievement- By the time elementary school white system," Marsh said a dozen school officials in Norfolk, Gravely test scores broken down by race. busing ended in Richmond, Richard years ago: "You can't have quality said, recalling a letter he wrote last Such a breakdown would demon- C. Hunter, who is black, had become education without complete integra- year to Thomas G. Johnson Jr., the strate whether busing's end -has superintendent, and the City Council, tion. The concepts are inseparable- A Norfolk School Board chairman, re- erased the historic tendency of black under Marsh, had a black majority. segregated education does harm to questing a meeting to discuss Nor- both black and white children." students to lag behind their white Though several school administra- The Rev. Liontine T. Kelly, a folk's neighborhood-school plan.In classmates in academic perfor- tors and Gravely recalled that the black member of the Richmond reply, he recalled, Johnson told the mance. Even a school-by-school com- mayor had offered no resistance to School Board, is not surprised at NAACP that public hearings would pilation of scores proved to have so the Richmond anti-busing plan, such a turnaround. provide an adequate forum for the many gaps that it was impossible to Marsh was reluctant to discuss his "The thing about busing is, group to express its views. determine trends over the last de- views. it's "There is an arrogance in Norfolk cade. "I'm in a little awkward position never been very popular," she said. that transcends lack of respect," he The district has not tried to assess as counsel in the Norfolk case," "lt was just a radical move to try to said. "In Richmond, it might be the whether teachers in poor, all-black Marsh said. "I don't want to be a pull a community, a school system, same scoop of ice cream. But in schools are as experienced or as witness in the case, too. The facts together." Richmond, you let me pick out the well-paid as those in more middle- are what they are. I don't know my The black reaction to a neighbor- flavor and taste it before 1 pay for it. class neighborhoods. personal opinions are germane." hood-school proposal "has to do with In Norfolk, you make me pay for it Officials were unable to provide But the Rev. Miles Jones, who the whole community climate and first. individual school budgets, contending served on the Richmond School the way people are relating," Mrs. "If the black community had that each pupil was alloCated a fixed Board from 1970 to 1980, said the Kelly said. She said that blacks were smelled a rat, we would have fought sum. Nor did they have a breakdown attitudes of black leaders are more well-enough entrenched inRich- it tooth and nail," Gravely said of of the number of texts and library relevent than Marsh might admit. mond's business, academic and cul- the Richmond plan. "Whether we books per capita in each school. "The person who was leading us, tural communities that they did not were sold a bill of goods remains to Thus, it is impossible to determine Henry Marsh, was the foremost see busing as their only symbol of be seen." whether each school receives a fair fighter in the whole struggle," Jones parity. Crain, the Johns Hopkins scholar, share of the district's resources. said. Therefore, he said, blacks could Richmond's chances of success in said the evidence is mixed on deseg- Principals, administrators and the be confident that they would not be its bid to end busing also were in- regation's effects. head of the Richmond Council of discriminated against even without creased, many observers contend, by "I don't think there's any question PTAs all say that parental involve- busing. the way the campaign was handled, a black-controlled school can be as ment is stronger today than it was "Norfolk," he said, "has never particularly by the willingness of good as-a white-controlled school," five years ago. cultivated that kind of black leader- school officials to seek black support he said, "in teaching reading, writing "PTA organizations are becoming soip.Sharing thepolitical power before publicly presenting their plan. and American history." more effective," said James W. Ty- would go a long way." In Norfolk, Jones said, "You did But he said several studies have ler, Richmond's deputy superinten- Throughout their campaign to too much of your stuff out in the suggested that black children who at- dent. "It's an indication people are block Norfolk's neighborhood-school open." tend desegregated schools fare better taking a little more interest and plan, black leaders have said they Gravely said the NAACP never of- in desegregated colleges and in the pride in the schools." mistrust city fathers, most of whom ficially opposed the Richmond pro- world of work than do their counter- But Richmond PTA membership are white. That mistrust, Gravely posal, in part because its leaders parts from schools that were virtual- figures, obtained through the Virgin- .136 Brakes on Busing . . . 82

is Congress of Parents and Teachers, undermine his optimism. The figures show that membership dwindled steadily, from 7,635 in the 1970-71 school year to 2,292 in 1978-79, the year the last elementary schools switched to the neighborhood system. PTA membership rose by about 1,500 in the next two years, but felt again over the last two years to 2,665. Figures for Norfolk disclose a sim- ilardecline in PTA membership since busing began. Citywide PTA rolls shrank from 9,038 in 1970-71 to 5,269 the next year. But membership has remained more constant than in Richmond, hovering between 5,000 and 6,000. To some extent, the confidence that a black-run school system and city government would take care of its neighborhood elementary schools appears well-founded. Since the council gained a black majority, Richmond has spent a larger share of its budget on schools, according to figures supplied by the city budget director, L.D. Hughes. From 1971-72 through 1976-77, the proportion of the city's operating budget devoted to schools never exceeded 20 percent. In 1972-73, the year after busing began, the amount of money the city contributed to the schools declined by almost half a million dollars. In March 1977, a black majority took control of the council. Since then, the percentage of the budget devoted to education has grown in every year but one. This year, the school system got 29 percent of Rich- mond's operating budget, while Nor- folk's public schools received $52.3 million, ornpercent, of the city's operating budget. Although they cannot be broken alaff photo by Raymond Gellman down by race or school, Richmond's Lillie Ross teaches a pre-kindergarten dass at Mary Munford in Richmond

1.1 a 83

citywide scores on standardized cent of the students were white. To- eral government. The figures show Board retain their commitment to achievement tests have risen in re- day, all but eight of his 570 students that the number of white teachers "quality integrated education," he cent years, mirroring a national are black.Eighty-five percentof has dropped by 50 percent since 1975- said. "It's beneficial to have a het- trend. them are poor enough to qualify for 76, the year before the first reduction erogeneous population in a school In the 1981-82 academic year, the federally subsidized school lunches. in bumming. system." average fourth-grader earned a com- Bjork, an energetic 33-year-old In the last eight years, the number But Hunter also cautioned against posite score at the 42nd percentile on with brown hair and a droopy mous- of black teachers has increased by "waving the red flags." Whether the a standardized achievement test tache, said the absence of the white three, from 483 in 1975-76 to 486. The issue is the metropolitan busing plan called the SRA. That score, which students from working-class, south- number of white teachers has sought by Richmond a decade ago or measures a combination of reading, side homes has been a relief. dropped from 237 to 129. the return to neighborhood schools math and language skills, means that "When the southside people were "We have tended to look for the contemplated in Norfolk today, he the average Richmond fourth-grader here, the advantage was the opportu- best teachers, regardless of color," said, there are limits to the amount performed better than 41 out of 1013 of nity to get to know folks of a differ- said Nathaniel Lee, assistant to the of change a school district can toler- his counterparts around the country ent ethnic group," said Bjork, who is superintendent. "If a white person ate. who took the test. white. "Just because Johnny was a doesn't apply, we don't go out looking "The best thing to do is improve different color didn't mean he for them just because they're white." the quality of education," he said. couldn't play ball as well. At the same time, the number of "Sometimes, when you get all this "Everybody's test scores are going "But given the attitude of the par- white students has continued its long- hoopla, where people have grown up," said Crain, of Johns Hopkins. ents, Pm not sure the good done term decline. comfortable," white families start "Richmond is to be congratulated, overrode the negativism." The influx of white children that leaving the district again in greater but so is everybody else." The white students "didn't want to school officials anticipated has not numbers, he said. Norfolk's fourth-graders that year be here, because momma didn't want materialized, school system figures "You polarize the races, and you had an average composite score at 'em here," Bjork said. show. Today, just 13 percent of Rich- turn the clock back," Hunter said. the 43rd percentile. "WhenItookkids home who mond's students are white eight "And that just doesn't serve any use- Average class size in Richmond's missed the bus," he said, "the par- percentage points less than in 1975- ful purpose." elementary schools has fallen from ents didn't appreciate it. It was al- 76. 25.5 in 1975-76, the year before the ways, 'Well,1 didn't ask to come "It may indicate the calculated first reduction in cross-town busing, over there anyway with all those nig- gamble is not doing what it was to 23.5 today. In Norfolk this past gers... intended to do," Gravely said. academic year, the average elemen- When busing ended, children were But since busing's end, the rate of tary school class had 27.6 students, given the option to finish their ele- decrease in white f:orollment has school system figures show. mentary years in their old schools. slowed, particularly at the elemen- Moreover, the Richmond schools At Mason, none of the white students tary level. with higher proportions of white stu- stayed. In fact, although the school Among elementary students, the dents tend to have larger classes. system has kept no figures, adminis- racial composition has remained sta- The most heavily black schools and trators recall that very few children ble three of the last four years. Since those with the largest number of chil- throughout the city elected to remain 1978, black enrollment has swollen dren who receive federally subsidized in school across town. slightly, from 82 percent to 84 per- lunches (a measure of poverty) have Today, Bjork said, "the communi- cent. class sizes uniformly below the city- ty support. for the school is much Some elementary schools, such as wide elementary average: - better, simply because they're here Mary Munford in the affluent West For at least some schools, the end in the neighborhood." End, are beginning to lure increasing of cross-town busing also has meant But there have been limits to the numbers of white children. And that the end of the turmoil wrought by success of neighborhood schools. gradual trend provides encourage. resistant white parents. For one thing, white teachers have ment for Superintendent Hunter, who When William Bjork became prin- become increasingly rare, according insists that school desegregation is cipal of George Mason Elementary in to employee reports the school sys- not a thing of the past in Richmond. Richmond eight years ago. 45 per- tem must file annually with the fed- The administration and the School 141 Brakes on Busing ... 84 /Oman worksto

RICHMOND For the last four years, Louise Edge has been a missionary in her own back yard. Her prospective converts: parents of schoolchildren in Richmond's elite West End. Her gospel: Public schools can offer .4 as good an education as the private academies to which this upper-middle class, white community has for generations turned. And the beneficiary of her works: bliaMunford Elementary, a tidy, schoolhouse in the heart of the West End, which has since the fall of 1978 been in theory if not practice a neighborhood school. -.6,/,:g.9 When the switch came. only 15 of the , , . children enrolled at Mary Munford P.004 were white. To fill the building, the .2! - school system has carted busloads of ?4,1 .4;: black children from Highland Park. ?.. '* about a 20-minute ride away. But, slowly, at the prodding of West Enders like Mrs. Edge, the neighborhood children are coming back. Today. 67 white children attend the school. They make up 14 percent of the 475 students. White youngsters from the neighborhood account for more than a third of Mary Munford's kindergartners and more than half of the children in a preschool program for 4-year-olds. Jen- nifer Robb, the youngest child of Gov. Staff photo bv Raymond Gellman Charles S. Robb. also attends the pre- Louise Edge has worked four years to increase community support for school class. Munford Elementary in Richmond's West End. Her children, Brannen, 5, and The school's principal, Russell Har- Laura, 8, are enrolled at the neighborhood school. Brannen (left) has completed ris. said he viewed the higher propor- kindergarten, and Laura has finished the third grade. don of white children in the lower 142 143 reviveaneighborhood school

grades as evidence of increasing will-people who crowded into her livingParents have driven children on field ingness by the West Enders to try theroom, a handful became converts, andtrips to the theater, an animal farm and public school. the Mary Mulford Neighborhood Com-the state fair. Mrs. Edge sponsors a Surrounding Mary Munford is Wind.mittee was born. school newspaper. sor Farms a maze of quiet, tree- "We worked like little Trojans," Mrs. She raves about the advantages of a shaded streets lined by stately brickEdge said. "We found every phoneneighborhood school. "I can come over houses with manicured lawns. number and every address" of Westand look in on my fish tank and eat "It's a status symbol," Harris said.End residents, who were invited tolunch with my child," she said. "I can "If you live in Windsor Farms, youmore living room meetings. tell people my real estate values will go don't go to public schools. It goes with She drew charts showing that fromup if people perceive there is a good the turf. It's like, if you work for Ford,kindergarten through high school a pri-neighborhood school." you don't drive a Chrysler." vate education for two children would Troubles linger, nonetheless. "You The advent of cross-town busing incost a family $150,000. still constantly run into, '1 didn't know the early 1970s "reinforced and exag- The sessions were followed by athe school had returned to a neighbor. gerated" the neighborhood's longstand-school open house. hood system,' " Mrs. Edge said. ing tradition, Mrs. Edge said. "People The next fall, Laura Edge was one of She said she originallypredicted got really hysterical." 98 white children who went to thethat, by the current year, half of the Residents telephoned Harris duringschool. Harris said he tried to lump thestudents would be white. Now she the installation of new playgroundwhite children in each grade in one orthinks the enrollment never will reach equipment to say, "What is thattwo classes, so they would not be thethat level. mess?" Harris remembered. "They putonly one in their classroom. Both Harris and Mrs. Edge acknowl- ugly notes on my teachers' cars." Today, Mrs. Edge said, "I feel likeedge that some of the return is a legacy Mrs. Edge's crusade began in 1979,this is a good place for her to be. Beingof what she called "the terrible eco- the year before her daughter, Laura,in an overwhelming minority has nevernomic depression," which has made was to start school. really affected her." The Edges' son,parents less able to afford private She and her husband, Jim, a certifiedBrannen, attended kindergarten atschool tuition. public accountant, "were going throughMary Munford last year. And some parents send their children the process all West End parents go The living room meetings and theto Mary Munford for their primary through testing, applying to privateopen houses have become regular af-years and then transfer them to a pri- schools," she said. fairs. The committee also sponsors anvate school. They decided to peek at the elemen-annual Easter egg hunt. Still, Mrs. Edge said, "more and tary just blocks from their home, and, Harris said the benefits of buddingmore people are willing to just give it a she said, "We found a wonderful littlecommunity support have been tangible.look. It still is not entirely acceptable to school." A woman, who lives across the streetbe going here, but it is not as much a Eager for more information, she or-from Mary Munford and whose ownstigma as it used to be." ganized a meeting in her living roomchildren are too young for school, volun- with the principal and a School Boardteers to teach students to work with member. And, thinking a private audi-computers. ence would be a waste, she invited Attendance at functions of the Par- some neighbors to attend. Of the 30ent-Teachers Organization has soared. 144 Wednesday, July 13. 1983177 PART FOUR Brakes on Busing... 86 Denver's bout with busing still unresolved

"We tried to spill our hearts and northwest had picnics and hot dog officials who blame the imbalance on say, `We really care, and we ire not roasts," Blair said. forced desegregation. racists,' " she said. "But the judge Since then, Denver seems to have "I think busing has destroyed it- reacted harshly, asif there were been more successful than most cit. self," said Robert Crider, who was something devious up our sleeves. ies in erasing segregation. According the School Board's president until It's been a circus in the courts. to a national survey released this May. "We've lost children. We've "I've never seen the district have year by the Joint Center for Political had to close schools. We're out of a more counterproductive time. Edu- Studies, a Washington group, Denver money because your revenue is set cationally,thisdistrict has stood led all large metropolitan areas in by your number of children. still." reducing the racial isolation of black "All the sins of the world have and Hispanic students during the been visited on us because of this 1970s. great social experiment." Compared with many U.S. cities, Today, the school system is 40 per- what old-time Coloradans call the cent white, 23 percent black and 32 In the late 1970s, the Denver "overgrown cow town" at the base of percent Hispanic. In 1973, the year School Board decided that the time the Rockies seems blessed. before busing began, the district was had come for the court to dismiss the DENVER Years before her Nearly two dozen gleaming sky- 57 percent white, 18 percent black desegregation suit, Keyes vs. School views became fashionable, Naomi scrapers have sprouted in Denver in and 24 percent Hispanic. District No. 1, that had produced the Bradford despised cross-town busing. the last five years, attesting to the "We think white flight, if not total- busing order. And that is when the A petite woman who favors ruffled city's economic allure. Few inhabit. ly stopped, has temporarily slowed," trouble began. blouses and gently tailored suits, her ants boast Colorado roots that sink said James H. Daniels, Denver's as- After a year of meticulous work, a soft voice assumes an acid edge deeper than a generation or two. sistant superintendent for planning citizens' committee and school offi- when her pet subject arises. Slums are a relative term in Den- and development, who oversees the cials presented a desegregation plan "As a parent, to be told, `Your ver. The typical black resident over desegregation program. under which each school would con- child can no longer go to the neigh- 25 has some college education, holds But documents that fill huge boxes tain a balance of black, Hispanic and borhood school' is a foreign and un- a white-collar job and owns a home, in a federal court storeroom disclose white children. acceptable thought," said Mrs. according to a 1981 analysis conduct- another side of Denver's history. Be- But there was a hitch: almost ev- Bradford, who has served on the ed for the city by a pair of social tween 1968 and 1980, the city lost ery child in the district would be Denver School Board for eight years. scientists. 37,188 white students, a 59 percent moved to a new school. "I believe integrated schools should But the blight of segregated decline. Enrollment in the school sys- "Oh my God, I thought the world be promoted but not forced." schools did not spare Denver. In 1974, tem fell from 87,620 in 1973 to fewer would fall in," said Katherine Her sentiments helped win her an it became the first city outside the than 61,000 today. Schomp, the School Board member appointment by the Reagan adminis- South to face a Supreme Court deseg- Meanwhile, the suburbs have blos- who had led the committee. "I lost a tration as the regional head of a regation order to bus children somed as immigrants from around lot of my friends over it. I couldn't federal agency. And a year ago, she black, white and Hispanic across the nation have succumbed to the go to a cocktail party without being rejoiced when her colleagues on the town. enticements of sunny weather, plenti- attacked." board approved the cause she had Though similar orders brought re- ful jobs and nearby ski slopes. The embarrassed committee went long championed, agreeing to send to sistance in other cities, "the people Half the school-age Hispanics and back to work, drafting a plan that the federal courts a plan that would of this community got together," three-fourths of the school-age blacks would limit, but not end, cross-town end forced busing. said Omar Blair, the School Board's in the metropolitan area live in the busing. The night the board was to "lt was a victory even to have it only black member. To help ease the city, but only one-eighth of the whites vote on this proposal, however, one developed," Mrs. Bradford said. transition.their children would have in that age group are within Denver's member, William R. Schroeder, sur- But today, she said, the campaign to face, "the parents from the south- borders. prised his colleagues with an open has gone awry. east and southwest, northeast and Such statistics disturb some school letter in which he said: "We must 145 146 87

guard against boundaries for any ernment and law career center and demands for hiring more minorities writing policy and never stop. Judges purpose. . If there are no bound- an institute for aerospace studies. and eliminating any discrepancies in a lot of times use the bench to legis- aries, ... then no one can say divi- "The beauty of that thing is that it the use of disciplinary measures for late without the benefit of an 41ector- sion is done for racial purposes." returns the American tradition of white, black and Hispanic students. ate." freedom of choice in education," said The judge also ordered the school Said another board member, Schroeder's opposition led district Crider, the former board president. system to work with housing, zoning Franklin Mullen, "There is a tremen- administrators to incorporate his The School Board sent both the ideas into still another approach, the and other agencies to improve Den- dous feeling the goal posts keep get- "Total Access Plan." Under it, no modified busing plan and the Total ver's neighborhood integration. ting moved." Access Plan to court. Refusing to Mid, to help the board devise an The risk of such judicial interfer- student would be assigned to a choose between them, U.S. District school. Every child would be free to acceptable desegregation strategy, ence faces any school board re-open- select from a broad range of special- Judge Richard Matsch asked the the judge appointed as advisers three ing the delicate question of school board to make up its mind. authorities on the subject from desegregation, according to several interest schools and centers within It chose the latter. But after two scholars. schools. around the country. weeks of hearings in March 1982, While they and the board attempt "Norfolk has a last-generation or- Elementary children, for instance, Matsch threw it out of court, order- to hammer out a proposal that will der now." said Gary Orfield, a pro- could choose a Montessori school, a ing the board to come up with a satisfy the court, the system is oper- fessor of political science at the science-math academy or a center better idea. ating under a modified busing plan University of Chicago and an expert emphasizing foreign languages or In November, the judge specified similar to that recommended by the on school desegregation. "The new "multicultural heritage." For high 10 ways in which the school district citizens' committee. orders ash for much more," he said, school students, the options Included was to expand on its desegregation Today, disagreement lingers in warning that Norfolk's board mem- an institute for energy studies, a gov- efforts. Included in his order were Denver over the merits of the Total bers "are opening a Pandora's box." Access Plan. School officials and Other Denver "I thought we had a chance," said residents disagree over why the the School Board lawyer, Michael judge rebuffed the board. Jackson. "It had educational valid- Mrs. Bradford contended that one ity, and on its face, it appears non- reason was the board's wavering, ev- discriminatory. It was open to all." idenced later by its refusal to appeal The plaintiff's lawyer, Gordon the judge's order. Greiner, disagreed, terming the pro- Several board members and resi- posal "a sugar-coated segregation dents speculated that the plan might plan." have been accorded a warmer reception if the school system's case had But friends and foes of busing con- been presented in greater detail and cede that the attempt to end busing by more skilled lawyers. Others sug- has backfired. gested that the flaws lay with the "Any school board that tries to plan itself and the School Board's a circumvent the requirement for inte- history of court compliance. gration is asking for trouble," said The district included in its propos- Mrs. Schomp, the board member al no projections of each school's ra- who headed the citizens' committee cial composition. "We don't have any and who favors continued busing. historical basis for making such an "They are usually going to get more estimate," said Jackson, the lawyer. demands than they had before." Nor were there cost estimates for AP Alt photo Crider said he felt betrayed. the special-interest programs. "The best place you want to be is "We could do it within the existing tot Gordon Greiner, the lawyer for busing supporters, terms the far away from the courts," said the resources with a few exceptions," Denver School Board's Total Access Plan "a sugar-coated former board chairman, an opponent Jackson said. "We had the physical segregation plan." of cross-town busing. "They start facilities, and with exception of 148 88

their neighborhood schools. They also would be more than 80 percent one Blair called the "ultrapolltical" na- showed that some buildings probably race, compared with three in 1981-82. ture of the School Board. The board would bulge with more students than ln rejecting the Denver plan, Judge "is asking me and the community to "At this point, I'm they could hold, while others would Matsch said the proposal did not re- accept this plan as an act of faith," afraid the panel will be underused. move "the vestiges of racial dis- Matsch said from the bench In reject- .According to the plaintiffs' esti- crimination." ing the proposal. "But there are fac- make some rather mates, 20 of the school system's 79 Under Norfolk's proposal, 11 of the tors which indicate you can't go on exotic suggestions that elementary schools would have be- district's 36 elementary schools faith." come more than 80 percent black or would become more than 80 percent Matsch noted that the board devel- will put us in the Hispanic under the proposal, while 13 one race. oped one proposal, then made "an soup all over again. would have been more than 80 per- Stillothers contended thatthe abrupt switch" after the election of a You can't keep cent white. ln other words, 33 schools judge balked In the face of what new anti-busing majority. stirring the pot." Katherine Schomp school board member.

the Montessori program and a few others there are no independent extra costs." The transportation budget could absorb the expense of busing children to the special schools, he said. But Jackson's assertions run counter to research findings that special interest "magnet" schools if they are to be good enough to attract racially balanced student bodies require large sums of money. Seat- tle. Houston, Milwaukee and other districts that have set up many magnet schools have found them to be "pretty expensive." said Mark Smv- "I think the judge has said, 'I'm cally empty the city. You'll kill it." the neighborhood in which I live, we not going to put my eggs in the board The panel members tried to soothe have had the same elementary pair- basket,' " said Greiner, the lawyer the fears. One of them, Willis D. ing since '76. In all the plans pro- for busing supporters. Hawley, dean of Peabody College, posed, there is only one that would Matsch placed the eggs, instead, in Vanderbilt University's School of change the neighborhood at all. the laps of the Compliance Assis- Education and Human Development, "Yet when you talk to anyone in tance Panel, three academicians who said: "The role of this panel is not my neighborhood, it is the instability specialize in school desegregation. decision-making. It is not our job as of change." The result has been extreme ner- we see it to resolve the desegregation "Each time we made a massive vousness among board members and problems in Denver. change, we had a lot of people get others involved with the schools, who "We don't know Denver. We've, upset and leave," Blair said. "People contend that the panel's appointment never professed to. We won't draw don't like it when they don't know robs the school system of control the plan promise. where their kids are going next over its own destiny. "But that doesn't mean we won't year." "I keep reading Matsch's order, comment on the plan." Parents are not the only ones un- but I don't think it's clear what their Mother consultant, Charles V. certain about the form Denver's de- role is," said Sandy Berkowitz, head Willie, a professor in the Harvard segregation plans ultimately will of the education committee of the graduate school of education, said. take. League of Women Voters, which has "All our research shows that volun- Some residents believe that the been active in the school system. tary plans do not result in a desegre- court's reaction and the appointment Said Ms. Schomp: "At this point, gated system." of the panel of experts mean that I'm afraid the panel will make some Mrs. Bradford protested: "We busing is permanent. rather exotic suggestions that will know if we come up with a totally When the board submitted the anti- put us in the soup all over again. You different plan, we'll have more chil- busing plan to court, Mrs. Berkowitz can't keep stirring the pot. What do dren leave the system, and we're said: "The real question was, 'Can they know about this district?" convinced most of those are Angles. we substitute concerns for high-quali- Denver has some evidence of the Dynamite comes in small packages, ty education for integration?' He ba- potential pitfalls of outside advice in and this can prove it." sically said, 'No.' I view it as a dead its experience with a consultant hired But Willie told the board: "To be plan." to help draft the original busing plan able to stay out of court, you have to Blair said the school system "was in 1974. be able to entertain whatever groups as close as we could ever have been" "He didn't know the demograph- feel they have been offended. Racial to moving away from court supervi- ics, the topography," Blair said. "He isolation has been the major issue in sion until the submission of the had kids walking across freeways school desegregation cases, and, for Total Access Plan. where there weren't any bridges." the court to dismiss the case, it has And even Mrs. Bradford says the So far, the proposals of the adviso- to be convinced there is not any ra- end of busing, which once seemed ry panel have failed to ease the cial isolation." certain, may not come to pass, add- alarm. The judge has agreed to allow the ing: "No one has a crystal ball. In preliminary recommendations, school system another year to wran- There are too many variables in the the panel urged in March that the gle over its desegregation plans. situation now." school system adopt a tri-ethnic ince- Meanwhile, school officials say The initiator of the plan, Shroeder, gregation program the very pro- they worry that the prospect of more is more optimistic. The move away posal that stirred such dissent a few change will prompt people to shy from busing "is going to happen," he years ago. away from public schools. said. "If the plan you have suggested is "People cannot keep up with a "It may have a different name, put into effect," board member bunch of different plans," said Mrs. and it may be in a somewhat differ- Schroeder told the panel at its one Berkowitz of the League of Women ent form," he said. "But it'll come to open meeting so far, "you'll practi- Voters. "All you feel is instability. In pass. Thursday, July 14. 1983 PART FIVE Brakes on Busing.. 90

around the country. the northeastern section of Denver "It is toobad,we didn't do it in from becoming an all-black pocket. Housing-school 1954," he said. "If we did it after Green Valley Ranch lies next to a Brown vs. Board of Education,it neighborhood called Montbello. De- would have been easier to integrate signed in the 1960s as a planned, inte- schools." grated community, Montbello at first A broad social experiment? Per- was a success. But since then the haps. neighborhood has acquired federally bargainmay But, said Gary Orfield, a professor subsidized, low-income housing, and of political science at the University most of the white families have of Chicago, the Denver proposal also moved out makes good business sense. Kaplan said he hoped that the "There's a tremendous incentive Green Valley project would block for everyone to work on this," said "the path of black migration." open an era Orfield, who is an authority on school Orfield added: "If it began to go desegregation. "From the board's like Montbello, he (Alpert) might not perspective, it will get new schools. be able to market it." In terms of the pure financial inter- Denver is not the only city where DENVER A small band of Den- big the last vacant parcel of land in ests, it will (broaden) the tax base." educators are heeding the advice of ver educators, housing authorities Denver. As for Alpert Brothers, Kaplan researchers who urge that school sys- and civil rights officials are conspir- "It's the best solution that's come said, the neighborhood elementary tems work more closely with housing ing to strike a bargain they think down the pike," said Lee Alpert, vice school will provide a valuable selling officials toward their common goal. may pioneer a new era in school president. "If the goal is to have tool for home builders in the subdivi- During the 12 years of Norfolk's desegregation. integrated schools, rather than bus sion. busing for desegregation, the district The ingredients are deceptively children across town, why not have a "We're interested in it for a lot of occasionally has exempted elemen- simple: 2,300 acres of raw land in the community where kids can be inte- reasons, but the No. 1 reason is we're tary schools in neighborhoods that northeastern tip of the city, a school grated in, their neighborhood?" entrepreneurs and capitalists," Al- are integrated enough to produce ra- system committed to integrated The plan is not certain to become a pert said. "We believe by coming up cial balance without importing stu- schools and a developer eager to be reality, since it has not yet received with some creative solutions, we will dents from across town. able to tell customers that their the necessary stamp of approval have a more successful area." In other school systems around the young children can go to school in from the federal courts. Kaplan noted that the bargain country, the desegregation of neigh - the neighborhood. But the bargain's drafters, and struck by the school system and the borhoods and classrooms ha3 become Now the bargain: the district several nationally prominent housing developers also was intended to keep more formally entwined. promises a neighborhood elementary and desegregation authorities who schml in Green Valley Ranch in ex- have advised them, brim with hope. chr le:- for a guarantee by the devel- "It's saying to a central city, We oper teat the subdivision will be can fight white flight,' " said Kaplan, racially mixed. who, under the Carter administra- "If the goal is to have integrated The result is nothing short of "the tion, was the U.S. Department of nation's first housing-driven school Housing and Urban Development's schools, rather than bus children desegregation plan," according to deputy assistant secretary for urban one of the scheme's authors, Mar- policy. across town, why not have a community shall Kaplan, dean of the graduate Kaplan says the plan may prove, where kids can be integrated in school of public affairs of the Univer- as well, one of the first successful sity of Colorado at Denver. instances of collaboration between their neighborhood?" The idea originated among three public agencies and private industry Lee Alpert, vice president, Alpert Brothers brothers who own Alpert Brothers, a collaboration that is in vogue to- fil-year-old company that is develop- day in Washington and in statehouses 152 91

neighborhood in which 30 percent of Leaders differ widelyon the residents are Hispanic or black. "What's different Such a percentage would mean that about 40 percent of the school-age about Denver is they children would be members of minor- future of Norfolk busing have a huge amount ities. of land, enough space The bargain calls for a sliding scale, so that by the time the 30 NORFOLK Would Norfolk con- busing began in Norfolk. He is a for 45,000 people and percentisreached the neighbor- sider seeking a metropolitan busing longtime opponent of busing for de- they need schools. So hood's children would be exempted plan, one that would mix its school- segregation, although the City Coun- from cross-town busing. children with those from predomi- cil he leads has, until recently, you have leverage." In order to secure the proper ra- nantly white Virginia Beach and refused publicly to intervene in the Gary Orfield cial composition, Alpert has agreed Chesapeake? school district's struggle for neigh- to a host of affirmative action mar- Mayor Vincent J. Thomas says borhood schools.In the last few University of Chicago keting strategies, using, for instance, yes, if the city's school system be- months, Thomas has stepped deli- minority salespeople. He has lined up comes increasingly black. cately into the debate, holding meet- a variety of builders who will sell But the School Board chairman, ings with black leaders to discuss Orfield noted, for instance, that in houses and rent apartments at a Thomas G. Johnson Jr., and a busing race relations. St. Louis a new school desegregation range of prices broad enough to ap- advocate, King E. Davis, say no. Johnson, a lawyer and a political court order stipulates that developers peal to people with high and low in- Trying to implement a regional ex- ally of the mayor's, has provided who demonstrate their projects comes. change would be a political and legal much of the impetus for the School would enhance school integration will The developer also has agreed to nightmare, they say. Board's campaign. The board began get preference in obtaining federal build the neighborhood's elementary Can all-black schools in poor Nor- to consider a return to neighborhood housing subsidies. school and lease it to the district. The folk neighborhoods succeed? elementary schools soon after he be- In recent negotiated agreements arrangement would prevent the Johnson thinks so, because the city came chairman in 1981. between the NAACP and the school school system from having to put up is prepared to spend the money nec- Davis, a professor of social work systems in San Francisco and Mem- money for construction in advance. essary to make such schools work. at Norfolk State University, has phis, the districts have pledged to For its part, the School Board has Davis, however, answers with an been, perhaps, the most articulate work together with an assortment of voted to ask the federal courts for emphatic no, and Thomas acknowl- critic of the board's efforts. He is a musing agencies. permission to place an elementary edges that schoolsin low-income leader of the Coalition for Quality And in Louisville, the growing col- school in Green Valley Ranch. black neighborhoods have inherent Public Education, a group formed in laboration is reflected in billboards "You can't do it,"said board disadvantages. the fall of 1981 to help preserve the sporting the message, "Stop forced member William Schroeder, an oppo- To remedy the problem, the mayor city's busing plan and the desegrega- busing. Integrate your neighbor- nent of busing who is a Realtor. said, the School Board might consid- tion it promotes. hood." "We've had our civilrights, fair er closing elementary schools in poor "There is precedent," Kaplan said. housing laws. All these things have black neighborhoods and transferring "But we're taking it a step further. come about to put an end to steering. the children who live there to schools "What's different about Denver," "If I push 'em into Green Valley, in more prosperous parts of the city. Orfield said, "is they have a huge that's steering, and that's what we're Those divergent sentiments amount of land, enough space for being asked to do. You can't set up emerged from interviews with three Ann ====WM= 45,000 people and they need schools. quotas. key figures in the Norfolk busing de- So you have leverage." "If you cut this down to its finest bate. They were asked to assess the In an initial meeting this spring point, that's what they're trying to implicationsofissuesthat arose between Alpert Brothers and the do. They're counting noses." from efforts to reduce cross-town School Board, the district officials But another board member, Kath- busing in Little Rock, Richmond and discussed how the bargain would erine Schomp, said, "If this guy can Denver. work. put together a really positive plan, Thomas was School Board chair- Alpert has agreed to aim for a I'm really hopeful about It." man a decade ago, when cross-town 154.- 155 Brakes on Busing ... 92

"We used to have a dual school School. Teachers and administrators system," the mayor said. "That is say Carver is riddled with problems, being replaced by a racially identifi- such as an unenthusiastic faculty, a able white system in Virginia Beach substandard building and unruly stu- and a racially identifiable black sys- dents who lag academically. tem in Norfolk. We've shifted people around, but we still have a dual sys- Many educators think that schools tem." in low-income areas tend to have Thomas said he believed that the more problems than others and that U.S. Supreme Court was unjust in students from poor families are more using the desegregation plan in Char- difficult to teach. Norfolk's plan to lotte-Mecklenberg, N.C., as the test curtail busing would result in three case that set a precedent for cross- entirely black schools Bowling town busing programs around the na- Park, Tidewater Park and Young tion. That district, he said, Park all of them near low-income .1 encompasses the city and surround- public-housing projects. ing suburbs, thus providing a steady Thomas has proposed thatthe supply of white students that most school system consider closing such 71- city-only school systems do not have. schools if Norfolk's enrollment con- "1 think the courts put a burden on tinues to decline, as expected. The A central cities when they applied location of those schools and the Charlotte-Mecklenberg to us and then backgrounds of their students, he didn't bring along the suburbs in a said, would make success difficult. &- metropolitan plan," Thomas said. "Before I would see our system go "It is a social-class thing more KING E. DAVIS ... than a racial thing," he said, adding ... wary of busing Changes all-black like Richmond,I would THOMAS G. JOHNSON JR. ... want the people of Norfolk to consid- that attending school in a different remains optimistic The leaders expressed conflicting er whether they would want to get a neighborhood "would expand the ho- opinions about a metropolitan busing metropolitan plan." rizon of the project children." why they are a success." plan, favored by many desegregation But Davis termed that prospect "a But Johnson insisted that schools Davis, however, said that "schools authorities as a way to neutralize the political nightmare." in low-income areas would be at least for poor kids are often poor schools." flight of whites to the suburbs. "It would be horrendous in terms as good as those in more affluent "It would be very difficult to pro- In practice, regional approaches of getting people in Virginia Beach to parts of the city. He said the school tect against that," he said. "If you often have been received coolly by go along with it," he said. "We can't system would lavish attention on are honest, you have to recognize the federal courts'. Richmond's public even talk about sharing water. Until those schools through initiatives such there are persons within the city schools, for example, tried a decade there is much more regional coopera- as a program teaching parents to who, because of their income, are not ago to merge with neighboring Hen- tion, I'm not sure that is where we help children improve academically. as likely to get educational quality." rico and Chesterfield counties, but start." He said the district already had The School Board has issued noth- the effort was blocked by the U.S. And Johnson, an attorney, said demonstrated its good will by (stab ing more tangible than "verbal guar- Supreme Court. that after studying the legal record, fishing pre-kindergarten programs antees of no substance" to assure More recently, theLittle Rock he had "decided the metropolitan only in schools in poor neighbor- that low-income students "get the School Board has filed suit against route was not a feasible alternative" hoods. best education possible," Davis said. surrounding Pulaski County and the because "it was not the direction the "The fact of the matter is," John- Both Thomas and Davis predicted state of Arkansas in an attempt to courts were going in." son said, "far from being deprived, if that the federal judge who hears Nor- get a city-suburb busing program. The leaders were also divided over we wind up with neighborhood folk's neighborhood schools petition In Tidewater, such an effort may whether all-black elementary schools schools that are all-black, they would might tighten the reins on the school be worth contemplating, Thomas in Norfolk would be as neglected as be models people from around the system. said. Little Rock's Carver Elementary country would come look at to see Other districts have found that 1vb 157 93

neighborhood school plans have elic- Since cross-town busing began in ferent races and economic groups. ited a host of judicial orders, includ- 1971, the district's black enrollment In Little Rock and Denver, the ing demands for changes in bus lines, has grown from 41 percent to 59 per- move to end busing was, in part, an The fact of the more minority employees and mea- cent. In a study of desegregation's effort to make the schools more at- sures to enhance housing integrega- effects on Norfolk, David J. Armor, a tractive to whites. But black leaders matter is, far from tion. In Denver, many School Board sociologist, predicted that if busing in Richmond and educators in the being deprived, if we members think the effort to end bus- persisted, the number of white chil- city's public schools, which are 86 ing has backfired because it has pro- dren would drop from 13,154 to fewer percent black, contend that it is more wind up with duced a wave of court orders. than 10,000 by 1987. In contrast, he important to worry about the quality neighborhood schools "Maybe Denver is a prototype that forecast that if Norfolk switched to of education than the number of that are all-black, they may be reflected in the city of Nor- neighborhood elementary schools, the whites in the classroom. folk," Davis said. district would have 17,500 white stu- Thomas disagreed: would be models He noted discrepencies between dents by 1987. "The disaffection of the middle people from around the blacks and whites in such things as "The tool that is supposed to be class from urban public schools is standardized test scores, dropout pro-integrationis counterproduc- going to bring long-range bad results. country would come rates, suspensions, expulsions and tive," Johnson said, calling busing From a political standpoint, you've look at to see why they participation in special education. "anartificialstimulus"to white got to have people supporting the are a success." "It would seem to me a court flight. A change to a neighborhood schools who will pay the freight and could require some exploration of attendance system "is more likely to furnish the resources. We ought to be Thomas G. Johnson Jr. those areas," he said. lead middle-class people to join our working to recapture their support. School Board chairman But Thomas indicated that a schools," he said. "The cities that survive and pros- judge's suggestions might be wel- per will do. so based on their brain- come. The mayor agreed but suggested power. If you start with the idea "The courts are like all of us who that "a stabilization" of the school (that) ,schools are our most impor- want to have schools successfully in- population would happen slowly. tant public institution, public partici- said. "If all the whites left the sys- tegregated," the mayor said. "I "I wouldn't look for there to be a pation is the bedrock." tem, they would be all-black, but don't know what demands he might great influx now," he said. "It would Saying that "there is nothing they would not be segregated. make, but anything that would help be a gradual kind of thing." wrong with an all-black system," "If the School Board says, 'There bring the total community in harmo- But Davis said he does not believe Johnson quickly added: "I think a is no busing,' and those schools be- ny with the school system we would that busing has been the primary desegregated system is a positive 1-sme all-black in the projects and welcome." cause of the exodus of whites. value. That is so basic it does not all-white in Ocean View, the schools "White flight started in 1940," he need any explanation. If you set out would be segregated." Johnson contended, however, that, said. "Busing didn't start until 1971. with your goal to be a desegregated Thomas, Davis and Johnson also although a judge has discretion to I'm not saying busing is not a factor. system, you should not continue a disagreed over whether the increase take greater control over the school ButI can't say itis the primary policy that appears counterproduc- in the number of blacks who recently system, Norfolk's history of compli- one." tive." have attained leadership positions in ance in desegregating makes such Noting that busing meant signifi- Norfolk reflects an attempt to ease

intervention unlikely. . cant integration, Davis suggested On the other hand, Davis said the black mistrust of the mostly white "I don't think the court would that some whites may have fled Nor- board's neighborhood school plan is School Board. want to get into the detailed opera- folk to avoid not only cross-town bus- an artificial source of segregation. Richmond residents say the pres- tion of the school system," he said. ing but also contact with blacks. He "We will not countenance segre- ence of a black school superinten- "I don't see that kind of judicial ac- said that some children who live in gated schools precipitated by the pol- dent, mayor and city council tivism, given the good-faith effort of zones where they could attend inte- icies of the board," he said. "The majority minimized opposition to the the Norfolk school system." grated neighborhood schools are sent deciding factor is whether it is one switch to neighborhood elementary Unlike Davis, Thomas and Johnson by their parents to all-white private race by the deliberate acts of govern- schools. In the last year and a half, said they believed that an end to academies. ment. Norfolk has acquired its first black elementary school busing would halt Thomas, Johnson and Davis all ar- "If all the blacks left the system, sheriff, David Mapp; its first black Norfolk's steady loss of white stu- gued that a school system is the schools would be all-white, but vice mayor, the Rev. Joseph N. dents. strengthened by the presence of dif- they would not be segregated," Davis Green; its third black School Board 159

a Brakes on Busing... 94

member, Lucy R. Wilson; its first neighborhood schools campaign. went throughallthiseffort and "I think if a school system is truly black assistant city manager, George "It would have taken place any- didn't have a good shot at it. desegregated, unitary, it should be Crawley; and its first black school way," he said. "It's just the matura- "If you look back at Charlotte - able to adopt an organizationit superintendent, Gene Carter. tion of the political process in the Mecldenberg, the court said busing is thinks is sound. I think the courts Another black,Del. William P. city." an interim remedy," he said. "The will come to that view." Robinson Jr., who in 1981 succeeded The School Board head said that language recognizes it is an extraor- his late father as a Norfolk represen- the appointment of Carter as the sys- dinary remedy. The next paragraph tative in the General Assembly, has tem's top administrator should not be said it is within the prerogative of a proved to be more ardent than his singled out. school system to adopt a neighbor- fatherinhis advocacy ofblack "It is in keeping with the good- hood plan that is based on sound causes. faith tradition of the Norfolk school educational concerns. Said Thomas: "I think the whites system," Johnson said. in Norfolk were a little taken aback Perhaps the most vehement clash on the trust issue. We thought we emerging from the interviews con- deserved a little better than that." cerned the prospects that the courts The greater number of key posi- will approve Norfolk's neighborhood tions held by blacks "was some re- schools plan. sponse on the part of the white Thomas took a moderate position, leadership to address" the issue of saying: "I have generally negative Norfolk desegregation chronology mistrust, the mayor said. feelings about the ability of the court to settle our problems. I don't think 1956 Leola P. Beckett vs. to adopt neighborhood- "As long as change can be made either side will get everything they the Norfolk School Board. schools proposal and thatputs well-qualified blacks in want. I've been in enough court cases filed in U.S. District Court. agrees to submit the plan leadership positions," he said, "I to know I'm less confident every Fall 1970 Limited cross- for Court review before have no problem with that." time I go into one." town busing begins. putting it into effect. But Davis argued that black suspi- But, he said, "A court is a place April 1983 The School cions arose not from a numerical tal- where everyone can put forward his Fall 1971 Citywide cross- Board files legal actions in ly but from specific School Board position and have it listened to. It town busing begins. U.S. District Court to ob.- actions. would seem, rather than tear our- 1975 Without objection tain hearing on neighbor- "I don't think it's the mere fact of selves apart, we want to find out hood schools plan. whites' occupying positions that, from the plaintiffs, the what the School Board's prerogatives After protest ergo, says `mistrust,'he said. "It's are." NAACP or the U.S. Justice May 1983 not because of the race of the board Department, U.S. District fromblack busing sup- Davis argued, however, tiethe Judge John A. MacKenzie porters, the School Board members but their activity. School Board has "very little" hope "I don't know whether the pres- of success. dismisses the case and drops suit against black ence of David Mapp, George Craw- "The neighborhood school plan declares the school sys- residents and their children but leaves standing a ley, Billy Robinson, Dr. Carter promotes schools that are segregated tem "unitary." makes a difference in terms of the by deliberate policy of the board," he September 1981 Under motion to reopen the 1956 comfort levels black people feel said. "According tothe Supreme then-new Chairman Thom- case. about being represented. It probably Court, segregated schools are inher- as G. Johnson Jr.. the May 1983 Busing sup- does, but I don't think the four of ently unequal. It seems to me the School Board holds closed porters file suit against the them together make people tlel com- only way for Norfolk to go is to meeting to discuss possi- School Board seeking to fortable with the actions of the board change its neighborhood configura- ble return to neighborhood block neighborhood that are taking place. The board has tion or to keep busing." elementary schools. schools plan. a very serious credibility problem." On the other hand, Johnson, asked Johnson said, however, that the in- whether he thought the plan he initi- February1 983 The May 1983 MacKenzie flux of blacks into leadership posi- ated will win court approval, replied: School Board votes. 5-2, sets trial for Feb. 6, 1984. tionswasunrelatedtothe "Good gosh, yes. I'd hate to think we 60 161 The Fresno Bee Fresno, California The Struggle for Integration

A Four-Part Series By Jacatyn Golston 162 The Struggle Sunday. June 5. 1983 for IntegrationWr.PART ONE 97

Segregation grows About the Author JACALYN GOLSTON has worked for asdebates rageon The Fresno.Bee since 1973 as a feature writer, general assignment reporter and education reporter. Nearly 30 years after the Supreme The South former bastion of Court'slandmarkdesegregation legal segregation isthe only She has been The Bee's education writer decision in Brown vs. Board of region showing a decrease in racial Education, many of the nation's isolatioqinschools.Aftertwo for nearly three years and for the past schools remain segregated. decadesoffederalintervention, two years won the California John Swett more and more Southern schools are The hearts and minds of millions becoming racially balanced. Award for contribution to education by of children still are being affected. an individual from a newspaper with The issue is far from settled. Elsewhere,segregationis growing, and many school districts, 100,000 or more circulation. Golston Political and emotional resistance including Fresno's, are turning to graduated from California State Univer- to school desegregation, especially voluntary integration plans. forced busing programs, still runs sity, Fresno, in 1978 with a Bachelor of deep in many places. Even in cities Optionalparticipationmethods Arts degree in Journalism. thatapparently have accepted are morepalatableto many P integration San Diego, Seattle, educatorsandpoliticians.They LosAngeles,San Francisco often are adopted by school districts At the time Golston started reporting interviewswithschooland attemptingtodismantleforced education issues, school desegregation 08 community leaders reveal strains of busing programs. oppositiontophilosophicaland Yetstudies 'have shown was once again becoming a dominant 11 A logistical aspects of desegregation. overwhelminglythatvoluntary issue in Fresno and elsewhere across Some people question the need to programsdonotdesegregate the country. During her fellowship integrateschoolsatall.Others schools. believe integration is beneficial but During desegregation hearings in research,*she visited a number of school not practical. Still others contend 1981,theHouse Judiciary districts along the west coast and inter- integration is essential to a healthy, Subcommittee onCiviland viewed school desegregation experts harmonious society. ConstitutionalRights foundthat nationwide. And while debaterageson, "busingachieves a degreeof segregation actually is increasing, desegregation that is unattainable "Toseparate children ... especially in large cities where the through other means." becauseoftheirrace number of minoritychildrenis But some examples of the trend generatesafeelingof greatest. says a recent report by away from mandatory programs inferiority .. . that may affect anauthorityon include: their hearts and minds in a GaryOrfield, desegregation. Denver wayunlikelyevertobe A federal district undone." Blacksegregationisgrowing court last spring approved a plan Brownvs.Boardof most notably in the Northeast, and that, for a year, reduced the number Education,Topeka,Kan., Hispanic segregation is increasing of children bused for desegregation. 1984. nationwide,Orfield'sstudy The district had requested a new indicates. desegregationplanbasedon 163 164 Struggle ... 98

neighborhood schools and a freedom of choice policy. Norfolk,Va. The School Board is returning to court in a bid to oust a mandatory program for elementary schools and replace it with a neighborhood schools policy. East Baton Rouge, La. The schooldistrictand U.S.Justice Department argued before a federal judge that a mandatory plan should be replaced by a voluntary one. The suit was dropped after the School BoardrejectedtheJustice Department's plan. Nashville, Tenn. A federal appealscourtrequiredthe expansion of mandatory busing for desegregtion and the school district, with a friend-of-the-court brief from theU.S,JusticeDepartment, appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Chicago The Justice Departmentapproveda desegregation planthat excludes busing and reliesheavily on a voluntary student-transfer policy. Prince George's County, Md. The court is determining whether the school system violated a 1972 court order when it reduced busing levels in 1980. Los Angeles A mandatory program was droppedafter a statewide anti-busing initiative was found constitutional by the state SupremeCourt. A voluntary program replaced it. SanFrancisco Mandatory busing was cut back years ago and resultedina new segregation Kindergartners don't-seem to notice their racial differences at Aynesworth School. 16- lawsuit in 1978. The school district 166 , =11.1=

and the National Association for the turmoil Boston, Cleveland, Los assignment plans has failed. Advancement ofColoredPeople Angeles." recently negotiated a settlement "The destructiontopublic Inlargecitieswhere school education wrought by mandatory thatincludesa more extensive officialsand community leaders voluntary program. busing is evident in city after city. strongly resist mandatory busing Boston,Cleveland,Detroit, Fresno Thecityschool programs, the fact that busing can Wilmington, Memphis, Denver and systemismoving toward a work is obscured by the conflict and Los Angeles are but a few of the voluntary program based on magnet busing then can appear ineffective larger and thus more-celebrated schoolswhilemaintaining and disruptive, says Orfield. examples. mandatory busing until the same That perception also has been "Nor is it difficult to understand level of integration is reached. enhanced by strong foes of forced why. The flight from urban public In cities where mandatory busing busing most notably President schools contributes to the erosion of has been tried and supported by Reagan and membersofhis the municipal tax base which in turn localleaders Columbus and administration. has a direct bearing on the growing Dayton.Ohio;Charlotte,N.C.; "Iremainunconvincedthat inability of many school systems to Detroit; and Buffalo, N.Y. many forced busing is the best means of provide a quality public education to residents perferred it. Most studies desegregating apublicschool their students whether black or show minority students' academic systemthatiscryingoutfor white. achievement improved and housing attention to education needs, not "Similarly, the loss of parental integration accelerated. transportationneeds,"said support and involvement which A 1981 :Harris poll found that a Assistant Attorney General William often comes with the abandonment majorityof -familiesthat had BradfordReynolds,the of the neighborhood school policy experiencedbusingfor administration's chief enforcer of has robbed many public school desegregation supported it. Some 54 civil rights. systems of a critical component of percent said the experience was "And, I am =persuaded that we successful educational programs. very satisfactory; 33 percent said it move society very far down the road "As a consequence, the promise was partially satisfactory; and 11 toward the ideal of colorblindness of Brown vs. Board of Education percent said it was not satisfactory. by insisting on race-conscious hiring remains unfulfilled." Opinion polls surveying families andfiringpracticesinthe Thenationhas neverreally that have not experienced workforce simply to show a more embraced school integration. mandatoryprogramsgenerally perfect balance among black and Earlieradministrationsunder show the majority oppose forced white employees." Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford busing but favor integration. Reynolds saidthe Reagan denounced busing for desegregation. "The extenttowhich administration believes And Congress, in every session since desegregation goes wellor with desegregationcanbe achieved 1968,haspassedanti-busing difficulty depends on the quality of voluntarily. legislationrestrictinguseof localschoolleadership." says mandatory busing to remedy school Thomas Atkins, general council for Ina preparedstatement, segregation. Reynolds said: the NAACP. "Where school officials But the Reagan administration is have undertaken to implement court "After more than a decade of going farther. It is trying to reverse orders in a lawful manner, school court-ordered busing, the evidence any headway, says Meyer desegregation has gone smoothly. is overwhelming that the effort to Weinberg, a historian and author of "Where school officials have led desegregatethroughwholesale several books on desegregation and theresistance,therehasbeen reliance on race-conscious student minority education. 167 Struggle... 100

"But it isn't as though advocates programs to directing city, state boundariesinto23surrounding districts in the country now are at of integration fell from grace," says andfederalgovernmentsto suburban districts. least 50 percent non-white. As the Weinberg. "It's never been terribly administerfederalhousing Most metropolitan plans are court white population declines in central better. Those are fairy tales about programs in ways that will support cites,thereislesschancefor the good of days in the 1960s." integrated schools. ordered in an effort to thwart white integration flight from central cities. That issue unlesssurrounding. Orfie ldstressesthatprevious iscentraltoany debate on predominantly white suburbs are administrations offered alternatives Inthepast, effectivenessofdesegregation includedindesegregationplans. courtefforts experts say. to mandatory desegregation. Under generally focused on plans involving programs. the Nixon administration, there was only the schools: Mary Berry and other civil rights the Emergency School Aid Act to David Armour, who has testified leadersmaintainthatschool Mandatory busing generally in several court cases nationwide. fund voluntary integration efforts. the most visible and controversial desegregationmust becomea Policiestoimprove housing contends that white flight is a major nationalpriorityor non-white method of desegregation and often reason schools are not integrated. children will never achieve equality. integration also won support. spurring white flight. "There are no concrete "The evidence overwhelmingly "It'simportantforstudent Voluntary programs usually shows that white flight leads to long- alternativesproposedfromthis more popular but less effective than achievement,forexposureto term resegregation," says Armour. different people, for awareness in administration." Orfie ld says. "Any other methods. reasonably intelligent judge knows "Lack of support for [forced busing] the black community, and because in half an hour that the Reagan Mandatory programswith ultimately undoes the program. there is a constitutional requirement administration is not proposing any voluntary backups sometimes "We ought to abandon mandatory to treat people equally," said Berry. real alternative and is not willing to successfulinbothintegrating programs becauseofthe a member of the U.S. Commission pay for anything. They are just schools and allowing parents some tremendouspoliticalandsocial onCivilRights and aformer proposing to send people back to choice. Some still experience white costs and the tremendous white assistant secretary of education in segregated schools." flight and controversy. flight.Desegregationshouldbe the Carter administration. Metropolitan plans involving viewedlikeathletics agreethatsegregated as "Thetrendsintheschools Most both the central city and the suburbs something we offer because we want generally foretell trends in the cities housing patterns are the primary inmandatory busing,thereby our childrento have interracial as a whole and in the labor force cause of school segregation in most eliminating whiteflighttothe experiences. It should not be the andelectorate,"saysOrfield's communities.Therefore, suburbs. Many consider this method main focus of resources and debate reportonincreasingschool segregatedhousing eliminating themosteffective wayto in a community." segregation. "The trends show that should,ideally,eliminate desegregate schools. race relations will be a central issue segregated schools. But Orfield wonders just how Metropolitan plans are widely much of a link there is between intomorrow'scitiesof Butpoliticalrealitiesof usedintheSouth,theregion desegregation and white flight. He unprecedented racial diversity and integratingneighborhoodsoften showing the greatest successin argues that demographic changes in sepa ration." bury idealism.Thus,residential integrating its schools. That method urban areas are due primarily to KennethClark.psychologist, segregationalsoisincreasing. works there because school district birth rate declines among whites author and expert witness in the according to Diana Pearce of the boundariesoftencover entire and thesuburbanization process 1954 Brown case. says: "Educators Center for National Policy Review counties.Districtselsewhere that has been occurring for decades. are eloquently silent. And churches attheCatholicUniversityof usuallycovereithercityor America School of Law. He points out that large cities have become partof .the suburban areas, not both. withtotallyvoluntary programs Maintenanceofsegregationby But courts are fighting back by Some judges are ordering city and such as Houston and San Diego also setting up academies for families writing special housing provisions suburban districts to cooperate in had significant declines in the white seeking to avoid desegregation in intoschooldesegregation orders desegregating schools. In St. Louis, student population. the public schools. throughout the country. The orders thecourtrecentlyordereda "Educators have not raised their range from exempting integrated voluntary plan that involves busing Whatever thereason,the voices to point out that segregation neighborhoods frombusing students acrosscity school majority of the 50 largest school comes in conflict with education. It 168 1.62 101

separate-but-equal education is a more practical approach to helping non-white students and schools.

w5.:Z* , Robert Carter, a federal district rc t 001111% judge in New York and former NAACP lawyer,wroteinthe HarvardCivilRights Civil Liberties Law Review that equal educationalopportunity,even withoutintegration,satisfiesthe SupremeCourt'srulinginthe Brown case. "The immediate and urgent need of the black urban poor isthe attainment, in real terms and in settingsof virtually totalblack- white school separation, of at least some of the benefits and protection of the constituional guarantee of equal educational opportunity that Brown requires." However, Atkins of the NAACP in New York rejects the separate-but- equalpositionbecauseofthe political reality of a white power structure in American society. "When the Boston desegregation order was to go into effect in 1974, an amazing thing happened," he recalled. "The same school officials who argued for over a decade that Fresno Bee the schools were of equal quality Students board a bus near Bullard Avenue on their way to classes at Edison High School. faced the reality that white children would bereassignedtoschools located in black neighborhoods. does damage to whites andto of the League ofUnitedLatin comes from." Torres says.If these blacks. It's a tragedy. American Citizens (LULAC), says kids go through the educational "They began scurrying around "Segregated public schools are a the battle against segregation must process segregated, there's clearly with carpenters and painters. All of clearindicationof oursocial, be intensified within the Hispanic going to be serious problems for the a sadden, the schools had seats. institutionalsupportand community. Hispanic children are Hispanic community in the United Schools that had problems finding perpetration of racism. One of the rapidly becomingthemost States.It'simperative we do chalkstartedgettingboxesof responsibilities of educators isto segregated group in parts of the something to arrest this growing supplies. protectusfrom ignorance, and country, he says. pattern of segregation." "Without a question, that happens racism is a form of ignorance." "It's as important to us as being Not all minority group leaders every time a desegregation order Arnold Torres, executive director concerned where the next meal and experts agree. Many say that comes down." _121 Monday. June 6, 1983 PART TWO Struggle ... 102

Anotherimportantbenefitof traditionally held by blacks; had "The highest form oflife,in ,troopers forcing Jews to scrub the desegregationisthatinan higher education goals and terms of evolutionary development, sidewalks. And the Times would put integratedsetting,non-white accomplishments;attended white involves the struggling for such picturesofthecivilrights students learn how to function in the rather than black colleges;and abstractionsasjusticeand demonstrators in the South on the white world, others argue. experienced greater social mobility decency," Clark wrote in The New front page. A study done by James later in life. Yorker. "And always there has been "They'd also be on the network Mc Penland for the Center for Social "Present-day student experiences a minority of human beings engaged news. So people got immediate, Organization of Schools at Johns indesegregated schools lay the in that kind of struggle people visceralreactionstovisible Hopkins University compared black foundation for a natural reduction of who won't give up when everything atrocities. But that's not what we're students in segregated schools to segregation toadultlife and in seems to indicate they should ... dealing with now. those in desegregated schools. He future generations," he said. "In the 1960s, the struggle was so "These years, children are being found that those in desegregated Berry, Clark and other civil rights much more clear-cut. You could see destroyed silently in the first and schools had a more positive outlook leaders stress that society should the dogs and the hoses on television. second grades." on career opportunities and later not reject school desegregation just It was not unlike the newsreels from pursued careers other than those because it is difficult to achieve. Germany showingthestorm FUSD's voluntary integration plan afailure elsewhere Fresno Unified School District is suburban schools. In Fresno, such a embarking on a path it hopes will planmightincludeClovis,the lead to voluntary integration of its Central Union High School area and schools. But it's chosen a method Sanger. that'salreadyfailedinmany Metropolitan plans mitigate the districts. argument that forced busing causes Political and social scientists cite white families to flee the school overwhelmingevidencethat system, because suburban schools to voluntary programs donot which the white flight is directed THE effectively integrate school systems. also would beinvolvedinthe And an examination ofoti..?.r integration efforts. STRUGGLE districts from Seattle to San Diego Theleasteffectivemethod, seems to confirm that mandatory studiesindicate,isa voluntary TO plans fare better. program based only on magnet 2s1 Desegregation experts agree that schools. INTEGIVITE themosteffectivemandatory Next fall, the Fresno district will methodisa metropolitanplan, open two magnet schools in its first 172 includingbothcentralcityand step toward a voluntary program. 173 103

Meanwhile,FUSD's5-year-old Thus, federal guidelines required mandatory busing program will FUSD to desegregate only Edison continue until the same level of High and any other school it opens desegregationisreached inapredominantlyminority voluntarily. neighborhood. But some believe the districtisobligatedmorallyto SuperintendentJohnStremple comply with the Intent of the law claimsthe switch actuallywill and eliminateallsegregated increase the level of integration. He schools. explained that a voluntary plan can The move toward a voluntary be used 'to desegregate elementary plan has sparked controversy. schools something the current mandatory program cannot do. "Fresnoschoolofficialsare violating the law by engaging in a The mandatory program requires new activity that will segregate the minimal amounts of busing at the schools,"saidMary Berry,a secondary school level and none at member of the U.S. Commission on the elementary level. Only 3 percent Civil Rights and a former assistant ofthedistrict'snearly50,000 secretary of education in the Carter studentsarebusedfor administration. "All studies indicate desegregation. thatvoluntary programs, by About 700 ninth-graders are bused themselves,donotdesegregate toraciallybalanceEdison and school districts." Roosevelt high schools. And another Under federal guidelines, Fresno 700 eighth- and ninth-graders are has 17 elementary schools and three transferred to other schools outside secondary schools that could be their neighborhoods. consideredsegregated.The Under threat of a court order, guidelines allowaschool's FUSD implemented the plan in 1978 percentage of minority students to after signing an agreement with the range 15 percent above or below the U.S.Department ofEducation's percentage of non-white students in Office for Civil Rights. the district. During the 1970s, that office and FUSD is about 51 percent non- theU.S.JusticeDepartment white, so the acceptable range for investigatedEdison and several Fresno schools is 36-66 percent non- 4 west Fresno elementary schools. white. They considered Edison illegally What does FUSD hopeto andIntentionallysegregated accomplishwiththevoluntary because FUSD rebuilt the school in program? Districtwide 1973 and "reasonably should have desegregation or a balanced Edison known" It would be segregated. High? 4t. Although the Supreme Court has If the goal is to integrate Edison ruled segregated schools illegal, the through use of the magnet school Fresno Bee /Carl Crawford 1964 Civil Rights Act allows legal scheduled to open there in the fall, action against a district only when FUSD probablywillsucceed, Lee Xiong and Alisha Williamson playChinbse jumprope. the segregation is intentional. judging from the experience of other 174 175 districts. The study indicated that, on an Early enrollment figures for the average,,districtwidemandatory FresnoAcademyofComputer plans balanced 85 percent of the Technology, which will share the segregated schools, while voluntary Edisoncampus,indicatethe programs balanced 2 percent. specialty school will achieve the Preliminary findings of a study same level of integration as the by two research firms James H. forced busing to the high school. Lowry Associates in Washington, But if the goal is to integrate the D.C., and ABT Associatesin whole district, odds are, it won't Cambridge, Mass. indicated that workvoluntarily,otherdistricts voluntaryplansusing magnet have found. schools do not desegregate school Stremple saidhisgoalisto districts. increaseintegrationdistrictwide, Roll Blank, head of thi magnet and he said it is possible given the school study for the Department of nature and size of the community. Education's Office for Planning and "I'm not certain we could get Evaluation, said the two-year study total integration through a voluntary of 21 schooldistrictswillbe system, butI believe we can do completed within a few months. Its better than we're presently doing," early findings included: Stremple said. "People often are Magnet schools are generally unwilling to move voluntarily to any more integrated than other schools school, but they will move more for in the district. a magnetschool. And that Magnets arepositive movement willprovide more educationalexperiencesfora integration than we presently have. limited number of students. "When you compare Fresno to Magnets generally have a better other major cities there is more a learningenvironment andhave sense of community here. There is more motivated students and staff an absence of significant fear and members than other schools. bias. That will contribute to people's A study done three years ago by willingness to integrate." ABT AssociatesfortheU.S. But the experts probably would be DepartmentofEducation's skeptical. Emergency School Aid Act Magnet School Program had some of the Mark Smylie of the Educational same results: EquityProjectatVanderbilt University a research agency Magnet schools accomplish only under contractwiththeU.S. a limited amount of desegregation DepartmentofEducation but can be effective as part of a recently completed a study of 49 districtwidedesegregation plan schools districts. The study found based on other methods. that mandatory programs achieve Magnetsare more effective four times the level of integration when used in districts with less than that voluntary plans do. 35 percent non-white students. Chang Ly gets a pat of approval on the head trot 176 105

Magnets are not effective aithe primaryorsolitary meansof desegregation. Magnets have a positive effect on attitudes toward desegregation. "They are one tool in. the tool kit," said Catherine Baltzell, one of the authors of the ABT study. "When magnets are coupled with mandatory techniques, they can be an effective tool, but when you rely solely on magnets, they are not effective at the district level. "Ifacommunityistruly committed to make it work, you can haveastonishingsuccess,"she added. "But that sortof commitment is rare." In Seattle, school officials found a great deal of support for magnet schools. But that commitment is due primarily to Seattle's mandatory plan.Childrencanattendthe magnet school of their choice or else they are bused to assigned schools. Dave Moberly, the former school superintendent who implemented Seattle's deseggation plan, said magnet schools are educationally sound but they do not desegregate school districts. "Magnets probably are a way to make urban education different and moredesirablethansuburban districts,but theywillnot desegregate a school district. They will help, but they will not do the job," said Moberly, who tried a voluntary program before switching to a mandatory busing plan in Seattle. Fresno Bee/Cari Crawford "Voluntary programs get you off the hook with the community, but the teacher of a multiracial class at Aynesworth School in Fresno. they are not a real response to Struggle ...

segregation," said Wayne Foley, waytodesegregatebecause integration because they mitigate Seattle'sdesegregationprogram mandatory plans result in loss of white flight. But he still argues that coordinator. "It's a response to the white students. schoolimprovement,notschool politics." Armour said that the L.A. district desegregation, should be the focus. The Los Angeles Unified School lost about 40,000 students because of "Yes, we should have more St. District responded to community the controversy over court-ordered Louises[whereavoluntary pressure and a statewide initiative busing. metropolitanplaninvolvingthe that restricts forced busing. After "You can't successfully have a centralcityand23 suburban the anti-busing initiative was found program with the majority of people districts is planned]," Armour said. constitutional,theL.A.district in opposition to it," he said. "The "But those kinds of plans play only dismantled its mandatory program. average parents in surveys 1 have a small role in integrating society Thedistrictstilloperates a conducted would like to have their asa whole. The best wayto voluntary magnet school program child exposed to different races or integrateistoofferthebest and about 45,000 of L.A. Unified's groups but not at the cost of busing educationtochildren,especially across town. They won't support minority children, so they can take 550,000studentsarebusedto part in the economic wealth of the magnet schools.But more than those programs. country.. We willhave natural 300,000minority studentsattend "It's time to put less focus on integrationwhen we allow racially segregated schools. racial balance and forced busing minorities to move up the social- But the experts disagree even in and support programs thatwill class ladder. Los Angeles' case. work and have the support of the community." "We'llnever getcomplete The National Association for the integration, because ethnic groups Advancement of Colored People's And GaryOrfield,another still cluster together. But what's the Legal Defense Fund has filed suit in desegregationexpert,saidcities problem with people of the same federalcourtagainsttheL.A. withoutdesegregationprograms ethnicgrouporreligionbeing district. have been experiencing white flight together." from central cities for decades. "ThingsarebetterinL.A. [because of the magnet program], But Smylie of the Educational but they are separate and they are Equity Project said white flight not equal and even when they get occurs no matter what type of [minorityschools]uptobeing desegregation program a district equal,theystillwon't be implements. desegregated," said Judy James, "Arguments thatvoluntary plans chairwomanofthedistrict's willeventuallyresultinhigher monitoring committee during the levels of desegregation bicause theySan Diego traumatic years the district was promptlesswhiteenrollment under court order to desegregate. declines than mandatory plans are SAN DIEGO Six years ago, a "There still will be kids believing not supported by current evidence," San Diego Superior Court judge they are not valuable because no Smylie's report states. "Enrollment made a daring attempt to avoid the whitekidswillcome totheir data from large city school districts controversy and trauma that school." show that long-term declinesin accompanies mostschool Incontrast, David Armour, a whiteenrollmentaresimilar desegregation cases. desegregation expert who studied regardless of the type of plan." Judge Louis Welsh approved a theL.A.plan,saidvoluntary Armour agrees that metropolitan plan aimedatvoluntarily approaches are the only practical plans achieve the highest level of desegregating the San Diego Unified 80 Tuesday. June 7, 1983 PART THREE 107

Excellence is the key for magnet schools Educators and researchers saysuccessful. andusuallyresultsinan there are some key elements to Match the type of magnet integrated school but segregated successful magnet schools. school to the type of students it classes. Themostimportantfactor, must draw to be balanced. For Magnet progi aims that draw studies show, is that the school instance,magnetsthat high-achievingwhitestudents develop' an image of excellence.traditionally draw white students should not be placed at a resident Excellence draws students moresuch asgifted or accelerated school with lower-achieving non- thananunusualprogram orschools should be placed in non- white students. outstanding staff. But there are white areas. common dosanddon'tsto Do not duplicate programs consider when establishing Establishprogramsthat unless there is sufficient demand magnet schools. Some of the dos developatbothgradeand for the programs. If programs are are: expertise levels. For instance, a duplicated,restrictwhich mathematics and science school Plan andpromotemagnet programwhiteandnon-white schools well in adVnnr:e of the mightbeestablishedatthe students can attend soracial elementary, junior high and high balance can be maintained. opening. Lack of p. ing and school levels. selling may lead to failure. A magnet should not provide Carefully locate the magnet Some of the don'ts: unlimitedchoice.Enrollment school. Schools in heavily non- A magnet should not be placed should be restricted and carefully white areas are less successful in on a campus with a regular school monitored to determine the racial attracting white students. Schools because it can create resentment mix of boththe sending and in mixed neighborhoods are more among regular students and staff receiving schools. integration 'fakes it,' criticssay School District. And the city schoolstudent school system. integrate the district. One Southern THE system became one of a handful But, the judge and school officials California judge deeply involved in nationwide to operate court-orderedsay, the plan has succeeded in desegregation cases bluntly states: STRUGGLE voluntary desegregation programs. avoidingconflict,slowingwhite San Diego "fakes it." More than $100 million later, Sanflight from the public schools and When the program started, anti- TO Diego educators and communityimproving the quality of education busing advocates applauded it. San membersadmitthevoluntary in San Diego. Diego school officials touted. it INTEGIVITE program does not, and probably Opponents callita do-nothing once advertising "It Works" so never will, desegregate the 110,000.program that was never meant to strongly that the court called a halt

1 Struggle.. .

to the public relations campaign. In1975,after10years of said San Diego's voluntary program Educators elsewhere cited it as an litigation, Welsh ruled that 23 of the does not work. example that voluntary integration district's168schools were "A prerequisite for determining if can work without the turmoil forced segregated. Today, 14 still are. Nine desegregation is effective is first busing can cause. others are considered integrated, asking if there is desegregation," saidRoeserinherofficeat But, desegregation experts say, but four of those barely meet the court's minimum guidelines. Defenders, Inc., a non-profit defense San Diego illustrates that voluntary firm. programs do not desegregate school Another nine predominantly white systems as effectively as mandatory schools are segregated under court "When you look at the numbers, guidelines,butthesegregation one would have toadmit that ones. integration has not become a reality The Fresno school systemis rulingappliesonlytominority within the unified school district," switching fromamandatory schools. said Ambrcise Brodus, head of San program to a voluntary one. Like The school district the second Diego's Urban League. largest in the state and ninth largest San Diego, Fresno's program will Bob Filner, former president and be based on magnet or specialty inthe nation has a student member of the San Diego School schools designed to attract students population that is half minority. Hispanics make up 19 percent of the Board, argues that although the of diverse ethnic backgrounds. districtisnot integrated, more studentpopulation,blacks15 children are in integrated settings. percent, Asians 13 percent and other About 35,000 children had some San Diego is a city associated ethnic groups 3 percent. When the voluntary programstarted,the interracial contact this year. with the good life beaches, "That's why we provide for them sunshine beautiful people. Unlike district was 70 percent white. And the debate continues. toparticipateinpart-time Los Angeles, its immense neighbor integrationactivities,"saidEd 120 miles to the north, San Diego "In every city in the country with Fletcher, assistant superintendent doesn't evoke images of smog, mandatory assignment, the number inchargeoftheintegration congestion, high crime, poverty and ofwhite studentsenrolled was program. "I don't think we can racialisolationinbarriosand rapidly decreasing," Welsh said in a make each school integrated." ghettos. rare interview recently. "You're not San Diego'sPlanforRacial But, like all urban areas, the city goingtogetdesegregation by Integrationisa complex, has socialills.Like most large scaring all of the white kids out." interwoven approach that includes schooldistricts, San Diego City "We didn't have alotof bothfull-timeandpart-time Schoolsstillstruggleswith desegregation [when Welsh was integration. The fivemajor segregation,povertyand overseeing the case] but we had components are: discrimination. some," he. said. "And it raised the The Magnet School program, Theintegrationissuehas educational standards dramatically. which is the core of the voluntary dominated the actions and politics of Instead of *busing kids out of the plan. It attracts students of diverse theschooldistrictsincea ghetto, I'd like to see them educated ethnicbackgroundsto specialty segregation lawsuit went to court in so they can walk out and stay out. If schools based on a subject 1966. The controversy led to election you want to raise the level of orientation or a learning style. It of a more activist school board, the education for minority people, Af. had 18,763 students participating in ouster of former Superintendent through methods that work." 40 programs throughout the city this Tom Goodman, an administrative However, Veronica Roeser, the year.Racial balanceistightly reorganizatir..-4 and retirement of San Diego attorney who took the controlled ;. both sending and Welsh from the case. desegregation case to the courts, receiving schools. 183 The VoluntaryEthnic The controversial order went to $300,000 a year to operate; busing Enrollment Program (VEEP) that theheartofprovidingequal studentsto them costsanother allows students to transfer out of opportunities for minority children, $500,000.The Achievement Goal their neighborhood schools if the not just equal facilities. Since that Program cost $2.5 million this year move improves the racial makeup order, the schools' tests scores have and close to $6 million the past two of both schools. Most voluntary steadily risen but still are not at the years. transfers the oldest method of national average. Fletcher said it Some ofthemost successful schooldesegregation are will take about five years to reach magnet schools the School for minority children. This year, only 50 the goal. Creative and Performing Arts and out of 6,159 students in VEEP were Now, rather than working toward the Gompers. Center for Science. white. districtwideintegration,the Math and Computers are among The Learning Center program emphasisison upgradingthe the most costly. SPCA spends close thatmixes elementaryschool quality of education in minority to $600,000 above regular operating children of different races once a schools and improving the race expenditures;Gompers spends week in a neutral setting where relations program. about $400,000 more. basicskillsand specialized Integration advocates recognize San Diego operates '40 magnet curriculum are emphasized. San thatthethreatof busing was programs as varied as creative arts, Diegoisplanningto drop the removed after the state Supreme aerospace, computer science and program next year because of its Court upheld Proposition1,the athletics. Children can attend any cost. About10,000 students state's anti-busing initiative. Not school in the district as long as it participated this year. long after the decision, San Diego helps the ethnic balance of both the The Race-Human Relations District Attorney Robert Stern tcdd sending and receiving schools. Some Programthatprovidesuniform the court that the integration plan schools are in minority sections of training for the district's110,000 "has never promisedracial town andothersareinwhite students and 10,000 employees in balance." sections, so children of both races race relations. Filner said the program improved can attend schooloutsidetheir The Achievement Goals the quality of education by bringing neighborhoods. Program that is designed to raise more than $100 million in sc cial Last year, attendance restrictions test scores at 34 district schools, funds to the district. State funds are for magnet schools were challenged including the segregated schools. It Provided for districts under court in a suit filed on behalf of an 11- isbased on Chicago'smastery order to desegregate.Only San year -oldChinese-Americangirl. learningprogram,ahighly Diego, Los Angeles, San Bernardino Because sheisconsidereda structured teaching plan andStocktonschooldistricts minority, she was refused emphasizing uninterrupted learning qualify, but other districts under admittance to a magnet school in a and mastering skills before moving threat of court order have been predominantly black neighborhood. on to new ones. (The Fresno district fighting for a share for years. The court ruled in favor of the is piloting a version of the San Diego "Ors the other hand," said Filner, district,but school officials are program.) "we spentallthat money and revising the guidelines. In 1980, Welsh's court ordered the haven't desegregated most of the Programcriticssayminority district to raise test scores at the schools we were charged to students disproportionately bear the segregatedschooltonational desegregate. That bothers me." burden of busing in both VEEP and averages. Scores at minority schools Last year, the program cost $25 magnet school programs. traditionally have been lower than million; about $10 million for busing Balancing magnet schoolsin districtwide and nationwide students to the magnet schools. The predominantly minority averages. sixlearningcenterseachcost neighborhoodsdependsupon 184 Wednesday. June 8. 1983 PART FOUR Struggle.. 110 A desegregation minoritychildrenleavingthose Some schools are not as successful neighborhoods to make room for as others in those areas." white students who want to attend Flirter and others are optimistic the specialty schools. about the San Diego plan as long "Magnets areinstituted as the state continues to foot the Seattle's success story presumablyfortheir[minority bill. is not free of controversy children's] benefit," Roeser said. "It would not be good for the "Butthegreatestnumberof integration program if our funds got students who actually move are cut off," he said. "We have a SEATTLE This is an easy city to love. minority students." Considered one of the country's most livable, it chance no other major city in the has a look of clean living, civic pride and Non-white community leaders say nationhashadtosuccessfully community involvement. magnet schools and VEEP create desegregate in a voluntary fashion other problemsfortheir because we have the demography It was love of Seattle, many community neighborhoods. residents say, that led them to desegregate their and a lot of other things going for schools. us. "VEEP has taken a lot of the best That civic-minded attitude may be why Seattle studentsfromtheminority "A thirdof our schools are succeeded where others failedit integrated its schools,"saidBrodus."There's naturally integrated, and we should 106 schools without violence or turmoil. been no formal study, but we see the be able to integrate 22 more. What we have to do now is maintain the That is not to say Seattle's desegregation plan evidence. The students who leave escaped controversy. It spurred a statewide anti- are the high-achieving, motivated naturally integrated ones. That's busing campaign that successfully passed a students." where other cities have failed. That measure to stop forced busing. The initiative is going to take city leadership to eventually was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. School officials..say there are help us." Supreme Court. ways of measuring success beside Brodus of the Urban League Critics of the plan also say it was primarily numbers. believes integration is possible if the responsible for the dramatic 45,000-student drop "Success is in the eyes of the new administration in San Diego, in enrollment experienced by the district during beholder," said Fletcher. "Do you specifically Superintendent Thomas the past two decades. measure success by going into the Payzant,providesaggressive Advocates say it made their community a school and seeing how pupils get leadership. better placetolive and kept courts from along with each other? "We can't forget integration and determining the destiny of Seattle's schools: "Do the blacks go one way, the just go after quality education," "This city had the courage to build a plan that whitesanother andtheasians Filner said. "In my mind, the two was just, right and equitable," said Dr. Richard another? Do teachersaccept are interrelated. Separate-but-equal Andrews, oneofthecreatorsofthe different value systems? Is there is where we started. We can't go desegregation program. integration within the school, not back to it out of frustration. I'm not Seattle is one of a handful of large urban justwithinthedistrict?Do ready to give up on integration." school districts that desegregated their schools Mexican-Amertcan youngsters have without court intervention. The Fresno Unified equal access to being cheerleaders? SchoolDistrictalsostartedits5-year-old "We establishedamonitoring desegregation program before the courts stepped committeethisyeartotryto in. determine whether ornotthe Fresno and Seattle are similar in other ways. program is a success. Some magnet They both have close to 50,000 students and about programs have been able to attract half of them are minorities. pupils more readily than others. Seattlefirstattemptedtovoluntarily plan born of civic pride desegregate its schools and !titer moved to a integration office. mandatory program. The plan devised by a citizens committee and TheFresnodistrictismoving froma now in use is mandatory with a voluntary backup mandatory to a voluntary program. based on options, or magnet schools. Seattle school children are bused to schools The story of Seattle's school desegregation outside their neighborhoods but can choose to program is one of civic responsibility as much as attend a specialty school instead. racial integration. "Fifty percent go to their assigned school, 50 It started in the spring of 1977 when the percent choose options," said Foley. district faced the threat of a court order to containsthefollowing integrate. Seattle had been struggling with the TheSeattleplan problem for nearly 25 years since the landmark elements Supreme Court decision, Brown vs. Board of Amajorreorganizationandgrade Education. restructuring that linked predominantly minority But integration did not became a dominant schools with mostly white schools. For instance, issue until the 1970s. a minority elementary school might become a School officialstriedseveralplans first-throughthird-gradeschoolandits voluntary transfer policies, exchange programs, corresponding "majority" school switched to a human relations programs, closing schools, a fourth- through sixth-grade school. Kindergarten middle school reorganization, magnet schools. was exempted. In 1977, tt was apparent stronger measures Changes in the junior and senior high school were needed if the community, rather than the attendance patterns so elementary schools would court, was going to determine the destiny of feed into schools outside their neighborhoods. Seattle's schools. The Seattle chapter of the The new feederpattern was phased-inso National Association for the Advancement of could graduate from schoolsthey Colored People filed a complaint with the U.S. students Office for Civil Rights because of increasing already were attending and would not be bused segregation in the school system. The American to rival schools. Civil Liberties Union and the Church Council of Educational Options allowed students to Greater Seattle both threatened lawsuits if the attend schools with either different learning district did not come up with a realistic program. styles or specialized curriculums. The district established a voluntary plan and The district also strategically closed 19 schools then set out to prepare the community for the because of declining enrollment and placed mandatory plan that eventually would follow. refugeeandbilingualprogramsat predominantly white schools to improve their "We had a 17-year history of failure with racial balance. voluntarymeans,"saidWayneFoley, "The reason desegregation happened was coordinator of integration services for the Seattle because of the tremendous sense of civic pride," Public Schools. "lf you really want to do the job said Dick Andrews, chairman of the University of integrating schools, you bite the bullet." ofWashington'seducation administration department and considered the "godfather" of "Voluntary doesn't work. Mandatory does," the Seattle plan. "There are a lot of people in said Collin Williams, head of the district's Seattle who love this city dearly, and they were 188 Struggle... 112

willing to step forward and do things." School officials and the citizens group, the DistrictwideAdvisory Committeefor Desegregation under the direction of Andrews, Dick Andrews, first invited a representative from every major far left, is civic organization to serve on the committee. considered the Organizations also were encouraged to stud 'godfather' of desegregation and devise their own plans. the Seattle Shan Mullen, a local attorney and member of the Municipal League, established a no-name desegregation committee to facilitate communication within -a: plan. Robert the commutity. The committee, designed to have Dorse is no name so it would not become a focal point in coordinator of the desegregation discussions, brought together the anti-busing spokesmen from diverse groups and philosophies group in to debate. Seattle. "We didn't try to bury the issue. We tried to Seattle Times gettheissueoutinthe communityfor discussion," said Andrews. "We also kept the leadership of the community in touch with each other to stop the rumor mill" Former Superintendent Dave Moberly and members of the desegregation committee started mileage out of it, but they didn't. Labor leaders the schools were racially balanced. a semantics campaign. Studies had shown that could have let it become a cause but they didn't. "We did it without the trauma of other plans thephrase"mandatory busing"was The mayor came out to support it. and we maintained local control," Moberly said. inflammatory, said Andrews. "The feeling was 'We've got to do it, so let's "A telling story about it is that everyone takes Through the efforts of school and community get on with it, comply with the law and not go credit for the plan. That's great." leaders, Seattle residents started thinking in through the court." terms of"fixedassignments"rather than The citizens committee and schoolstaff A numberof communityresidentssay mandatory busing. "Educational options" was developed four possible plans. The Urban League Seattle's is a success story. used in lieu of voluntary desegregation based on developed a fifth. And after 30 community Otherscountthelossofwhitestudent magnet schools. meetings to discuss the plans, the board voted 6 enrollment and the loss of money for those Seattle's plan became a "voluntary" one to I in favor of the mandatory plan. students and disagree. They also cite the high becauseitwas implemented without court "A key thing that swung the vote of the board cost of desegregating the school district. intervention, even though it was based on a was a letter they received signed by the mayor A strong opponent of the plan is Robert Dorse, mandatory, or rather fixed assignment, method. and the presidents of the Chamber of Commerce, a local architect and coordinator of the Seattle Political leaders were asked to treat the issue the Municipal League and the Church Council," anti-businggroup,CitizensforVoluntary responsibly during their campaigns. They agreed said Moberly. "It said, 'Don't go to court. Do Integration Committee. not to make it an issue. what you have to do, and we'll support you.' " Dorse said the school district did not get "Seattle is unique," said Moberly, who now After the process was over, Moberly was still parents' input and ignored the desires of the heads the non-profit Seattle Foundation. "People superintendent, the board was not recalled, there community. As a result, he said, his organization care, and they get involved. The opposition was were no incidents of violence connected with the successfully passed Initiative 350, a statewide responsible. The potiticans could have made desegregation plan, and, within three years, all measurethatsought, tostopbusingfor 9 190 F

desegregation. The initiative later was thrown options than sticking with their assigned school out by the U.S. Supreme Court. so at least they are making an evaluation, a "They preoccupied themselves with a social judgment about their children's education." experiment at the sacrifice of their educational But school administrators are concerned about mission," said Dorse. "ft cost a great deal of the increasing cost of developing specialty money, in the millions. programs and transporting students to them. "ft doesn't work. You have middle-class flight "ft's so expensive, we can't afford it in these so what's left are the people who can't afford to days of tight budgets. We don't have $6 million bail out. You have a segregated public school extra," said Foley. "But we can't get out from system of poor people." under the plan because the minute you call it off, The white flight issue in Seattle is central to you go to court and you lose. any assessment of its effectiveness. The school "Desegregatingschoolsisa short-term system's enrollment dropped dramatically over solution," he said. "As long as you're moving the past 20 years. kids, you'll never get out from under it until you breakthose[segregated]housingpatterns. Enrollment fell from a high in 1964 of slightly School districts have to get involved with the more than 94,000 to about 48,500 students in 1981. housing issue if they want to solve the problem. ft now is close to 50,000. Before the desegregation program was implemented, enrollment dropped "Next year, the district is assigning a staff by 10,672 students. During the first three years of person to work full-time with city and state the plan, enrollment dropped another 10,000. officials on the problem of segregated housing patterns. School officials blame part of the decline on white flight. But they also attribute it to the "Racism is a reality, and segregated housing housing market, the large Boeing employee is the most real form of segregation." layoff in the 1970s (the period of greatest student loss) and natural changes in birth rate and demography. "I contend you can't worry about that issue because if you do, you will do insidious things," Magnet school said Andrews. "Some people will sell their homes at a loss, disrupt their kids education, put them on a much longer bus ride to avoid ,desegregation because they are petrified of turns around black people. "You can't build a city around people who are its reputation going to leave it. Those people will find another reason to leave. People either buy into a city or SAN DfEGO Victoria Coles, a 10th-grader into the suburban American dream." from an affluent part of town, recalls being told Andrews said an important side effect of the that even the teachers got beaten up at Gamper?: desegregation plan is that parents are thinking Center for Science, Math and Computers. She about their children's education. transferred anyway. "It's dislodged the notion of neighborhood "People said my elementary school was tough, schools in a lot of people's minds," he said. too, and it wasn't," said Victoria. "Now, this "More parents are sending their children to school is getting a good reputation." Struggle ... 114

Gompers, in a low-economic black section of the hall. "We all have science in mind, and we're all San Diego, is one of 40 magnet schools designed "I'm supposed to be in it next year," said the here to learn," said Wendy Wood. "1 was first tointegrate the San Diego UnifiedSchool eighth-grader. "It's a real good school, and I love introduced to the program by the big cheering District. to work with computers. That's what the future sectionsatthesciencefairs.They had In 1976. 99 percent of the school's students is going to be, and I want to get a good job. This encouragement in science, and I wasn't getting it were minority, mostly black. The school had low is a great school. The teachers want you to learn. at my high school." test scores and the reputation for lax discipline. They're not baby sitters." But Wendy and her fellow students in the Even many resident families sent their children Darrell White, another neighborhood student, honors physics class at Gompers worry that the to school outside the neighborhood. said: "The classes seem better, and they have humanitiesarelostamongthecomputer When the science, math and computer magnet computers and stuff" at the magnet school. hardware and software. was placedat Gompers,itfacedseveral Yount said Gompers still has a long way to go "You have to maintain the arts. A lot of obstacles. for true integration but that the staff is working students don't know how to write," stressed Magnet schools located in the heart of a on programs to mix the two student bodies. Wendy. minority area generally do not attract enough "A lot of people here can take apart a white students to desegregate the school. Those "There's tension at all levels the resident microcomputer,buttheydon't know what with poor reputations have even a harder time. parents and teachers," said computer teacher 'Hamlet' is," said Dan Oliverio. "It took a long time for even local parents to Greg Volger. "That attitude goes down to the accept the fact that Gompers was a good place to kids." send their kids." said Tom Yount, director of the Regular teachers often resent magnet school Gompers magnet. "Then we started walking teachers who have all the extrassmaller class away with first-piece honors at the science fairs, sizes,aidesinevery classroom,up-to-date and people from every neighborhood in town materials and additional supplies. started coming." The "extras" cost the San Diego school district Now, parents place their kindergartners on the nearly $400,000 a year on top of regular school waiting list for the seventh- through 12th -grade expenditures. Most of the money is for staffing, school. Last year, a replica of Gompers Bell nottheexpensive computer orscience Junior High School was established because of equipment. the popularity of the specialty school. By graduation, Gompers students know two computer languages and have taken twice as The school still has to deal with the resentment many math and science courses as most high and tension created by placing a high-achieving, school graduates. The basics in English, social mostly white magnet program on a lower- studies and history also are required. achieving, mostly black campus. But that very problem is what brings the school's overall Courses!borings include:classes in four enrollment down to an acceptable level of computer languages;medicalbiology; minority students. astronomy; space science; government in space; More than 600 students 60 percent of them college calculus; computer design and structure; white are enrolled in the magnet program. and Russian. About 300 neighborhood seventh- and eighth- The school has a centralized computer, 32 grade students nearly all black attend the computer terminals and a variety of specialized regular school. The overall mix is an acceptable science equipment,ranging froma ethnic balance, according to the court. laser/holography apparatus to a lasergraph. William Bowen, a resident student, is on a But not all of the students ride the bus for the waiting list to get into the magnet classes down computers. 19 193 I

Paseo Del Rey's idea--being good is expected of students

dr. LOS ANGELES The Paseo Del "If youareconsistentwith Rey magnet school started with the children,they understand,"said idea that any child, no matter what Principal Bertram Ashe. IP race or socioeconomic group, can achieve academic excellence if it's At Paseo Del Rey, every child expected. finishes every assignment. During breaks, children can be seen sitting Many schools like Paseo Del Rey, beneath the trees in the schoolyard known as fundamental schools, have doing homework or makeup been built on that concept. They assigments. have been successful in California, Texas, Wisconsin and Washington. Behavioralexpectationsare stressed and stressed again. Paseo Del Rey is one of 87 magnet "They come withdiverse schools in the Los Angeles Unified behavior habits, and we convert SchoolDistrict'svoluntary them,"saidAshe."They are integration program. It is designed to draw students from a variety of expected to be polite to each other ethnic backgrounds to balance the and to adults. They understand that school. and are comfortable with it." The secret to the school's success The result is that Paseo Del Rey isthateveryone students, scored among the top 15 percent of parents,teachers and elementary schools in California on administrators knows what is state-given tests during the past expected of him or her. three years. For two years, the Students and parents sign scores were above those expected of contracts with their expectations a school with Paseo Del Rey's mix spelledout.Teachers and of students from all ethnic groups administrators make commitments and socio-economic backgrounds. to parents that students will learn. "We don't boast," said Ashe. "We When students achieve, they are simply do it." rewarded. When they misbehave, The school also has its own testing they are reprimanded. program. Students are tested at the Struggle...

beginning of each school year and exclusive enough that few families again at the end to assess progress with children can afford tolive made during the year. there. "That is a basic part of our Yet the school is at its maximum magnet," said the principal. "We do with 500students and has180 thebesttodeliver what we children on its waiting list. Promise." "The biggest advantage is that the parents want their children While delivering that academic here, and the children want to be promise, Paseo Del Rey also mixes here," said the principal. children. This year,the student body is about 60 percent white and 40 percent minority children. In past years, it has averaged 45-50 percent minority. The Los Angeles district is about 70 percent minority. "This school is a microcosm of the city of Los Angeles," said Ashe. "We draw from South and Central L.A.,fromWatts.A hundred communities are represented in this school. "All socio-economic levels are here, but you couldn't tell. After a yeartoa year andahalf, disadvantaged children are doing as well as l: is from affluent areas because of the atmosphere in which they find themselves." Enrollment at the school also is stable,which is unusual for an urban school. Most of the fifth- graders have been at Paseo Del Rey sincethefundamental program started five years ago. "They are not strangers to each other,"saidAshe."They are family." Without the fundamental magnet program, the school would close for lack of students. While it is no Beverly Hills, Paseo Del Rey is near the beach and Section Three Business/Work/Education: New Linkages

197 196 The Christian Science Monitor Big City Schools and Technology

Educational Supplement By James Bencivenga

a Big City Schools Friday. April 15. 1983 and Technology

New York City has pioneered computer lit- vide the training they were seeking." A new eracy and computer curriculum development computer and information science unit was for teachers, pIus rigorous courseware evalu- created to provide citywide leadership in ation by administrative staff. computer education. "We couldn't believe the interest our With more than 1,000 buildings, 918,000 stu- teachers showed for learning about how the dents, and 55.000 teachers in New York computer could help schools, 33 independent local school boards them in the class- throughout its five boroughs, and a severe lo- room." says Char- cal budget crunch complicated by federal cut- lotte Frank. execu- backs, it was "flexibility and grass-roots par- tive director of the ticipation for any citywide computer plan," city's division of cur- Ms. Frank says. riculum and instruc- In the first six months of the 1982-83 aca- tion. "We had to stop demic year, New York trained more than being tncredulous 'ckly, though, and pro- 5,000 teacbers In microcomputer skills in 27 satellite training centers. Interest throughout the nation's most populous school system was so great that teachers were charged $25 for 20 Hi-tech how-to hours of computer workshops. Extensive summer sessions are planned for July and August. in New York All software for the district must funnel through the division of curriculum and instruction as well. "This is to ensure quality control," Ms. Frank says of a cadrel administration role in a city long renowned for its leadershipin curriculum evaluation and development. "We have cooperative agreements with both MECC and EPIE (see Page B131 on mutual criteria for instructional software and are in the process of establishing a (computer networkj for the city similar to the network MECC has for Minnesota," she says. New York has also set guidelines for hardware compatibility. All equipment purchases paid for by district funds must be one of six machines:Apple, Radio Shack TRS-80s, Atari, Commodore PET, Texas Instruments, or IBM personal computers.

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.vt me control over the computer proliferation explosion," Ms. Sturdivant says, the district Houston value:at this point limits its computer purchases to Principals streamline Apple Hs. Available courseware was a key component in making this decision, she says. Her department maintains its own curricu- school offices lifelong skill lum evaluation staff. No software is purchased by the district unless it passes its standards. "Our students today will deal with a world Neither computers nor software is re- Pittsburgh boasts the third-largest concen- computers have made. So we're inculcating aleased to a building until the principal takes tration of corporate headquarters in the coun- value, not just a skill, when we talk of com- 20 hours of in-servicc training. try (after New York and Chicago) and one of puter literacy. The district is creating a new job category the highest per capita ratios of executives and "The value is that each student will be re-in the educational computing field and will managers to overall population. Not surpris- sponsible for his or her own lifelong learningtrain 35 "teacher technologists" this summer. ingly, principals, not students, are getting in computer technology. We know They will become the cadre of school computers everything a student learns about computer specialists throughout first. computers will not emanate from the district. Plans are for every "The use of data our institutions. But we want to Uri/ It school in the system to have a for management and be the key support in this lifelong teacher technologist who has had planning Is a first venture." 296 hours of training. priorityforusto That's the education-technol- "Maintaining a competitive make informed deci- ogy philosophy of the Houston In- salary scale has been one of my sions," says superin- dependent School District, as Pat Sturdivant,biggest concerns," Ms. Sturdivant says. tendent of schools Richard C. Wallace. "Most assistant superintendent for technology, out-"How do you explain to someone who has schools have not organized data to the extent lines it. been teaching 30 years and has a master's de- we're trying to. Administratively, we're try- And Houston's philosophy is backed up bygree that a 26-year-old computer program- ing to ue thoroughly analytical." one of the most comprehensive plans former is worth $35,000 or we'll lose nim?" When The decision to forgo the purchase of bringing computers into the schools of anyadministrators from other school districts stand-alone microcomputers in any large major urban district in the country. come to see the Houston center, she exacts numbers was made by Pittsburgh for two rea- Since September, when the district begantheir promise not to hire any of her people. sons, says James Angevin, director of the a separate department of technology under Last October, the district began an innova- management information system, "We didn't Ms. Sturdivant's supervision, more than 3,000tive pilot program in two elementary schools, think enough good software was out there yet, of Houston's 14,000 teachers have receivedone of which is 95 percent black, the other 95 and even if it was we knew that if you looked training in computer literacy. By the fall ofpercent Hispanic. Analogous to a library's at individual schools, where the learning 1985, 80 percent of its teachers will have re-lending out a book, it teaches students and takes place, the most critical factor in the ceived minimum instruction. Of the district'stheir parents the basics of how to use a com- success of a particular school lies with the 260 schools, all but 45 already have comput- puter. Working with 48 home computers, stu- building principal as the instructional leader. ers. dents and parents go through 12 hours of in- We chose to make that person more produc- More than 1,800 Apple II computers, plusstructionatschool and thentakethe tive first." other makes, are in place throughout the dis- computer home for two weeks. "A computerized management system trict. Houston has its own in-house repair The program, called "Computers Can," is will first let us measure the academic gains shop, which can service any equipment thebeing watched closely by school officials we are seeking, and oversee the efficient op- district owns rather than relying on more ex-around the country as it concerns itself with eration of the entire district in a more busi- pensive vendor service contracts. equal access to the new computer technology nesslike manner," Mr. Angevin says, "The In a move for standardization, and "to getby poor and minority students. guts of the system is what lets an administra- 202 j Technology. 124

for get appropriate, accurate information Capital'snew primers: from a data base in time to make a sound educational decision." - WhenlittleAlbert Kong and Mark The first information that goes into Pitts- Emphasis begins early Hargraves look up at the walls of their kinder- burgh's data base is student information on gartenclassat Thompson Elementary grades, testing, and class scheduling. The with Writing to Read' School. their eyes scan more than just the let- second priority is financial data on the dis- ters of the alphabet, pretty posters, and stu- trict budget. Each building prinicipal will dent drawings. On one entire wall stretches a have a discretionary, computer-monitored computer flow chart that outlines the writing budget. Personnel records form a third cate- and reading curriculum these two classmates gory of data. Community and demographic aretakingwiththeaidofan IBM information completes the record. microcomputer. Confidentiality and privacy based on an "The program is administrative rule of "need to know" are called'Writingto -I being carefully worked out. A student's Read,' " says the as- records will be available only to the principal IOCI 11111-Traq sistantsuperinten- 11-11+,_11 of the school he attends, plus key central of- dent for instruction, fice personnel routed through Mr. Angevine's JamesT.Guines. office. "We have 15 schools A districtwide electronic mail system will and more than 1,500 be in place by September. A Data General kindergartners and first-graders piloting it. minicomputer connected by phone lines will We're seeing the beginning of the end of one allow school board members, each principal, era and the start of another in teaching lan- and the district administration to access the guage concepts." central memory from remote user sites. There will be a terminal and keyboard in each Although it has been only four or five years of the 87 schools serving the district's 42,250 since the microcomputer first began appear- students. ing in classrooms around the country, the na- The cost to the district for the system in- tion's capital has become one of the leading stalled is $965,000. Two grants from the Buhl large-city school districts in providing com- Foundation in Pittsburgh totaling $111,000 al- puter instruction 9... its students and com- lowed the district to use the consulting ser- puter-based information management for its vices of professors and students at Carnegie- administrators. Mellon University in planning and setting up A five-year plan spelling out how the dis- the network and data base. trict would meet a computer-literacy requirement for its 91,000-plus students was established by the school board in 1981. In charge of setting up the program was the superintendent, Floretta Dukes McKenzie, considered by many educational observers both inside and outside the district to be a national rote model on how to provide the strong leadership needed for such a major undertaking in a city school system. 205 125

Creating a friendly climate `Byte, Spot, byte' for 'electronic teachers'

Part of Washington's plan requires every If inner-city and rural students are to have teacher (there are 5,500 in the district) to be the same educational opportunity as those in computer literate within five years; makes technology-conscious suburban schools, they tenure for all new teachers contingent upon will need access to new electronic tools. Be- computer literacy; allows the promotion of fore any school ;requires computers for class- ninth-graders only if they are computer liter- room use, it must overcome such obstacles as ate; and requires that every administrator budget restrictions, teacher resistance, and and building principal know how to use the unfamiliarity with hardware and software ca- electronic mall and computer management pabilities. system. Recently The Monitor interviewed admin- One reason for the D.C. schools' easy ac- istrators of a number of school systems, in- ceptance of computers is that the federal gov- cluding Washington, D. C., New York City, ernment has been "using them for years," Houston, and Pittsburgh, to learn the steps says Mr. Gaines. "Because of this, our teach- they feel are essential in a successful com- ers and parents know how important comput- puter instruction program. They listed these ers are." priorities: "From the outset we decided our com- Strong commitment andleadership puter operations should cut across both the from the top down. Microcomputer technol- instructional and mangagement roles within ogy is new and calls for major changes in the schools," says J. Weldon Greene, director of ways schools will be run. Like aircraft carri- program development hi the D.C. schools. ers, large school systems must turn slowly An electronic mall network, when corn- and turn far in advance of where they want to pleted, will enable 189 schools to communi- be. Anything short of clear policy from the cate with one another on screens connected to board of trustees and sustained leadership on telephones. the pari of the superintendent can very quickly leave a district with a flounderii.g D.C. schools test extensively, with weekly program. reports going to parents and administrators. Wide-scale teacher training in the new Each of the elementary schools will have an electronic test scanner attached to its com- technology. puter to score tests for students in kindergar- A software curriculum and evaluation plan that promotes districtwide academic ; ten through sixth grade. The results, simulta- neously recorded hi the central office, will goals. enable administrators to monitor the current A coordinated hardware purchasing progress of all 45,000 K4 pupils. plansothateconomiesofscaleand Washington schools also have their own systemwide compatibility result. summer computer camp for 600 students and Providing every student with access to have established a number of advanced scien- daily time on a computer. By Paul Conldin tific and engineering programs centered on Close technical collaboration with local sophisticated computer labs in high schools. universities, where they exist. Early reading lesson in D.C. Finding the money to do all of the above. 206 207 Technology.. 126

I Best use of school hardware andsoftware EPIE's aim

Ken Komosld has seen a number of EPIE's goal is to have at least one-fourth Currently a group of urban school systems innovational teaching aids wind up in aca- of the nation's nearly 16,000 school districts participate in a techonology review with demic limbo. In many schools, overhead pro- EPIE:Alburquerque,Cincinati,Detroit, jectors, teaching machines, filmstrips, mov- Houston, Salt Lake City, and Boston. While ies,television, and language labs loudly 'No single district has the New York City public schools evaluate their extolled and hastily purchased are now col- money or talent to cover own software, they and EPIE have agreed on lecting dust. the same criteria for software. As executive director of a 15-year-old non- the some 700 to 1,000 "No single district has the money or talent profit organization called the Educational software companies we to cover the some 700 to 1,000 software com- Products Information Exchange (EPIE), Mr. estimate are producing panies we estimate are producing Komoski's self-appointed mission is shep- courseware," Mr. Komoski says. These com- herding the classroom introduction of com- courseware,' Mr. Komoski panies range in size from major publishers to puters and their educational applications. He says. mom-and-pop,one-person programming wants to make sure that the newest technol- shops. ogies are shielded from the kind of rejection As part Of its work EPIE asks that new some earlier innovations have met. subscribe to its computer-product evaluation educational software be sent to it for evalua- Mr. Komoski hopes. to convince schools, service. And it has taken a major step toward tion at no cost. "Otherwise courseware will colleges, and parents' groups that EPIE, not its goal by joining forces with Consumers merely be bought to fill a vacuum called a the supermarket sales clerk, is the place to Union, the national organization that evalu- microcomputer," he says. turn for sophisticated evaluations of all edu- ates consumer goods, to study computer Its full- and part-time staff of 25, and more cational computer products, from hardware products. than 300 free-lance product evaluators nation- to software to printers to user manuals. The two nonprofit organizations will pro- wide, give EPIE the expertise not only to han- He says three factors encourage him to be- vide subscribers with detailed reports, to be dle a steady stream of evaluations, but also lieve computer education will continue to ex- called Pro/Files, on computers, monitors. the means to increase its contacts with pand in schools: printers, and courseware (the term for com- schools. The microcomputer marks a shift in the puter programs for education). They will also A standard courseware evaluation con- way our whole society does business. Com- publish Microgram. a monthly newsletter on sists of three independent specialists review- panies and parents are demanding that the microcomputer field. ing, for approximatley 10 hours each, the aca- schools teach students how to use them. "Did "We had the technological expanse, and demiccontentandcomputer-learning you ever see community leaders saying. 'We Consumers Union had the name recognition." advantages of each program. A fourth staff must have filmstrips, we must have overhead Mr. Komoski says. Funding from the Ford coordinator then r:Anpiles and "grades" the projectors'?" he asks. Foundation and Carnegie Corporation, plus information. In an era of budget-cutting, schools are assistance from Columbia University Teach- Elementary schools and smaller districts subjecting all capital purchases including ers College in New York City, have lifted the have been among the most receptive to computersto careful scrutiny. EKE-Consumers Union project to the point EPIE's computer-evaluation services thus Most teachers accept that computers where it hopes tc have significant influence far, Mr. Komoski says. "Due to their not hav- will be increasingly important in the future over the sales of computer-education pro- ing adequate staff, they have come to view us and that they and their students must know ductsestimated at more than $1 billion an- as part of their research department," he how to use them. nually. says. 208 209 The Commercial Appeal Memphis, Tennessee Education: Whose Business Is It?

A Four-Pan Series fit ti-inda Wallace Williams Education: Whose Sunday. April 24. 1983 Business Is It? PART ONE 129

Education: Whose Business Is It? About the Author LINDA WALLACE WILLIAMS has been with the Memphis Commercial Appeal since 1977, moving to the education ' Need Nurtures beat in 1981. Prior to this she worked for the St. Louis Dispatch. Corporatea School Links In 1977 Williams received. her Bachelor of Journalism degree from the Univer- Business and education havehave become to the1980swhat thebegan talking marketing strategy, sity of Missouri-Columbia. She has been been the economy's separate andword relevance was to the1960s. employe productivity and cutting unequal partners, but the wall ofThe programs range from image-costs. awarded the St. Louis Post Dispatch distrust that has kept them apartbuilding projects like adopt-a- Business was forced into its role and Eugene Field Scholarships and is a is crumbling shaken byschool to political unions, finan-as educator because education member of Kappa Tau Alpha Jour- necessity. cial contributions, curriculumwas not keeping pace with the "Education and business used toreformandjob-trainingeconomy, said John Hoy, a mem- nalism Honorary. Additionally she is a be like two ships that passed inprograms. ber of the New England Board of founding member of the Memphis Asso- the night," said Deleware Gov. In Boston, the partnership hasEducation. ciation of Black Journalists. Pierre duPont, who pioneered thehelped shape policy by promising "Businesses needed these peo- Jobs for America's Graduates pro-1,000 jobs to Boston high schoolple like yesterday," said Hoy. gram. "We can no longer affordgraduates if the school adminis-"They can't afford to wait for the Williams began her analysis of emerg- that strategy. They must chart thetration meets its improvementschools to produce the people ing business and school relationships by same course if we are to survive."goals. with the skills they require. So looking at the Business Education Coali- Without more highly trained And in Washington, businessesthey are doing it themselves." students, business has found itand educational leaders estab- Conservative estimates put tion in Memphis. In the course of her can't compete against its govern-lished centers in pre-engineer-business expenditures in training Fellowship work she traveled to Boston, ment-subsidized foreign competi-ing, finance, computer technol-and educating employes at $40 bil- tion. And without business sup-ogy, hotel management, and foodlion a year, with a portion of that St. Louis, Dover, Delaware and Wash- port, educators were without theand health services, decidingbeing used to teach remedial ington, D.C. to look at developments in resources to prepare students tothose skills were needed most incourse and simple things like these cities as well. meet the new job demands. the local economy. memo writing, Out of this mutual need, corpo- Transformation from the indus- In1978,AT&T was spending $999 rate-school partnerships weretrial age to the information agemillion a year on education and born. made educators of businessmentraining, and about 2.000 of its em- "Everybody is talking about itand businessmen of educators. ployes had PhDs. By comparison, everywhere you go," said Pete Corporate leaders like Francisa well-known think-tank like MIT Weaver, a Washington attorney'Frank' Maguire, outgoing seniorwas spending about $222 million who coordinates business-educa-vice president for Federal Ex-and had on its staff about900 tion relations for the school sys-press Corp., began discussingPhDs. tem there. "Partnerships are veryreading and writing skills in cor- Businessmen are not the only much on people's mind." porate board rooms while super-ones concerned with the gap be- Business-education coalitionsintendents and college presidentstween student skills and job de-

.73 211 Monday. April 25, 1983 PART TWO Education & Business... 130

mands or with the quality of stu- ning to fill the void. Education: Whose Business Is It? dents being turned out by the North Carolina has been suc- nation's schools and colleges. cessful in using education as a Governors like duPont, Missis- tool to economic development. So sippi's William Winter and North has New England, an area blessed Carolina's James Hunt also are withabundanthigh-techSchools Learn worried. They think the nation's industries. security is at stake. Even politicians are getting in They and businessmen like Ma- on the act. New Marketing guire wonder why curriculums "Elected le -tiers have a vital re- concentrate on low-level skills sponsibility to fully understand like adding and subtracting the new link between business which machines do better in- and academia, as well as to graspStrategy stead of basic human skills like the importance of the region's thinking. educational resources in econom- And why, in a world of comput- ic terms," says Hoy. Executives at one of Memphis'held special open houses. ers, schools teach students to fix Urban education is entering thelargest businesses were worried. calculators. computer age at a time when theThey were losing ground to the The school system assisted by That's the problem a conference public is unwilling to approve taxcompetition with no turnaroundrunning full-page newspaper ads on education and economics con- increases, the state budgets arein sight. People had lost faith inand a public education support vened by Hunt and Carnegie tight and the federal governmenttheir product a product theygroup called IMAGE contributed Foundation president David Ham- is unwilling to assume a largerthought was good. television commercials. burg had in mind when it issued a role. Officials decided upon a market- When it was over, the predomi- national alert. In places like Boston, where 9ing plan designed to convince thenantly black system had a net in. "This disparity (between skills out of 10 households don't havepublic of their product's value.crease of 700 white students and taught and the ones the economy children in public schools, it isThe selling of the Memphis cityhad attracted, in the process, a demands) is a major threat to our getting increasingly difficult toschools began. number of black students from future national economy. The na- get the community to take an in- Plough, inc., Federal Expressprivate schools. tion's productivity and ability to terest in the schools. EspeciallyCorp., end Holiday Inns loaned ex- Herenton and most of the prin. compete in world markets are since only 2 of the nation's largestecutives to the system, and theycipals thought the efforts were jeopardized," participants con- 25 school districts still have a ma-developed a marketing strategyworthwhile. cluded. What can be done? jority of white students. after surveys and visits to the "Public relations is an area that A report from the Carnegie Businessmen have been amongschools. schools don't get involved in very Foundation, composed after a the first to realize their future de- Their proposal so impressedmuch" he says. "1 think it is ex meeting of 50 leaders in educa- pends on these students, and thatschool Supt. Willie Herenton thattremely important." tion, business, labor, foundations is why they have been leading thehe asked the Ford Foundation for Many of today's educators share and science, urged formation of a battle cry, calling in favors asmoney to carry it out. He gotHerenton's respect for such busi- national policy coordinating edu- they did in Boston to get a neededenough to begin it with eightness tools. But it has not always cation and economics. budget increase and financing aschools. been so. Neither educators nopoliti- good portion of the Memphis Principals of the chosen schools Education had its heyday when cians expect that national policy schools' efforts for a sales taxwent into the advertising busi-the post-war baby boom began to evolve soon. To them, it's the increase. ness during the 1981-82 schoolmore than three decades ago. stuff of which dreams are made. year. They formed teacher-parentSchoolhouses sprang up first So, in its-absence, business-cor- committees, which sent out let-elementary schools, then junior porate partnerships are begin- ters, fliers and newspapers andhighs and, finally, high schools. 214 131

But, as quickly as it began. theHodgkinson says. public relations tools. Washington has a similar story population boom ended, and ad- He suggests, for starters, the es- These are changes born of ne- but a different ending. ministrators were left to pondertablishment of community hold-cessity and reared, in many in- Businesses donated their ser- the future of empty buildings anding companies that can use emptystances,bythebusiness vices to review Washington's fi- unneeded teachers. school buildings and partialcommunity. nances, but their report ended up Schools closed by the thou-mergers of the schools and other "Businesses look upon their in- on a shelf. The business commu- sands. To complicate things fur-service agencies. volvement as an investment. nity, as a result, backed away ther, court-ordered desegrega- "Partial mergers with other lo-They don't want to invest either from the system for many years. tion began and whites fled thecal and intermediate servicetime or money in a school system Herenton believes in Memphis systems. units should be encouraged. par-they feel is unstable or bad," said schools. And instinct tells him he Such problems were new to edu-ticularly in the normal, very needs white students in the sys- cators, but not to businessmen.small public school, which is usu-Pete Weaver, a Washington attor- tem because black systems are Many a company had found itselfally located next to a very smallney who coordinates business- perceived as inferior. faced with such problems as un-social service agency, a smalleducation efforts for the District Some educators, however, see a derused properties and dwin-health care agency, etc. Partialof Columbia. danger to this approach. If dling market share, but they man-mergers will allow the continu- "I believe you have to have fis- schools concentrate on improv- aged- to succeed, just the same. ation of personalized service de-cal accountability before you can ing their marketable schools. as School superintendents real-livery while making administra-get businesses interested in the business instinct would suggest, ized that and began to look totive functions more efficient." schools. You can have fiscal ac- they risk discriminating against business for solutions. countability without business- unmarketable schools in poor or What resulted were programs education partnerships but I don't black areas. like the Memphis schools market- think you can have business-edu- Ultimately, a system could har- ing plan. Those schools adapted, cation partnerships without fis- bor two unequal systems, one for and that's what others are going cal accountability." the rich and one for the poor. to have to do if they are to sur- Memphis, again, offers proof. Officials in Washington and vive, says Harold 'Bud' Hodgkin - The City Council unknowingly Boston say public schools should Son, a senior fellow at the Insti- fostered the businesseducation try to improve their image and tute for Educational Leadership relationship when it asked Future encourage community support of in Washington. Although the schools have notMemphis, a group of business the schools. But they balk at sug- Hodgkinson says businesseslearned their lessons, as well asleaders, to review school proce- gestions that they actively recruit have succeeded where schoolsMcDonald's, they have started todures several years ago to make people who have fled. have failed because they are morediversify to some extent. sure they were sound. "The people who fled the system flexible. Community education pro- The report concluded that the are gone. Our responsibility is to McDonald's restaurants is hisgrams now provide adult access tosystem's practices were good and the people who remained behind- star pupil. McDonald's also profit-courses like dancing or art. And,recommended several procedural ....who stuck it out with us," said ed from the baby boom. But whenas more mothers have entered thechanges school officials since Boston Supt. Robert Spillane. "I the youngsters from whom theywork force, after school day-carehave adopted. can't see spending any moray to had made their fortune grew up,programs have opened, as have Upon that, the business-educa- bring people back when those McDonald's added breakfast toprograms for displacedtion coalition grew, and it now funds could be used for our the menu, an item that appeals tohomemakers. includes such efforts as adopt-a students." an older group. A potential prob- However, the business influ-school. Rotary Club teacher rec Weaver thinks schools can ac- lem turned into a fortune. ence is most evident in the cen-ognition awards and support-the- complish more by expanding pro- Schools are going to have to dotral administration, which haspublic-schools days at the gramming to the adult communi- the same sort of thing to meet thetightened administrative costsMemphis Area Chamber of ty, particularly because adult constant fluctuation in demand,and borrowed marketing andCommerce. retraining has become such an Z1 5 gas Tuesday. April 26. 1983 PART THREE Education & Business... 132

important issue. Washington has done just that. "Real estate is so expensive," Education: Whose Business Is It? Weaver said. "We have got to begin using our property to better advantage. That means keeping the schools open at night and, perhaps, finding use for them during Adopt-A-School Program the summer months." Sending Community Back Into Classrooms

Most everyone agrees businessmen and educators speak "different languages", but programs like adopta school have made it easier for them to understand each other.

Booker T. Washington Highmin Hooks have broken poverty'sschool's attributes. Still, he has no School takes youngsters withoutgrasp and inspired others to dotrouble choosing "No. 1." hope and gives them reason to try.the same. "Federal Express is the best GraduateslikeMemphis Booker T. Washington's princi-thing that has ever happened to schools Supt. Willie Herenton andpal, Mose Walker, has much toBooker T. Washington and I mean NAACP executive director Benja-ponder when he considers thethat," he said. "It has had the most 217 218 telling effect than any kind ofsystems. Walker's office coordi-ence, pre-engineering, health, ho- community agency or outsidenates volunteer business projects,tel and restaurant services, sad agency has ever had on the schoolthen offers the services tobusiness and finance. period." principals. "We looked at where the Jobs "Usually, the principals are co-were going to be and we looked at What makes a successful air ex-operative. Except when we getthe kind of students those indus- press company take an interest inaround test time. Then they saytries would need, then we identi- "one of the few true inner-citythey don't have time for it...Afied the largest employers in schools?" A program calledlarge part of my job Is convincingthose areas and started talking to Adopt-A-School. principals and teachers of thethem." Memphis began pairing schoolsmerit." About 250 students selected with businesses, churches and Whether in St. Louis or Mem-from citywide applications are civic groups in 1979 under Heren-phis, most everyone agrees busi-enrolled at the centers, which are ton's direction. All but 30 of thenessmen and educators speakscattered throughout the city. 153 schools will have been adopt-"different languages," and pro-The students are in school about ed by the end of the school year.grams like adopt-a-school havetwo hours longer than their peers The adopt-a-school program hasmade it easier for them to under- from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and they brought businessmen into thestand each other. leave junior high a year early, schools and put students in However, Pete Weaver, the at-starting high school classes in the business. torney who heads corporate9th grade. When Barbara Russell, projectschool relations in Washington, In Memphis, coordination be- coordinator, considers its accom-doubts whether communicationtween business and education is plishments, she doesn't speak ofreally has improved. He believesmuch mroe informal. Many busi- the thousands of dollars in dona-too many schools are so wrappednessmen here share the concerns tions or countless volunteerup with "window-dressing" theyof Washington businessmen and hours each year. The value, shehaven't addressed the topics thathave been trying to make their says, is in the fact it brought "theneed to be discussed. voices heard. community" back to school. Frank Maguire, outgoing vice- "The schools are selling them-president of Federal Express, is Ten years ago corporate-educa-selves short. They are letting theone who feels schools have not tion programs were as scarce asbusinesses get away with makingkept pace with the working blooms in February. Today, mostsome small contribution whenworld. major systems have a variation ofthey could be doing bigger and "Why in a world of microcom- the program or are starting one.better things." puters would you continue to But questions have also arisen. School-business partnershipstrain students to fix calculators?" Wayne Walker, head of the busi-have been a priority for Washing-he asked. ness-schools partnership pro-ton Supt. Floretta McKenzie be- gram in St. Louis, said teacherscause too many of her graduates Recently, a state task force ap- and principals under pressure tohave not been getting jobs. pointed to study job skills con- improve basic skills and test When Weaver took over, hecluded communication is not as scores sometimes fail to see muchsearched the country looking foreffective as it could be. "There is point to the programs, and theyinnovative business-educationinsufficient interaction in Ten- object to the time it takes fromprojects and found little that im-nessee between business and edu- classes. pressed him. Interviews with cor-cational leaders in design and de- That is one reason why St. Louisporate leaders were more success-livery of occupational training approaches school-business col-ful, producing the idea ofprograms which are responsive to laboration differently from mostacademic centers in computer sci-changing industry trends and 2 9 Education & Business ... 134

skills," its report said. BOSTON Education is for sale Mrs. Russell believes Adopt-A- in this harbor town. Shop around. School will provide the founda- Choose from Harvard, Boston Col- tion on which to build programs lege or any of 41 other institutions that will help coordinate the of higher learning. school curriculum's needs with Education is threaded into the those of business. town's fabric. Such a relationship with academia gives credence to Though Washington's approach those who say Boston is "The Ath- to business-education partner- ens of America." ship has been lauded, it is not a But Athens is in big trouble.The cure all. Educators and business- city that teaches some of the men warn such partnerships are new and should be approached with caution. There is potential for great damage. Schools could become training centers for businesses. That in it- BUSINESS self may not seem so bad. But in towns dominated by one or two industries, schools could do a great disservice by providing world's brightest minds hasn't such limited skills. taught its own children very well. There is yet another, ironic Nearly 30 per cent of the system's drawback. Not only are business- high school students find their men seeking to lure away science = textbooks too difficult to read. and math teachers, they are now after business-minded superintendents and administrators. Her- enton believes more will jump rank for the private sector, where pay is better and life more pri- Compact vate. That, he said, is what he in- tends to do when he steps down in a couple of years. Even more distressing to educa- Still, most people agree the po- tors and businessmen is the fact tential good in business-educa- nearly one of every two students tion partnerships outweighs the who starts the ninth grade in the bad. In the eyes of many, it is a city's public schools will drop out. necessity. "It's a crime," said John Gould of the Shawmut Corp. and executive director of a group of business leaders known as The Vault "These kids drop out of life before 220 21 Wednesday. April 27. 1983 PART FOUR 135

they ever ... get started." In days of old, troubled towns looked to gods and the heavens for help. Bostonians looked to New t ork, where they found Rob- ert 'Bud' Spillane the seventh person in nine years to take a crack at the job. When he arrived, one school committee member had been sent to jail. A second was under indict- ment and a third eventually resigned because of allegations of a busing kickback scheme. The finances were in such a tan- gled web no one knew how many employes there were. t "The Boston school system had been termed a national disgrace by others. That is not my term but, in fact, it was," said the graying Spillane. 4: , , "We had overspent the budget \ k/V., by $31 million the year before I arrived. That in itself is not so terrible if you know what you are :r. . se spending. But the guesses were V they were overspending between $10 million and $50 million." Spillane immediately began cleaning house. He reorganized personnel and tightened fiscal controls. Then he went to school, setting up a new curriculum and testing program and replacing 33 Seeks Salvation of123 -headmastersand principals. The system still lacked public support, and Spillane decided Of 'Athens Of America' such backup was crucial to his improvement plans. So he became town criers taking his pitch on the Education: Whose Business Is It? banquet circuit and into corporate board rooms. 2e2 The troops amassed, responding 223 Education & Business...

to his alarm. And that movement such partnership programs have gave birth to The Boston been tried in Boston. ,It is more Compact. like the third or fourth. Spillane puts it this way: "The teachers are skeptical "The students who stay in the about the program," said Tom community and who make up the Hennessey, -headmaster at Madi- largest percentage of the work son Park High School. "They are force are the dropouts and the stu- taking a wait and see attitude. dents who finish in the lower two- These types of programs have thirds of the class. We have to been tried before." start judging our success not by the students who go on to college The teachers are not the only but by the ability of these stu- skeptics. Tied to the Boston Com- dents to carry out productivepact are several new theories, work." such as the school-based manage. The Boston Compact is an his- ment plan that will :give princi. toric agreement in which the pals more say in teacher assign- schools committed to improving ments and in how their budgets the dropout rate and attendanceshould be spent. rate and to increasing thf. num- Spillane, meanwhile, is enjoy- ber of college-bound graduates ing national attention brought on each year. In return, the corpo- by the compact. But he realizes rate sector agreed to get 200 cor- his main goal is far beyond his porations to agree to furnish jobs grasp. between 800 and 1.000 to Bos- Spillane hopes one day public ton High School graduates who schools in the `Athens of America' will open the gates for children, number about 3,000. rather than holding them in Gould, a native of the one of place. thecity's poorer areas, said the "Public education ought to gives city's 24 largest corporations, students a chance to make some- which sit on the coordinating thing out of their lives. It doesn't committee, knew from the start always do that. My goal is to make they were talking about their fu- this a system that gives poor chil- ture when they talked about Bos- dren a chance at a better life." ton's public schools. "It was never a question of could we afford to participate. We knew we could not afford not to participate." said Gould. Government, business and educational leaders see the compact as the light at the end of the tunnel. Not everyone sees brighter days ahead. This is not the first time The Carolina Times Durham, North Carolina From School to Work: A Leap of Despair

225 A Five-Part Series177By Milton Jordan 226 From School to Work: Saturday. April 2. 1983 A Leap of Despair PART ONE

on employment, the magazine federal jobs program? We think About the Author Education '83: reported: "The weight of high not! unemployment islikely to fall Because. webelieve that this MILTON JORDAN. a nationally known A Special Edition Series most heavily on newer entrants issue of education and work is journalist with more than thirteen years into theworkplace, college critical today and will be even media experience, is now Executive Edi- Publisher's Note: All graduates looking for that first more critical for the next 17 years Americans want to somehow live job, women and blacks." as the country heads into Century tor of The Carolina Times in Durham, the good life, however the in- Implicit in that prediction is 21, TheCarolina-Times decided North Carolina. The Carolina Times is a dividual defines that. that young people, particularly to study this issue in depth. sixty-year old black weekly newspaper For many black Americans, those between 17-22 years old, With the help of a grant from that currently serves more than 300.000 the goodlifeincludessocial. and particularly blacks are going theInstituteforEducational regionally. political and economic equality to find it difficult to work now Leadership in Washington, D.C., of opportunity, the chance. as it and into the future. we sent our Executive Editor, Jordan's journalism career began in were, to let the dreams of black Thefiguresbearoutthat Milton Jordan, on special assign- Americans closely approximate prediction. ment. Greensboro with The Carolina Peace- the dreams of all Americans. Teenage unemployment has He has interviewed educational maker, followed by brief stints with The Two major ingredients dictate always been higher thanthe leaders from around the country, Carolina Times and The Carolinian in the transformation of dreams to overall unemployment rate, but inNorth Carolinaand in Raleigh. In 1970 Jordan became the reality education and a job. in the past four years, the gap has Durham. He has talkedwith first black reporter to work with The These two ingredients are actual- been growing. In 1981, for exam- trend experts, read dozens of Wilmington Star-News in Wilmington. ly flip sides of the same coin. The ple, the last year that complete reports and several recent books education you have determines in figures are available, the jobless on the subject. He has spent He later supervised a federally financed large measure what type of jobs rate among the state's teenagers severaldays, alongwith a Rumor Control Clinic and managed a you can do. and young adults was just over 20 carefully selected team of free- radio station in that city, as well as Two generations ago, things per cent. For blacks, the rate, lance writers he assembled, look- hosted a weekly television talk show. He were fairly simple. Go to school. again, almost doubled to just ingcloselyatthe Charlotte- went to Charlotte as an urban affairs Get a high school diploma L...4 under 40 per cent. Mecklenburg Schools and the certain jobs were yours. Get a Why? Durham schools, city and coun- reporter for the Charlotte Observer in college degree and a whole new The easy answer is that these ty. He has talked with leaders in 1974, and resigned in 1979 to open a vista of jobs, careers, if you will, young people don't have the ex- the N.C. Department of Public consulting business. opened to you. Within the boun- perience to get the jobs, and instruction and looked at the daries of American racism, the don't have the education to get community collegesystem as For his study of education and work, scenario was the same for blacks. theexperience.Butthe easy well. He has interviewed dozens Jordan interviewed education and busi- Butrecently,things have answer is not enough because a of employers and personnel ex- ness leaders from around the country, in drastically changed. greatmany of thesejobless perts, plus quite a number of According to the Dec. 13, 1982 youth,especiallyblacks have unemployed young people. North Carolina and Durham. issue of U.S. News & World high school diplomas, and some Out of all of this has come an Report, "A fresh diploma is no of them hold college degrees. in-depth, comprehensive, hard- guarantee of employment." Well, what is the solution? The hitting five-part Special Edition In the same issue, in an article sub-minimumwage? A new series:FROM SCHOOL TO 227 From School to Work ... 140

WORK: A LEAP OF DESPAIR. Black Youth Joblessness Our investigation of this subject is not to produce another Can Be Solved sing-song litany of doom and gloom. Rather, we want to iden- They're everywhere! tifycauses,andsuggestin- novative solutions, pinpointing They hang out, kill time, jam, party, play the video games, or resources that can be brought to worse. bear to effectuate those solu- They are our jobless youth! tions. Probably second only to the cancer of black-on-black crime, We hope you will read this black youth unemployment gnaws greedily at our most valuable series carefully. We hope we will challenge you to understand the resource, our young people, our future. problem, first from a personal Something must be done! perspective, and then on a larger We simply cannot afford, and therefore must not allow, an en- scale. We hope we will stir you to tire generation of young blacks to drift into absentminded action to begin turning the pro- idleness. This nation simply cannot afford to squander resources blem around, because that way. unemployed young people become unemployable adults. Besides,in a highly sophisticated, technological society, Society can't survive a genera- unemployed young people are likely to become unemployable tion of nonworkers. Technology adults, middle-aged people and senior citizens, if they live that won't save us from that! long. Vivian A. Edmonds, Publisher But what can we do? We think that black business operators have an obligation to address this problem directly and specifically. There should be some discussion now between Durham's Black Merchants Association and the Durham Business and Profes- sional Chain to develop a strategy to attack this problem, and to get every current black business operator, and every potential black business operator plugged into the strategy. In the final analysis, all the philosophy, the discussion and hand-wringing about what the "guv'ment" has not done or might do is futile and silly. The bottom line is our young people must have jobs. The reality is we must supply those jobs. There is more we can do. 229 We can begin seeing all young blacks as potential employees, 230 _ 141

and we can take a personal interest in what they are doing now to school and be of exemplary service to society. In other words, prepare themselves to work for us in the future. employers don't hire you because you need a job, they hire you We can become concerned about their education, and by work- because you, by exemplary service, can help improve their ing closely with schools, including NCCU, try to see that they are business effort. getting the type of academic undergirding that will prepare them Any salary is a good salary in exchange for exemplary service, for what we will have for them to do when we hire them. because no company should ever be able to pay you what you are We can become concerned about their deportment, and con- worth. If you are being paid what you are worth, then either you structively criticize deportment, dress and attitudes that, in our are cheating the employer, or you don't have any worth left for r judgment, will not make them good employees for us. yourself. In other words, we can put ourselves in the picture of their Your lifestyle is not nearly as dependent upon the money you future, and if we do, we can help solidify our own future. make as it is upon your attitude toward money, and the strategy One of the most unfortunate things the older folks say about you develop for using it. young blacks, is that the young people's attitude, deportment, Now here's the shocker! dress and academic backgrounds were purposely developed so the Almost no successful person in business :n America went into young people can avoid working. business to get rich. Rather, they went into business to provide a , better service. Conversely, almost no successful employee is The Real World of Work working today just for money. Rather, they are working to do the Inadvertently we have taught our young people some wrong best job they can, to provide the most exemplary service they can. principles about the world of work. The error has been created A big part of their success is that they enjoy what they are doing. and magnified in the language of instruction and discussion that Substantial rewards in this country come directly through the unfortunately disguises many basic principles and attitudes that world of pork, and they come almost.directly proportional to the one needs to be a successful worker. degree of risk, the level of commitment and the value of your ser- Consider. vice. Habitually, we tell our young people about how they must Now that's the real world of work. It can be summed up in the study hard so they can get out of school and go get a job. following principles: We tell them about some work being a good job and, by im- * It is built on a foundation of specific goals: personal, profes- plication, that other work is a bad job. sional and societal. We talk to them about a good salary, which by inference, pro- * Preparation is a lifelong process. duces a good lifestyle. Without saying it, we imply therefore that * Growth is mandatory, or "work-death" (firing, etc.) soon a salary less than that is a bad salary and produces a bad lifestyle. follows. We must begin telling our young people the truth. We must * Salary is only a measure of your contribution to profitability. paint a clear picture for them of the real world of work. * A positive attitude is the chief tool. Young people do not go to school, study hard and learn well to * A superior ability to get along with others lubricates the leave school and GET a job: Rather, they do all that to leave whole process. 232 231 From School to Work... 142

A News Analysis It is almost impossible to get a executive who asked not to be This position was echoed by a handle on the specific figures for identifiedforfearthatthe federaltaskforce onyouth From School to Work Durham, but there is no reason to adverse publicity would hurt his unemployment. After an inten- believe the picture is much better. firm. "But frankly, I can't take sive study of the problem, they A Leap of Despair The obvious question is why? the risk. I can't find enough kids described its significance, impact One answer, of course, is that whocan read or write. and possible solutionsinthe unemploymentisupoverall, Preposterous as that sounds, it's following findings. Thomas Turner, 22, desperate- hovering near I0 per cent for the true...We can train people, but * "Youth employment pro- ly wants a job. He's been looking totallaborforce. For blacks wecan'tteachreadingor blemsandopportunitiesarc for more than a year. The results: generally, the figure is about 22 writing." unevenly distributed. Without a nothing! per cent, more than double the His assertion about not being bold new initiative, the 80s are But Turner, a high school overall unemployment rate. able to find kids who can read, likely to exacerbate these ine- graduate, who also has a number But even a recession, slowly write, and by Implication, com- quities. of other problems, including an shadingitselfintoa modest pute well enough to earn and * Many of our young people undesirable discharge from the recovery,doesn't explain why hold entry level jobs might sound may not have the basic reading, Army and a drug-related court half of America's young blacks preposterous, but this executive writing and arithmeticalskills record, is not alone. can't find work. isn't the only one making the necessary to get and hold a decent According to recent reports As President Ronald Reagan assertion. job. from the U.S. Department of and others are fond of saying, The November 1982 issue of *Employerssortoutap- Labor, more than 50 per cent of there are jobs to be had, citing, as Nation's Businesspaints a bleak plicantsbased onworkex- the nation's black youth from they do, the heft of the classified picture."Even morecritical, perience and reliability on a 16 to 22 years old want jobs employment pages in most of the millions of American adults are resume. There is a shortage of and can't find them. That's more nation's daily newspapers. functionally illiterate, and large job opportunities for young peo- than 3.2 million young people, So why are so many young numbers of youth are leaving ple who seek to prove themselves most of them males. They want blacks not working? school with woeful preparation to build this resume. to work. They need to work. But "1 want to work," explains for the world of work. Last sum- * Young people need informa- they can't find jobs. Turner. "I want to do any kind mer (1981), the National Center tion about jobs and careers; but In North Carolina,the of job. I can't find nothing." for Educational Statistics theyalsoneed supportand statistics are just as dismal. In Turner's not alone. reported a steady decline during assistance from community net- 1981, the latest year for which. CynthiaWilson, 19, who the 1970s in the already low skill works during the increasingly dif- complete figures are available, recently graduated from high levels of American students in ficult transition from school to the jobless rate among the state's school, wants a job. reading,writing,mathematics work. Too many young people teenagers and young adults was "I've looked everywhere," she and science. It concluded that will enter the labor market of the just over 20 per cent. For blacks, said."I'vetriedeverything. unless this trend is reversed, by 80s with outdated expectations. the rate, again, almost doubled, There just ain't no jobs out here. 1990 between 900,000 and 2 They will be unaware of new in- to just under 40 per cent. But Pm still looking." million of the 2.4 million high dustries and opportunities for State Job Service analysts ex- Are there no jobs? school graduates coming into the education and they will be un- pect the 1982 figures, due out in "Yes,I have vacancies and work force by then will lack skills prepared for a rapidly changing mid-April, to be even higher than sometimes 1 give a kid who looks essential for entry-level employ- workplace. 1981. mature a break," explained one ment." * A partnership is needed to 234 143

serveouryoungpeople schools are failing. expected to make it work, and to business, schools, labor unions, Yet in this same poll, most peo- the extent that it's working, kids community-basedorganizations ple 69 per cent said they have done it. Parents have not and government. No single in- think the biggest problems with made it work. As a matter of stitution created the dilemma we the schools are lack of discipline, fact, some parents on both sides face today; no single institution lack of proper financial support were some ofthe clearest can cure it." and drug use. Only 33 per cent as obstacles to it working. But in the If this last finding is true, then compared to 42 per cent said they process, to some extent we have it seems logical to reason that on- think public school curriculum gotten away from purely educa- ly by correctly analyzing the role needs to be changed to meet to- tion." that each institution played in the day's needs. The largest group High ranking administrators of developing the problem can the said they think the current cur- public education know it: frightening trend be reversed. riculumadequately meets the "As society has changed from According to most experts in- needs of today's society. an agrarian to an industrial, to a terviewed for this series, the rele- The rather bright view from a quasi-technological economy, the vant institutions that helped set public opinion poll notwithstan- change has reduced the correla- most clearly out of step with what the problem are theschools, ding, there is something wrong in tion between what is teachable society is becoming is the public business and industry,society our public schools. and what is needed to work," ex- school systems of this country." generally, and parents. Teachers know it: plained Dr. Dudley Flood, assis- So our public schools are not First stop, the public schools! "Disciplineisprobably my tant superintendent of the N.C. cutting it. Everyone of any im- The cacophony of public opi- worst problem," explained one Department of Public Instruc- port seems to know that, though nion about public schools is at high school teacherinthe tion. "After eight to ten years of there are various interpretations best confusing. On the one hand, Charlotte-Mecklenburg School doing what we're doing now, of how serious the problems are. you have employers and others System, the state's largest urban there is no documentation that But why? who say the schools are doing a system. "How can I teach these the present strategy works in get- How didour schoolslose terrible job, that they are letting kids high school math when most ting people from school to work. touch, get out of line, become students, particularly urban of them can't read the problems? We actually need to develop a breeding grounds for inefficien- blacks slide through 12 years of They are not interested. They differentset of strategiesfor cy? "mis-education", releasing them don't see any connection between helping students make that tran- In his 1982 book The Trouble into society, "with woeful anything I say and anything im- sition." with America's Schools, Gene I. preparationfor the world of portant in their lives. So they People to plot the trends of this Maeroff,nationallyrenowned work." misbehave. What canIdo? country, who gaze into data- education writer for The New On the other hand, a recent Sometimes it's like I'm speaking filled"crystal balls" to deter- York Times, put the problem in Gallup Poll on public education a foreign language." mine what America will be 20 this perspective: shows that 70 per cent of the Principals know it: years from now know it: "...the blame ought to be public believe the public schools "Over the past several years," "The mismatch that we see spread to where it belongs to are excellent, above average or said Richard Cans ler, principal developing,"saidMichael H. lawmakers who heap burden average. Only about 14 per cent of Charlotte's West Charlotte Annison, vice president of the after burden upon the schools, to said they believe public schools High School, "schools have been NaisbeltGroup,"is between judges who interpret statutes as are below average, and only five asked to do too much. When in- society's desires and its institu- though schoolshad endless per cent saidthey think the tegration came, the schools were tions...and the institution that is resources, to public officials who 236 -235 e From School to Work ...

harass schools with regulatory ministrators say,for example, such as special feeding programs, minutiae, to teachers unfit to that the biggest segment of this etc. teach, toprincipalswithout problem is the fact that parents * Society must be willing to pay leadership skills, to show differing levels of commit- whateverthis increased ag- superintendents who ignore pro- ment to their children's educa- gressiveness onthepartsof blems, to school board members tion. parents and educators might cost. who forget that they represent the "Most white students normally Parents, of course, have a dif- public, to taxpayers who keep have stronger advocates in the ferent priority. schoolsystems onstarvation home, more aggressive pressure Some of themthinkthat diets,and to parents who evince to stay in school and make good schools should have a more strict, more interest in the daily televi- grades," said Sam Heywood, an more "basics" oriented approach sion listings than in the events of area assistant superintendent in to education. These parents insist their children's schoolday." the Charlotte-Mecklenburg on what thy call "traditional So in the words of that famous schoolsystem. "Many black school:;. proverb, providing you accept students have not had strong ad- Othec parents say thatthe Maeroff's assessment, "we have vocates for learning in the home. traditional approach does not seen the enemy and the enemy is Many black parents have not allow for individual and cultural us." been aggressive in putting difference. Many of them opt for It seems then that maybe all pressure on kids to stay in school what is calledan"Opened aspects of this society failed in and make good grades." School" approach. regard to public schools, par- Educators,particularlyhigh As these parents think about ticularly urban schools, and that school teachers and ad- solutions, they tend to opt for in- the problem of improving ministrators, say, almost to the creased efficiency in the schools, students' abilities to make the person, that even those parents a better end result, without a transition from school to work who are closely involved with great increase in cost. must be viewed in the context o f a their children's education during For example, the Gallup Poll societal failure, rather than simp- elementary school, "dropout" at quoted earlier shows that when ly a failure of public schools. high school. asked what should be cut from Interviews for this series in- Mostof these educators local school operations, dicatethatgenerallypeople because of how they prioritize the presumably to increase efficien- recognize and accept that the pro- problem, tend to prioritize the cy, almost three-quarters of the blem with schools, the problem solution this way: public school parents opted for a with high youth unemployment, * Parents must become more reductioninthe number of especially black youth unemploy- aggressive in supporting educa- school administrators. ment,isasocietalproblem. tion, and preparing their children But society as a whole does not Almost everyone, however, puts for learning. buy either one of these views, different priorities on how the * Educators must become more these rankings of the problems in problem developed and what is aggressive in insisting that they be public education. needed to solve it. allowed to teach, without being According to John Nasbitt, Many teachers and ad- hampered by other obligations, president of the Nasbitt Group, 237 Saturday, April 9. 1983 PART TWO 145

one of thenation'sforemost tion have increased to 43 per cent "public education for all who can research firms, society is more in- of all education items, while ar- learn" was developedinthis terested, has as its top priority, ticlesaboutthe problems of country. They are also caught in innovation in public education, teachers have decreased from 22 a vortex of change as this society rather than either a discussion of to 14 per cent. shifts from an industrial its problems, or a systematic ap- Sotheconclusion,though economy to an information/ser- proach to solving whatever the clear, is fairly complex. vice economy. But more impor- problems are. Thomas Turner, Cynthia tantly, they are shouldered with For example, the Trend Wilson, and the millions of other the burdensome responsibility of Report, published by the Nasbitt young people who want work are overcoming handicaps that are Group, shows that in America's caught in the morass of a mission not totally their own doing, and newspapers, the institutions pro- that apparently has become con- at the same time becoming an in- bably more attuned than any fused with dozens of issues that tegral part of the "new" America other to America's thinking, ar- no one could have possibly con- so they can help insure that their ticles about educational innova- sidered when the concept of a children won't get caught in the same trap.

A News Analysis Everyone agrees that public education arguments that rage inside the schools oc- needs to be improved. cupy a lot of discussion time. But there We MI Know What Everyoneagreesthatparentswith are also some other discussions as well, To Do But No One children in the public schools need to be such as: integration versus neighborhood Knows How In The more involved in public education. schools, tax support versus proprietary World of School Everyone agrees that public schools management, education versus social ser- must be more accountable, must produce vices, and competency versus pure educa- a better trained, more responsible appli- tion. cant for the world of work. That's not all. People who run the While everyone agrees on what must be world of work have their own arguments done, almost no one agrees on how to do about the schools. Many of them claim it. the schools are doing a bad job and can't Today's world of public education is a do any better. Some others say the schools world rife with philosophical differences, are doing a bad job, but with enough arguments on methodology and quite a money could do better. There's just not number of disagreements on just what enough money. Still others say public role education should play in society to- education is a "societal dinosaur" that day and tomorrow, and how it should will be buried in the cold changes that play that role. And that's just the argu- trends indicate are ahead for this country. ment among educators. "This country is changing in ways that Outside the schools, many of the same will have significant impacts on everyone 23: 239 From School to Work ... 146

in this country," thundered Michael An- system, "is, by having a specific level of same students, in the sixth grade during nison, of the Naisbett Group during a control and structure, to develop a strong the 81-82 school year, scored 9.0 in Washington, D.C. presentationto academic program that attempts to give reading and 8.7 in math which means that educators and journalists. "And the in- students the very best foundation upon while second graders these students were stitution most out of step with what's which to build." about one grade ahead of their level, but happening and what that means in this Owen, who has been principal at the as sixth graders, these youngsters are country is the public school system of this school since its opening six years ago, also almost three grades ahead of their level. country." noted that what really makes this type of It is not clear what, if anything, this On the other end of the spectrum, Ms. educational approach work is the attitude prow ..bout the quality of traditional Page McColiough, coordinator of the and perception that parents have about education over the so-called open educa- ParentInvolvementProjectofthe their children. don approach, because Owen also notes Durham-basedAtlanticCenter for "Parents have to be committed to this that students' I.Q.s range from 103 to Research in Education, says: approach ineducation," Owen said, 110. "I think schools have been fulfilling "because one of the keys to making this "It is clear to us," Owen explained, their mission very well, and that mission is traditional method work is the level of "that we are pulling our students from the to teach people the way things are, and to consistent expectations that students get upper middle to upper classfamilies, help them accept the way things are at home and at school." black and white." without asking too many questions." The key question is does if. work? On the other side of the question, Mrs. Those two statements represent what The answer from Owen: "We don't Francis Maske, principal of the Irwin can be considered the boundaries of the know." Open elementary school in Charlotte, philosophical spectrum regarding the na- Apparently, neither in Charlotte nor says: "Our emphasis here is to enjoy tion's public schools. One, Annison's, any place else that has the traditional and school and learn. We believe that school says public schools are unwieldy institu- "open" approach working side-by-side, doesn't have to be rigid for learning to tions, currently incapable of making the no one has studied the question of which take place. We also stress to students that proper adjustments quickly enough to be students do better in junior high, or the they must assume some responsibility for an important part of the developing middle school grades, high school, and thier own learning." trends he sees on the horizons. The other, make the school to work transition more Continuing, Mrs. Maske notes that in Ms. McCollough's, contends that the easily. the "open" app. aach to education, the public schools are the fountains of condi- What Owen does know is that his teacher is more a facilitator of learning tioning that program "ach successive students' math and reading scores have than the absolute authority on a subject. generation to blend with the current been climbing steadily since the school And in at least one respect, she says much system rather than seek to improve it. opened. For example, in the 1977-78 the same thing that Owen said about the Somewhere between those two points school year, first graders scored 1.9 in traditional education approach. fall all of the other arguments. reading and 2.0 in math. During the 81-82 "The continuing input from parents is Consider the argument between tradi- school yearfirst graders at Elizabeth critical to the success of this approach," tional versus "open" education. scored 2.3 in reading and 2.5 in math. By Mrs. Maske said. "We see our job as a "What we try to accomplish here," ex- way of comparison, consider Elizabeth's three-way contract, between the student, plainedBruceOwen,principalat second graders during the 77-78 school the school and the parents." Elizabeth Traditional Elementary School year. They scored 3.5 and 3.3 on reading Even when they talk about objectives, inthe Charlotte-Mecklenburgschool and math, respectively. Many of those Mrs. Maske and Owen sound almost 2 tl* . 241 147

alike: "We've got to make sure," Mrs. schools simply can't change fast enough If that's the case, the educators who Maske explained, "that we are preparing to keep up. contend that they are teaching them (students) for out there (the world of "In any given 20-year cycle," Dr. tomorrow's work force could well be work) and not in here (the classroom). Flood said, "curriculum modification in whistling in the dark. When students from our program get to response to what trends appear to be will "Our goal, as I see it," explained Dr. junior and senior high school, they should be about ten years behind what the reality Deanne Crowell, assistant superintendent be more self-directed and willing to take is in the workplace." for curriculum and.staff development in more responsibility for their actions and their decisions." But does it work? The answer from Mrs. Maske: "We don't know." II Again, it's a case of no one really trying I1----1- to determine if students who spend their elementary school years in an "open" irti I school atmosphere are really more self- directed and willing to take more responsibility for their actions and their decisions. One reason that no one seems to attack the question of the end results is because thereisstill some disagreement, even among educators, about the role of the )93 DCC BUSINESS & EDUCATION CONFERENCE 1e schools. Do they reflect society, or help P P direct society? "To a great extent," said Dr. Dudley ood,witijrr- .. .111Ir 400 Flood, an assistant superintendent in the . N.C. Department of Public Instruction, + 'M... .,1,, .,r4 .:.- . "schools can only respond to the perceived need of the parents, regarding their children." What that means, according to Dr. Flood's elaboration, is that schools will tryto respondto theprevailing nistincrtnhv in society recording the coin- dr Saturday. April 16. 1983 PART THREE FromSchool to Work ... 148

the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, "is reform itself quickly enough to get in step associations, churches, synagogues and to have our students ready to have a with the trends? government services. salable skill when they graduate from high "Well, if it can't," said Annison, dur- So in the final analysis, the world of school." ing an interview in Washington, "people school today appears to be a world In the sat.ie breath, Dr. Crowell also will find alternative methods of getting without a clearcut mission, or a clearly says that for the schools to accomplish the education they need." defined method of achieving a mission. that goal now and into the future, there Alternative education is already a trend So what is the bottom line? must be a massive retraining of teachers. sweeping the country. According to the Donald N. Frey, chairman and chief ex- "For public schools to be on the cutting College in a report entitled:New Direc- ecutive officer, Bell & Howell Company, edge of change," said Dr. Crowell, "we tions bra Learning Society,of the 58.4 writing in a recent issue ofAmerican need people who are futurists, people who million people educated in this country Education,cast the bottom line this way: will think beyond next year." during 1978, 46 million of them got that "I have no doubt that as a society we If you take Dr. Rood's comment in learning some place other than in school. must hold high the objective of education connection with Dr. Crowell's remarks, Examples of alternative learning systems for the whole man, but if the whole man the real question is, even with future include: community organizations, can't get a job, it's pretty specious to talk thinkers, can the public school system business and industry,professional about enriching his life."

Despite Problems, In recent years, the nation's schools When schools opened there for the cur- There Are Good have taken it right on their educational rentacademicyear, D.C. Schools chins. Superintendent, Ms. Floretta McKenzie. Schools Complaints abound about violence in had forged one of an ever-increasing the classroom, social promotions and number of school-business partnerships. high school graduates who can't read, Now, ninth graders in eight write or compute well enough to get the Washington public schools have begun average entry level job. studying career areas such as business and Arguments still rage about desegrega- finance,communications,engineering tion in the schools, and mast parents professions, health professions and hotel black and white don't liketheir management and culinary arts. children taking long bus rides to and from These programs are almost totally school. underwritten by area corporations that But for all of their problems, there are also help develop the curriculum, loan ex- public schools that are trying to get a han- ecutives to do some teaching, and give dle on the future, trying to overcome school teachers summer internships to various obstacles and move themselves familiarize them with the world of work closer in line with what business and in- outside of the classroom. Some of the cor- dustry need. porations involved in this program in- A good example is the predominantly clude Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Capitol black public school system in the nation's Hill Hospital, D.C. Bankers Association, 2 capital. GeneralMotors,IBM, PEPCO, the 245 I I I I

, " ntt,

t tr:kJ:al C C BUSINESS& EDUCATIONCONFERENCE I 00dE

tivt,

Dr. Cleveland Hammonds, Superintendent qf Durham City Schools

Private IndustryCouncil,Howardfury,schoolsmustcallupon thesehelp me when I have to go and find a University Hospital and the Hyatt Regen-segments of society that already have theirjob," said Antoinette Gillis,a ninth cy, among others. eyes focused on the future: business andgrader in the business and finance pro- In explaining why she put this partner-industry." gram. "The work here is hard, but I know ship together, Ms. McKenzie says: "In Under the D.C. program, studentsit'll help me later on." spite of technical innovations, schoolsspend half of each school day getting a But the emphasis on early career educa- tend to rely primarily on paper and pencilconcentrated dose of basic education tion, even the old and tried vocational methods of teaming the same techni-the 3Rs and they spend the other halfeducation route isn't the only thing hap- ques used for more than 100 years. Toeither studying their career area, or work-pening in the D.C. schools worthy of, close the technology gap and prepareing in it. note. students for the realities of the 21st cen- "The experience I'll get here will really There is also a renewed emphasis on 246 From School to Work... 150

academic excellence, and reluctance to ex- In his book Making Schools Work, ters, from the principal, then even average cuse failure because a student is either Robert Benjamine, a veteran education teachers will produce outstanding black, or comes from a poor family, or reporterwith TheBaltimore Sun, results." both. reported a conversation with a teacher in Other items clearly identifiable in good "Here, we believe every kid can learn," one of Chicago's best schools, in one of schools include: explainedJames Curry,principalat the city's toughest school districts. * School-wide emphasis on basic skills Woodson Senior High School, "And we "The first thing is you can't waste any instruction,whichentailsagreement expect them to learn a sense of self-worth, time at all," explains Mrs. (Maggie) among the professional staff that instruc- solid values and dignity." Thomas, a tall, thin black woman so tion in the basics is the primary goal of the Woodson, now in its 11th year, is built strongminded about the way children school. practically in the middle of five apartment should be taught she'd send shivers up the * A system for monitoring and assess- complexes of federally subsidized hous- spines of most of her colleagues across the ing pupil performance which is tied to in- ing. country. "You don't want to leave time structional objectives. Most of its 1800 students come from for talking, time for anything. If there's *Continualstafftraining ona those apartments. nothing on the boards or on their desks schoolwide basis to help teachers stay "We know that many of our students for them to do when they walk in, that's abreast of changes and developing trends. come to school with problems that many justlosttime.Kidscan'tstartby students don't have," Curry continued. themselves. The average child likes the That, then, raises the question if the "We recognize that, and we try to deal teacher to be organized. The average child factors that make up a good school are with those problems, but we don't let the works because something'sexpected, known, and if they can be achieved, then students use these problems as excuses. because there's a goal. I set goals for these why aren'tthere more goodpublic We have an unwritten code of kids, and Itell them what I expect of schools? teacher/student interaction here. Every them." "The schools can't improve themselves adult is a teacher of children, from the by themselves," says Dr. Dudley Flood, principal to the janitor. Every child is ex- All relevant research shows that high assistantsuperintendentintheN.C. pected to give adults respect and to learn expectationsfor student achievement, Department of Public Instruction. "It from them." firm but sensitive discipline form the cor- can't be done in isolation. Parents must Woodson is recognized throughout the nerstone of a good school. demand good schools. Business and in- Washington area as a good high school, But there are other factors as well. dustry must help them make the change, one of the better ones in the district, and a One of them is a strong principal, with and governmental agencies must work study of its methods shows that one of the topnotch leadershipabilities, and the hard to enhance the progress." principles of a good school is sensitive, knack of motivating people to do their Then, how does a good school get humane, but firm discipline. best. started? "There are certain things we will not "A strong principal is the key to a good "Changes in education will never hap- tolerate at this school," Curry said. "The school in my judgement,"saidDr. pen at the top of the system," explained students know what they are, and they Cleveland Hammonds, superintendent of Michael Annison, vice president of the know what happens if they do them." Durham City Schools. "If you have a Naisbett Group, anationally known Discipline is not the only prerequisite weak principal, even excellent teachers research company. "Change in this coun- for a good school. won't do their best and the students will try, and that's particularly true of educa- High expectations for student achieve- suffer. But if you have strong and positive tion, happens at the local level, and filters ment is also a measure of a good school. leadership, especially in academic mat- to the top of the system." 248 Saturday. April 23, 1983 PART FOUR 151

In many ways, finding a job in today's Young, Black and rapidly changing society is much like try- Unemployed ing to pull off a successful moon shot. The economy, like the moon, is a self- You Must Shoot contained entity, moving in a rather For A Job predictable orbit at a dizzying rate of speed. You, then, young (16-22), black and unemployed, are the missile. Somehow, you must aim yourself at the economy, and fire yourself into orbit, which is analagous with job hunting, at just the right speed and trajectory tohitthe economy at just the right spot, the spot most suited to your skills and abilities. Two things are immediatley obvious in this analogy. * If you aim at the economy where it is today, you will miss, because at the speed it is moving, the ecor.Jmy changes before you can complete the job application. * To be able to hit the economy at any place at all, you must have skills and abilities. Now that brings us to the other problems you have, problems that, using the moon shot analogy, can be likened to trying a moon shot with number two fuel oil. Chances are, you are the product of an urban school, and if you are, then chances are very good that you are deficient in what one Charlotte-Mecklenburg school principaldescribed as "Thechief weakness of public schools." "We are not doing a real good job of teaching students how to think," said Mrs. Frances Maske, principal at the Ir- win Open School in Charlotte. ''In order to prepare students for the world of work, particularly for tomorrow's jobs, we're

24 From School to Work... 152

going to have to do a much better job of instances the attitudes of many young said Tanya Johnson, a counselor with the teaching them how to make critical blacks are seriously off target. Edgemont Community Center. analysis, andbettercomprehension "Something very seriously wrong has "Somehow, we must impress upon these skills...the thinking skills I call them." happened to us about our attitude toward young adults that not only must they learn In analyzing the skills that you need to learning and work," said Dr. Cleveland to speak well, but they must also learn to successfully hit this moving target Hammonds,superintendent ofthe write well. work with a moving target you Durham City Schools in a recent inter- And so there you are: the missile. You Mrs. Maske is right on the button. view. "A lot of our young people seem to are what you must aim at the world of Consider what Alfred E. Osborne, Jr., feel that the world owes them something. work, and somehow hit a moving target. director of the MBA program at UCLA's They don't seem willing to push as hard Reviewing the characteristics that you Graduate School of Management, said for something worthwhile. They seem to bring to this task, we can easily surmise during a meeting of the Black Enterprise be more concerned about the quick that you might not find a job. Consider: Board of Economic Advisors. payoff than they are about long term suc- You are 16-22 years old and black. "Blacks ought to get out of businesses cess." You are unemployed. in which America doesn't have a com- To illustrate his point, Hammonds tells a * You lack the education and training petitive advantage," Osborne said, as story about a rookie football player some that you'll need to compete in the crowd- reported in the March 1983 issue of Black years ago who played for the then Min- ed job market. Enterprise. "It is clear that our com- nesota Vikings. On a crucial play, the * Yourattitudeaboutwork is petitive advantage is in thoughtware rookie caught a pass, broke into open somewhat off-key. research and development-intensive, high- field, and was headed for a touchdown. Your communication skills are less skill activities." About 10 yards from the goal line, he held than top drawer. But that's not the only problem that the ball high in the air, and began high While it might be true that all society you bring to the workplace, to the task of stepping toward the goal. But about five shares some of the blame for your being trying to hit work, that elusive moving yards from paydirt, the rookie was tackl- less than an effective "missile," their target. ed, fumbled the ball, and the other team recognition of that blame and efforts to "One of the key elements of a suc- recovered. change it won't help you much. cessful work experience is attitude," ex- "Justlike that rookie," Dr. Ham- If you're going to get a job, turn this plained Tom White, director of the local mondssaid,"Ithinkwestarted morass around, you're going to have to PrivateSectorInitiativeProgram,a celebrating too soon. do most of the work yourself. federally funded program, operated by "In the 60s when more jobs became But first, let's consider the target you're the Durham Chamber of Commerce. The available for blacks, I think too many of trying to hit. programconcentratesonplacingits us allowed our children to believe that we ^ trainees in private industry, rather than in had arrived, that we didn't have to con- public service jobs. "A good attitude is tinue to scratch for progress. Well, now hard to define. But most times it boils they know." down to what a person is willing to do, But there is yet one more problem, a and how enthusiastic they are about the huge one. job." "Far too many of our young people try Butthetopadministratorinthe to get jobs without being able to com- Durham City Schools says that in many municate well enough to be successful," 2 I,

Saturday. April 30, 1983 PART FIVE 153

Local Schools Are Moving, But... Okay, here's a quick quiz on local Hammonds, superintendent of Durham There's Much To Be Done education. Answer yes or no. City Schools, are a reflection of com- * Durham City Schools do an adequate munity concerns, attitudes and job of preparing students for the world of morality." work. So, if you take what Dr. Flood says and * Durham County Schools do an ade- connect it with what Dr. Hammonds says, quate job preparing students for the the conclusion is inescapable. world of work. * Schools are behind the trends mostly * Neither school system does a good ob because parents are behind the trends, preparing students for the world of work. and have not given public education the * I don't know. proper marching orders to catch up. Answers to those questions are likely to All of that, of course, raises another range from one end of the spectrum to the question: Why are parents behind? other, depending upon whom you ask, "1 think that most of the problems and under what circumstances. But to the public education deals with can be traced extentthatthetwopublicschools directly to the breakdown of the family," systems, and their clients the public said Spencer Wynn, principal at East End follow national trends, local educators Elementary School, and a 35-year veteran will answer the first two quesitons "yes." educator in the city system. "Children to- Local business operators will answer day come from younger families, most of the third question, "yes." whom grew up in the period of per- Parents will answer the fourth ques- missiveness in the 60s, and they are often tion, "yes." dominated by other outside interests, Therein lies the problem! rather than their children. Many of these Public educationhas beenlargely kids today suffer from a basic lack of unable to develop a concrete concensus of home guidance." mission, despite the important role it Where, then, does this problem, uncor- plays in the lives of almost every citizen in rected, lead? an area, one way or the other. A recent report by the Child Advocacy "Public education responds to the Commission of Durham indicates that perceived needs of the parents," said Dr. problems in the home often lead to truan- Dudley Flood, assistant superintendent of cy in school, that more often than not Public Instruction. "In almost any given leads to students dropping out. In their 20 year cycle, the curriculum will be study, conducted in 1981. The Commis- modified according to what the trends ap- sion found the following: pear to be. But even at that, schools are * When the committee analyzed the always five toten years behind the records of 209 truant students who were trends." in the seventh, eighth and ninth grades in But why? 1978-79, they documented that oyes' three- 252 "Schools," explained Dr. Cleveland fourths of these students had dropped out 253 FromSchoolto Work.. .

1983 DCC BUSINESS &EDUCATION CONFERENCE aw:ite,"

C I

A.&

of school altogether by 1981-82. This is obviously the vicious cycle that * Most of these students dropped out in public education finds itself in. Students the ninth grade at age 15 or 16. who do poorly in school often tend to Then what? become parents of children who do poorly According to most crime studies, more in. school,andthecyclecontinues than 60 per cent of the youthful offenders unabated, but with the problems costing arrestedandimprisonedareschool more with each passing year and causing dropouts. According to U.S. Department more headaches. of Labor statistics,well over half of Is there anything public schools can do? unemployed youth are either dropouts, or Ms. Lanier Rand Fonvielle, a staffer with young people who barely graduated. the Child Advocacy Commission, says' 254 yes. highest passing rates on the Competency "What are schoolsfor,"she asks Test in the state. rhetorically. "Theyaretoteach. But forall of the superlatives, the Therefore, I believe that teachers must be changes, the improvements, the things trained to teach proper behavior, to teach that educators point to as indicators of a an appreciation for education, and give job well done, there is still much, much children a choice between their home en- more to do. vironment and something better, if the "Our attitude is that we have to reach home environment is not conducive to a out to parents and get them involved in successful school experience." their children's education," explained Dr. Not all educators agree that the schools Hammonds. "Then we have to convince should take over the parents' role of the students to look at life in a long range teaching proper behavior, if the parent way, rather than being sold on the idea of abdicates that role. Some say schools. instant gratification. Finally, we have to should not have to deal with those types make sure that all educators have a com- of children. National studies are currently mitment to educational excellence, and underway that basically would eliminate who are willing to spend themselves in those children from the regular classroom support of that commitment." and track them into some other type of In this task, the public schools are not program where misbehaving does not get without some rather formidable allies, in the way of education. professionals and agencies who are also But all is not doom and gloom on the committed to the concept of students be- local public school front. There are some ing able to make a successful transition highlights. There are some indications from school to work. that people are interested in trying to do One such agency is MDC in Chapel something to turn the situation around. Hill. For example, the local schools have an MDC, headed by George Autry, has active Adopt-A-School program. This een monitoring and running school-to- program brings business operators in con- v.ark projects for more than ten years tact with individual schools with specific now. Currently, they are operating several needs that the business operator can such programs, such as the Job Readiness fulfill. Training (JRT), and Jobs for America's There are also community education Graduates (JAG). programs, designed to get parents and the In the JRT program, which is in its se- general public more involved with the cond year of operation in Edgecombe school systems, and to help them better County Schools, the emphasis is on work- understand how they can help the schools. ing with high school seniors who are not Academically, test scores have been on planning to go to college, and who have a slow but steady climb in both city and not received any vocational education in county schools, and the county schools high school. These students spend half of pride themselves at having one of the their time in the program in the classroom 255 From School to Work... 156

learning specific details about the world themselves," explained Ms. Miriam Snell- have to work with them patiently until of work, and their role in it. They are ing, a MDC staffer who works with the they accomplish it." taught how to crystalize career goals and JRT program. "The people in the public That's the formula, no matter what are also given information on motivation schools system know what the problems new and creative programs are developed and how to build self-confidence. The arebut they need some outside help to according to veteran educators. If effort other half of their time is spent on a job, implement solutions..." is not based on that formula, it won't in a training slot, learning to apply the But in addition to help from agencies work. But they also all agree that the suc- principles of the classroom in the world of such as MDC, local schools also need sup- cess of that formula begins in the home, is work. port from the local business community. magnified in the schools, and translated The JRT program works closely with "I think we are headed in the right into profit in the world of work. employers in an area assessing the skills direction in that respect," said Sam Bell, needed for jobs that will be available, and an executive with General Telephone then making sure that students in the pro- Company, and a member of the Educa- grams have those specific skills for those tion Task Force of the Durham Chamber specific jobs. of Commerce. "But the business com- In many respects, the JAG program, munity needs to help out in more ways which originated in Delaware about a than just giving the schools money or decade ago, incorporates the same train- equipment. Business people need to em- ing principles. The major difference is phasize the need for a good grounding in that JAG is run by what a MDC staffer the basics." called "a conspiracy of power." Thus, in the final analysis, it all comes Based in Washington, the JAG pro- back to the basics. gram has a board of directors that in- America is changing today in ways un- cludes five governors, as well as Vice paralleled in its history, but historically, President George Bush, and former Vice changes in America have been unparallel- President Walter Mondale. The emphasis ed in its history at the time the changes oc- here is the use of power to alter certain curred. And educators, business people, facets of the workplace to make it more and all other experts agree that what conducive for young people to enter. helped the nation adapt to and master The emphasis is not on lowering the previous changes was a solid foundation standards in the workplace, but on open- inthe basics of education:reading, ing doors. `rising, and `rithmetic. The MDC role in all of this is to study And how do you teach the basics? these problems, and determine in a detail- Mrs. Roxie Stewart, afirstgrade ed way how and why they work, and then teacher at East End Elementary School, develop ways of replicating the models in viewing the question from her 33 years in other areas. The MDC involvement is bas- the classroom, summed it up this way: ed on one obvious principle: "You encourage them,"shesaid. "We can't really expect the schools to "Your motivate them, and you let them solveallthe problems theyface by know what you expect. And then you 256 7 El Observador San Jose, California Latino Youth Who Don't Finish High School

A Three-Part Series By Jose Antonio Burciaga 259 258 . :! Latino Youth Who Don't Wednesday. April 27. 1983 Finish High School PART ONE 159

45 percent of Latinos About the Author JOSE ANTONIO BURCIAGA is a writer and former editor for El Observador, a don't complete school San Jose, California, weekly newspaper serving a large Indo-Hispanic community. He is also a frequent contributor to Hispanic Link, a nationally syndicated column appearing in over 200 news- Last year at age 15, Juan, eldest of five papers across the country. children, left high school to help his family financially. School had never attracted Juan. Many Originally from El Paso, Texas, Burciaga times he felt uncomfortable if not inade- graduated from the University of Texas quate in the classroom. Now he would no at El Paso with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. longer worry about school or money to He did graduate work through Antioch help his family. A year later, Juan sought further sta- University and also studied at Corcoran bility and decided to marry. The reasons School of Art in Washington. D.C., and for his not completing high school are not at the San Francisco Institute of Art. that simple. Some would classify Juan a "dropout" while others would say he was a "push- Burciaga is the author of two books of out." poetry, and has published widely in vari- In 1964, a U.S. Office of Education ous poetry and short story anthologies handbook defined the only word they recognized: "A dropout is a pupil who and literary magazines. leaves school for any reason except death, before graduation or completion of a pro- In 1982, Burciaga was awarded the gram of studies and without transferring Journalist of the Year honor by the San to another school. .. " There were no exceptions for the U.S. Jose Chapter of the American G.I. Office of Education. A dropout was a Forum. an award given to the Indo- dropout; death was the only justification Hispanic journalist who has made the for leaving school. As they saw it, the- individual was to blame, not the school strongest impact on the community. system.

CRACKSIN THE SYSTEM With the advancement of educational technology and civil rights movements in the late sixties, the educational pipeline 26o 261 Latino Youth... 160

was foundtoleak:especiallyIn do- THE EDUCATIONAL PIPELINE IN THIS COUNTRY Hispanics.

Attempts to repair those leaks through ANDLOS 'I $3 72 affirmative action programs, special ethnic GRADUATE eLAcks study programs, open admissions, recruit- FROM CHICANOS SS HIGH SCHOOL ing Blacks, Chicanos and other under- PUERTO ac/Ns 55 represented groups only slightly improved {AMERICANINDIANS 55 educational opportunities for these goups. In 1980 a conservative political wind ANGLOS 33 swept across the nation. The Reagan Ad- ministration severely cut the federal edu- OLAcxs 29 ENTER CHICANOS 22 cational budget. Civil and human rights COLLEGE were no longer popular causes in this PUERTORICANS 25 country. TheBakkedecision struck down {AMERICAN INDIANS mEmmR 17 the use of quotas or reserved slots for specific groups of applicants, and began the ANGLOS 23 slow erosion of hard-fought gains of the BLACICsilSmal2 1960's. COMPLETE CHICANOS mmi 7 The days of Lyndon Baines Johnson, COLLEGE the great education benefactor, are over. PUERTO RICANS is 7 Today, national issues are unemployment, {AMERICAN INDIANS S inflation, the energy crisis and defense budget. The country has tired of "minori- ANGLOS 14 ties" that now include not only ethnics, ENTER BLAoas =Rom GRADUATE OR but women, elderly, handicapped and PROFESSIONAL CHICANOS re 4 gays. COLLEGE PUERTO RICANS MO 4 In 1982, a study by the Commission on the Higher Education of Minorities AMERICAN INDIANS IMO 4 found the educational pipeline to have a 45 percent leak of Chicanos and Puerto ANOLOS 1E Ricans never completing high school. COMPLETE SLACKS 4 GRADUATEOR CHICANOS ps2 A 45 percent attrition rate for Indo- PROFESSIONAL Hispanics, youngest, poorest, least politi- SCHOOL PUERTO RICANS 2 callyrepresented and fastest growing AMERICAN INDIANS 411 2 third-world population in this country, to loo is alarming. 0 10 20 30 40 SO SO 70 SO PERCENTAGE Our educational system cannot meet future demands in our new technological society. That the system loses nearly half of all In do-Hispanics is proof the system is inadequate. The moral and national consequences SOURCE:AlexanderAstir), Minorities In American Higher Education. Jossey Bass, 1982 (San Francisco, CA)

0 161

A popular myth: In ten to twenty Who will fill these jobs? Indo-Hispanics of such a phenomenal attrition rate are PERPETUATION avail- manifold. years there will be a glut of unemployed and other third world people will be OF THE STATUS QUO low-skill BROAD CONSEQUENCES Indo- Hispanics in this country due to the able. At the same time, much demands of a highly technological society. assembly jobs are leaving this countryfor Leaving school prematurely accounted third world for a loss of $47 billion in federal reve- So there must be some positive effects cheaper labor rates in other According to Dr. Harold Hudgkinson, countries. nues and $24 billion to state and local from students that "drop-out." There aresenior fellow and former director of the governments in 1969. Today, those figures social critics who view this country's tol- Institute of Educational Leadership, the Consciously or unconsciously, there is have more than doubled. erance of exceedingly high attrition rates largest number of new jobs in 1990 will a malevolent social strategy in this coun- In 1969, failure of males age 25-34 to among certain ethnic groups as a manifes-be for janitors, followed by a need for graduate from high school, cost them tation of a social strategy designed to try that continues to keep Indo- Hispanics nurses, orderlies, sales clerks, cashiers, away from the "American Dream." $237 billion in income over their lifetime keepminoritiesoutof the politicalwaiters, waitresses, office clerks, restau- and $71 billion in foregone government decision-makingrole. rant workers, truck drivers and other low revenues. These figures are from a report skill blue and pink collor jobs. by Dr.Levin entitled The Effects of Dr. Thomas Carter, Sacramento, echoes Dropping Out, for the U.S. Senate Select the same thought in his early study on Committee on Educational Opportunity southwest Mexican - American education. (1972). "The fact that the school fails to Ameri- canize or raise the group status of so The economic burdens on society are many Mexican-Americans is evidence of great when so many students leave the educationalpipelineprematurely.In- its success... School practices evolved creased taxes are necessary to support that functioned to perpetuate the social welfare programs, fight crime and main- and economic system by unconsciously tain special programs. Premature school- encouraging the minority students to fail leaving cost this country an estimated $6 academically, dropout early, and enter billion in welfare in 1969 and another $6 society at the low status traditional for billion in crime response. Again, today Mexican-Americans those figures are easily double. .. ."

Dr. Levin concludes it is likely youths who leave school early will never participate in the decision-making process of government, enjoy good health or progress up the socio-economic ladder in relationtotheirprevious generation.

The investment to prevent such high attrition would be substantially less than the loss to the nation, state and community.

SOURCE: Original art work for this article by reporter Jose Antonio Burclaga. 264 265: Wednesday. May 4, 1983 PART TWO Latino Youth ... 162

Results from a 1980 Chicago survey 45 percent of Latinos don't reflect the situation across the country: two-thirds of Latinos never receive a high school diploma and only 51.6 percent complete eighth grade. Today, Indo-Hispanics have taken the dubious distinction away from Native to ask due to Millard or poverty reasons. recentrainsandfloodsthroughout American Indians for the highest high This extends to the classroom when chil- California. school attrition rate in the country. dren hesitate to ask questions after a lec- There is no "catch-up" or "second Historically, public educators in the ture, explanation or homework assign- chance" programs for the student who U.S. have been defensive and blame low ment. decides to return to school after leaving. achieving students or their culture for A deep sense of family responsibili- Most will Iiely be told they are too far their deficiencies. Students are labeled tyamongIn do-Hispanics causesthe behind and cannot possibly catch up un- deficient, deprived and oldest child to sacrifice his education in less they repeat the course or year. "'D' students" order to help the family. different.Rarely does the educational system confess to its profound deficien- InIndian and Hispanic cultures, SOCIO-ECONOMICS PLAY A ROLE children are consciously taught to respect Poverty seems to be an underlying cies. and obey their elders any not to question Although the home and community is Caine for many school problems. Another them. The bowed head of an Indo-His- San Jose counselor cites the importance partially responsible, the educational sys- panic child when facing an adult is a sign tem has not taken responsibility in pre- clothes and fashions have among high of respect and obedience. The Anglo cul- school students as a cause of attrition. venting educational miscarriages. ture prefers eye to eye contact. The isan experienced "Let alone the importance, many times Dolores Chavez teacher receives the bowed head and in- the kids don't evey have the proper foot- counselor at Silver Creek High School in terprets it as a sign of guilt or suspicion. wear. Shoes that are tom or without San Jose. She has worked at the federal, The polite manners of a Latino are many heels are hard to replace. Kids don't state, district and high school levels. Her times interpreted as timidity. dedication extends beyond the school to want to go to school feeling inferior." other community organizations such as Latino parents do value education Dr. Angela Garcia, who heads the but do not question school authorities. Evaluation Research Department, Santa the G.I. Forum Educational Fund, CASA Clara County Office of Education, has (ChicanoAssociationof School Ad- They take the school system to be the ministrators) and the Eastside Association gospel truth. They assume schools to be dealt with attrition of Chicano students not only as an educational researcher but of Latino Educators. perfect and to know best about their children's education. as a teacher. VARIOUS FACTORS There is no efficient Indo- Hispanic "It is a complex issue," explains Dr. Dolores Chavez's perceptions of the parents' network. The traditional parent Garda. "There are many socio-economic high attrition rate at the high school level and teacher associations have never at- andculturalfactors why kids leave in San Jose are typical and shared by tracted many Spanish speaking parents. school. Sometimes they have no decent other counselors across the country: Black parents have a network through the clothes or shoes and so they feel shame. Assertiveness is not a Latino cul- church. Many Latino parents are further There is vary little incentive to go to tural trait. Even the "bato loco" (street handicapped from a network due to lack school when their basic needs are not wise dude) has a very traditional way of of a telephone or constant disconnec- being met. They have difficulty in defin- thinking. tions due to unpaid bills. ing education as relevant." Latino mothers always know what There is also a transportation prob- Dr. Garcia notes how Mexican-Ameri- is wrong with their children. Their kids lem for In do-Hispanic parents and stu- can students have strong family support never need to ask nor are they encouraged dents. This was very evident with the from parents, brothers, sisters, uncles an

266 7t complete school

and grandparents. This is a personal type The problem is with the role models who worked on that study as a classroom of home support. At home they are available toIndo-Hispanicchildren. observer and analyst. She also served on taught to respect, obey, listen and be Youths relate and look up to their par- the Commission that found the 45 per- quiet. ents even if they are low achievers. Indo- cent attrition rate and today she is assis- The Anglo-dominated school system, Hispanic students don't relate to their tant provost at Stanford University. on the other hand, teaches kids to be ag- teachers. The U.S. CivilRights Commission gressive achievers, independent and asser- It is not enough to consider the his- findings are still relevant 12 years later: tive. "So the Chicano student sets a torical racism within the educational sys- Mexican-Americans are severely isc. mixed message," explains Garcia. "Some tem; we must also consider that of wider tatted by school district and by schools kidsare less able than others to cope society. Indo-Hispanic parents and chil- within individual districts. with such cultural conflicts." dren reflect their social conditions. Mexican-Americans are underrepre- Dr. Garcia also notes subtle racism In 1971, the U.S. Commission on Civil sented on school and district 7rofessional affects Indo-Hispanic students. "Covert Rights in Washington, D.C., undertook staffs as teachers, principals and superin- racism is just as effective as overt racism. the most comprehensive Mexican-Ameri- tendents and on boards of education. Subtle communication is given to the stu- can Education Study to date. Mexican-Americans,blacksand dent that they are of less importance than "Some of its major findings then do American Indians do not obtain the bene- the white student?' not differ much from the reality of fits a public education at a rate equal to BENIGN NEGLECT today," reports Cecilia Preciado Burciaga that of their Anglo classmates. In an article entitled"Institutional Without exception, minority stu- Racism in Urban Schools" appearing in dents achieve at a lower rate than Anglos; the November 1975 issue of The Black their school holding power is lower; their Scholar, authors, Massey, Scott and Dom- reading achievement is poorer; their repe- busch, wrote of their study in one San tition of grades is far more frequent; their Francisco school district. Their findings overageness more prevalent; and they are the same as Dr. Garcia's: participate in extra curricular activities to In the past, many teachers ex- a lesser degree than Anglo students. pressed overt hostility toward minority students in their classrooms ...teachers are now expressing warmth toward black students, but are not accompanying their friendliness with challenging academic standards. This lack of challenge in a distorted evaluation system is just as debilitating as the old blatant hostility. NM. agml. There is no lzzk of diverse role models. r11,1.1 I 268 Wednesday. May 18. 1983 PART THREE Latin 0 Youth... 164 National, local

Federal funds for studies on Hispanic LACK OF CURRENT STUDIES education are about as dry as a water hole in Rafael quotes statistics, studies and easily the Mojave Desert. Binds the exact report or printout from the With this in mind, a small group of Indo- hundreds in his office. But for the most part Hispanic eduation experts in Washington, Rafael Magallin finds much of this informa- D.C., today works feverishly on their main tion on Hispanics in education either to be concern "the inability of school districts out of date or not sufficiently specific to around the country to educate Hispanic Hispanics. children and the failure of federal education "The issue of attrition has not been given equity legislation." much public attention since the early seven- ties when the last great study on attrition NATIONAL COALITION was done ... and even then no particular They constitute the Hispanic Higher Edu- attention was paid to ethnicity," explains cation Coalition with representatives from Magallin. major Latino and non-Latino organizations "We can see there has been an erosion, such as LULAC National Educational Serv- more gross numbers as well as higher per- ice Centers, Mexican American Legal De- centages of non-completions. It's suicidal fense and Educational Fund, National Edu- for our communitiesthose of us that are cationAssociation, Societyof Hispanic concerned with seeing our people move Professional Engineers, and the Institute of forward socially and economically," he adds. Educational Leadership. The coalition is attempting to raise the Their efforts focus on the phenomenal issue and package it so as to generate some number of Lehi° youth not completing positive public response. high school. Tomb Sauced°, a research specialist with RESOURCE MANUAL NEA has lived and worked in the nation's One project under consideration is that capital for the past 12 years and has wit- of a handbook on the Hispanic dropout. nessed the drastic federal cuts in education Judo Robles, a professional associate with and the deterioration of U.S. Hispanic edu- NEA, has proposed the structure of the cation. handbook to carry practical subjects such as "Our resources are very limited. . a bibliography; a research agenda, financial We're . barely hanging on," he explains, aid sources, a profile of needs and priorities, scratching the air as if hanging from a successful retention programs, case studies precipice. of Hispanic college students (successful re- Rafael Magallin, executive director of the tainees),counseling, teacher preparation, coalition, is surrounded in his office by school administrator training, recognizing books, studies, printouts and reports on warning signals and alternatives. every conceivable aspect of Latinos in education. Such. ahandbook could piovide the

%- 269 270 programs target "drop-outs"

necessary guidance, network and advocacy. tural conflicts. "More awards should bemention funding, are quite slim. It is still a given to help reinforce the positives," shecontroversial subject. According to Saucedo and Maga Ilan, the suggests. 45 percent attrition rate is a rough estimate. More innovative changes are needed to Better data is not available. There needs to BILINGUAL EDUCATION cope with the hemorrage of Indo-Hispanics be a clear distinction between dropouts, Studies show certain methods do work to from the educational pipeline. puahouts and transfers. reinforce Latino students. One of theM is bilingual education because it reinforces in While Tomas Saucedo agrees, he is also Some critics contend 45 percent is an Spanish what students learn in English. convinced that nothing changes radically in exaggeration, arguing many Hispanics trans- U.S. education. "Just to change from one fer and many sign up for military duty. This Contrary to the popular myth, bilingualtextbook to another is sometimes a major is a fallacy and a myth: the numbers of undertaking," says Saucedo. transfers do not total up as graduates and education does not utilize the child's native today the military requires a high school tongue 100 percent of the time. Sixty-four diploma. percent of all bilingual teachers report using The ball comes back to the community. English as a language of instruction at least "That's where the real rata (cream) is," ex- LOCAL PROGRAMS 75 percent of tii& time. plained Tomas. Dolores Chavez, a San Jose high school PROGRAM SHOWS PROMISE counselor, puts more faith in school and A successful model of an innovative community programs than in federal pro- process to educate and graduate high-risk grams, whichrequire"strictguidelines, "dropout" students was developed in Wash- report writing, evaluations and the politics ingto n, D.C. in January of 1980. The "Multi- of the whole thing." cultural Career Intern Program" uses rent free space in District of Columbia public Chavez says high school students are very schools. Its objectives are: susceptible to peer pressure and among I, Increase high school completion. San Jose high school gangs, leaders could 2.. Improve basic academic skills. make the difference. 3, Encourage career planning and knowledge of occupations. "We need more leadership training. Lead- 4. Facilitate transition from school to ership has to be taught." work. In a report prepared by Lori Orum, edu- 5. Promote proficiency of English lan- Most Indo-Hispanic students do not vol- cation analyst for the National Council ofguage and adaptation to North American unteer for extracurricular activities. Chavez society. La Raza, bilingual education myths are dis- 6. Place participants in meaingful em- has been more successful in recruiting stu-pelled with hard facts and statistics, dents than asking for volunteers. ployment and/or post-secondary educational Despite the acknowledged success of bi- experiences concurrently or upon graduation. Chavez says IndoHispanic students also lingual edtication by many educational ex- need constant reinforcement because of cul- perts, the chances of local acceptance, not to This alternative high school is designed to 2 71 Latino Youth ...

166

break the cycle of lack of education, unem- parents, some who grew up in the Mosquito "None of us can afford to be a chosen ployment and poverty. Its 350 students Club. people," argues Highwater. "The melting come from 30 countries. The maJority are pot theory is but a self serving fallacy. The Indo-Hispanics, most from El Salvador. To this day, Bill Ramos continues as the savages have not only survived but multi- director and explains the points they address: plied and found values and viewpoints that The program's objectives are not only have been hugely ignored by the dominant culture." met but exceeded.Fifty-six percent of Sensitive to the youth's school needs. participants continue on to college. Identification of troublemakers. Independent study programs. Highwater gives us an insight into one of To reach their goals, students are given an Making youngsters a valuable resource the main problems between Indo-Hispanics assessment of native skills, receive intensive in the community. and an Anglo educational system in the English as a Second Language training, have Interrelating with parents, police, busi- introduction to The Primal Mind. "The flexible hours so they can work, are offered ness, educators, parks and recreation, and greatest distance between people is not space part time Jobs and receive career guidance. home owners. but cuiture." Teach youth the curriculum of life. According to Maria Tukeva, program di- Give youth a sense of importance, dig- rector, its number one success factor is the nity and self worth. nature of the staff and interest in the stu- Teach the oldest in a family the skills dent. necessary to keep the family together. Hector Montenegro of San Jose is one of Build trust between the community those dedicated, bilingual teachers. Monte- and the child. negro says such a program would definitely work in San Jose. Ramos says he simply addresses the pr problems he sees. "Kids have no input into LOCAL PROGRAM UNDERWAY the school system," he explains, "no feeling There are community programs that can of ownership and are shuffled around. They have a vital effect on the student and school. have no sense of community or pride. Nine- Such a community organization was begun ty to ninety-five percent of the kids are from by Bill Ramos in San Jose. The youth or- one-parent families. In this area, Silicon ganization was founded in 1969 under the Valley displaced many farm worker parents auspices of the local YMCA but grew to such into welfare roles. A few years ago, Silicon a proportion that they had to separate. Valley was nothing but agricultural fields?' Despite many setbacks and an uncertain From the beginning, eight and nine-year future, Indo-Hispanic educators and com olds had a decision in its founding. They munity workers have begun the task them- named it The Mosquito Club. selves, knowing the greatest educational system in the world failed close to half of The Club was established to combat them. violence but has had an effect on youths leaving school prematurely. The organiza- JamakeHighwater,NativeAmerican tion is run by mostly volunteers from the philosopher,writes of this ethnocentric community, including peer counselor and rtorld we live in. Section Four Reading in Urban Schools

274 Dallas Times Hera id Reading: Finding A Better Way

A FourPart Series By Dale Rice 7 Reading: Finding A 71 Sunday. June 5. 1983 Better Way k PART ONE A.,...... 171

Part 1: Formula About the Author DALE RICE. Public school students in Phonics method gets results Dallas and many other large urban school systems are below-average but not acceptance readers, and that impairs their ability to learn other subjects. In an attempt to learn why some schools succeed where In a poor black area of northwest Da liti.- third graders score below the na- Houston, third grade pupils attending tional average. others fail. Rice spent six weeks study- their neighborhood public school are On a standardized test given nation- ing classrooms in Texas' poorest city reading on the fourth grade level. Some wide, Wesley third graders scored an neighborhoods. His main findings; are already reading as well as fifth average ,of 4.3 meaning that they the schools that do the best job, and graders. were reading at the same level as the Although the children come from so- average fourth grader three months into accomplish it with children from impov- cialand economic backgrounds that the school year. Dallas third graders, in erished homes, emphasize phonics, dis- most educators say would condemn contrast, averaged 3.4 while the national cipline and sound teaching methods. them to being below-average pupils, the average is 3.7. Importantly. every teacher in the study poor black youngsters are almost a full The study initially identified 204 ele- year ahead of the average Dallas public mentary schools in the poorest neigh- had high expectations of students. Rice, school third grader in reading. borhoods in Texas' largest cities. Of wao las been education reporter for the Moreover, they are reading better those schools. only 25 had third grade Times Herald for four years, is an exper- than average third graders from middle students reading at or above the nation- ienced writer in the field. He began his and upper-middle class families living in al average. including one in Dallas career hi Syracuse. N.Y.. where he cove the predominantly white North Dallas Phyllis Wheatley Elementary. neighborhoods that feed schools like The third grade was the benchmark ered education for five years beforemov- Walnut Hill and Cabell Elementary near for the Times Herald study of 18 of the ing to Dallas. Valley View Lane and Webb Chapel 25 schools, because that is the first Road. grad.. at which standardized achieve- The black Houston youngsters attend ment tests measure whether children Wesley Elementary School in one of the understand what they read. city'spoorest neighborhoods. Wesley If the 18 schools could teach even the was one of 18 predominantly black or most disadvantaged third graders how Hispanic elementary schools that were to read better than the national average, the subject of a six-week study by the perhaps they hadfound a better way to Dallas Times Herald. teach reading. After all, they had defied Like pupils at the other 17 schools. what the educational community has ac- the average Wesley third grader reads cepted as conventional wisdom for the at or above the national average as last two decades: that children from de- measured by standardized tests while prived backgrounds can't leant as well 276 277 A Better Way ... 172

as youngsters froin middle- and upper- ognize whole words. phonics, and claims that study after class families. Look, Jane, look. See Spot run. See study for 72 years has concluded that "It is possible" to teach poor children, Dick run. phonics is superior to look-say for teach- to enable them to learn, says Wesley American educators have been debat- ing reading. Principal Thaddeus Lott. "We've shown ing the relative merits of phonics versus But the debate remains lopsided. it; we've proven it over and over again." look-say" ever since 1955, when Ru- Professor Jeanne Chall, who has de- How? dolf Flesch's Why Johnny Can't Read voted more than 30 years to the subject By using a teaching method that Dal- was a national best seller for 30 weeks. of reading methods, says that One three- las tried, but then rejected, despite dra- Flesch is an unabashed proponent of year study she conducted for the Came- matic results from a two-year experiment at two South Dallas elementary schools. Charles Rice and H. S. Thompson. That same teaching method, or a similar phonics-based method, was the common denominator found in every case by a Times Herald reporter who visited the 18 schools. And this finding was also in conflict with what has become conventional wisdom among American educators: that the "look-say" method of reading, taught to generations of Ameri- cans with the famous Dick and Jane readers,is some low superior to the phonic system favored by Europeans. Phonics, which helped the poor minority children surpass the average Dal- las student, is based on teaching youngsters the sounds that letters and groups of letters make, and how various letters can be combined to make words. It is a ". system that gives children the building f _ *ar blocks of words. ire 14.411,4#3 el el el el Ati.0 eeee r , ,,f..Cr..) va va va va

for for for for 4.0' Y." el-e-va-tor elevator By contract. the "look-say" method, -- SIGH photo by Paul iVIIV500 which wa Aced by the American education blishmen t in the early Evelyn Parker studies a lesson in her third-grade class at Phyllis Wheatley 1930s, relies on teaching children to rec- Elementary School 278 279 gie Corporation found that most educators still cling to the "look-say" teaching method. "Most schoolchildren in the Reading Achievement* United States are taught to read by (look-say)" even though "the research 3rd Grade from 1912 to 1965 indicates that (phonics) produces better results..." 1 2345 6789 mos. I ll IIIIII "Phonics in the primary grades is I. what I have found over and over again to be very important," says professor Average reading level of third Chall. "That's why I put it as the first graders at one Dallas elementary 3.8 stage of learning to read." school who took pan in a two-year And if poor minority children are to experiment. have any chance in life, reading is the esrential first step, according to Waynel Sexton, a third grade teacher at Douglas Average reading level of third 3.7 Elementary School in a decaying neigh- graders nationwide. borhood near downtown Houston. "Reading is like breathing in our society today." she says, adding that "in a Average reading level of students in poor area like this (in Houston), for chil- 2.9 four comparable schools** using dren to have any success in life, they regular Dallas methods. need to be able to read." John Henry Martin, a former school superintendent who developed a special 'M measured by the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in the spring of 1982. phonics reading program that IBM is ' 'Priscilla Tyler. Jose Navarro. George Washington Carver and Colonial. currently testing with 10,000 pupils nationwide, says that reading is the big- SW charts gest hurdle on the road to learning in English. dren entering the first grade already the concept of teaching whole words. "The most difficult task in the Eng- have a vocabulary of 2,500 to 4,500 Only after children had learned many lish-speaking world is learning to read." words. basic words were the letter sounds says Martin. who argues that phonics With look-say, says Martin, "we feed introduced. will make that hurdle less formidable young schoolchildren pablumized pap, Since the appearance of Why Johnny for students. "Everything else is rela- simplesentencesandlimited Can't Read, some phonics instruction tively easy." vocabulary." hasbeenincorporated into most basic Moreover. Martin says that look-say Phonics was an important ingredient reading textbooks, according to profes- severely retards the progress most pu- of American public education at the sorChat.However, Fleschin his re- pils could make in reading and writing. turn of the century. However, by the cent book Why Johnny Still Can't Read He notes that the typical first grade early 1900s educators had begun to turn maintains that most publishers and reader uses a vocabulary of only 350 away from teaching methods that cen- educators still continue to emphasize the words, when tests have shown that chil- tered around the letter sounds toward teaching of reading by whole words as 280 A Better Way... 174

opposed to phonics. two years were reading at the early ing things in a lock-step manner. I Yet, at Houston's Wesley Elementary third grade level, which is about the didn't like the program at all, and some School, where third graders are reading average for the district as a whole. Stu- of the teachers didn't like it," Mrs. Gil- as well as average fourth graders, the dents at four comparison schools were ham explains. principal says that the key to success is reading at a high second grade level, Another common denominator found unquestionably phonics. almost a year behind the Thompson at all of the successful schools was a "I'm from the school of phonics; I'm a students. heavy emphasis on "choral reading" phonics man," Lott says, explaining that Although proven successful, the a teaching technique generally deserted he believes utudents must learn to build phonics-based program was dumped by generations ago. The teachers had their and break down words by individual schools officials last year after School pupils read aloud and answer questions sounds if they are going to be good Board Vice President Kathlyn Gilliam together as a group. And repetition was readers. and several teachers campaigned against a large part of the teaching process, too. Regardless of the basic reading book it."I personally didn't like the ap- Whenever children hesitated or an- used by the school system, or how much proach. It was too regimented, kids do- swered incorrectly, they were made to it stresses phonics, in all of the 18 successful schools studied by the Times Herald teachers drilled pupils heavily in phonics. And phonics makes a big difference, Reading Achievement* teachers say. "! taught six years in another state," 3rd Grade 4th Grade says Wesley teacher BonnieKlutts. 2 488 1 2 Smog. "Coming here and having second-grad- II I I 4I El: ers reading better than the fourth-graders I taught previously was something Reading level of poor black third special." graders taught by method discarded 4.3 The reading program used at Wesley by Dallas. Elementary is called Distar, and it also produced significant results in two elementary schools in Dallas where it was tested between 1980 and 1982, according Average reading level ofthird to Dallas school researchers. graders nationwide. Third grade pupils at Charles Rice and H. S. Thompson Elementary Schools, located in poor black neighborhoods in South Dallas, outperformed Average reading level of all Dallas pupils at comparable schools in reading. third graders. Thompson third-graders who had been in the program twu years were reading at a high thirdgradelevel, above the national average. Rice third- As measured by the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in the spring of 1982. graders who had been in the program 481 repeat the response again and again. educators, is the method used in China Ellamaye McCall, a teacher at San- to teach pupils to read. It was a favored derson Elementary School in Houston, teaching method used years ago in the relies on the use of repetition to make United States, reading experts say, but sure her pupils learnto pronounce it is now considered old-fashioned and words correctly and understand their inappropriate by most educators. How- reading lessons. Repetition also forms a ever, there is research to indicate that pattern of consistency that is beneficial choral responses are good for young for the children, she says. children. "We are consistent,"Mrs. McCall The Times Herald study of successful says. "It's something you have to instill minority schools also found that: from the beginning of the term." 1" teachers constantly praised their In the succes lul schools, if a pupil pupils, building their confidence and re- hesitates in answering a question, or inforcing their achievements. gives the wrong answer, the teacher requires the child to repeat the words or classrooms were highly structured, sentences again and again until the cor- with seating usually in traditional rows. rect response comes quickly and strict discipline was maintained in fluently. all of the classrooms, "Repetition is one thing that makes a teachers spent almost no time at all difference," says Sanderson Principal at their desks, and were constantly up Iris E. Ashley. and moving among the children. In Teachers also spend a large amount of many of the classrooms the attacher's class time conducting choral responses, desk was at the back of the room. in all the pupils in the class answer against conventional wisdom in the questions together and do oral exercizes educational community, there was little as a group. or no pupil work displayed on the walls "I want everybody following," says ofthose successfulthird-grade Laticia Gonzales, a third grade teacher classrooms. at David Barkley Elementary School in The Times Herald study also raised San Antonio. questions about two nearly universal "Let's all read the sentences now," policies in both the state's and the na- Barkleythirdgrade teacher Louise tion's ptIblic school systems: Yena constantly directs her pupils. Does bilingual education by making allowances for a child's language Ms. Gonzales and Ms. Yena, along handicap actually hold back children with a majority of the teachers observed who understand little or no English? in the study, spend more time with pu- Do the public schools begin teaching pils repeating words and other reading children to read at a young enough age? exercises out loud together than teach- But after phonics, the second most ers in other schools where pupils are not important factor in successful reading reading on grade level. programs appeared to be the standards Choral reading, according to several that were set. 83- A Better Way.. 176 Teachers' dislike halted

successful Dallasprogram Afri IVoih.'Sion. -14. wish. Husies. In 1979, Dallas Independent School District ton Carver and Colonial were reading at a Leithe rain kiss y officials decided it was time to take drastic mea- high second-grade level. sures to reverse a decade of declining achieve- Although proved successful, the phonics- Let therain heali_Jrilead ment test scores. based program was dumped by school officials wth silver tiros While the school board with consider- after school board Vice President Kathlyn Gil- I htr _syouoJul able public fanfare approved a four-year pro- liam and several teachers campaigned against it. . gram to end social promotion, it routinely agreed "Distar lost here politically," said one school pools to spend some of the district's federal aid on a official, who asked that he not be quoted by special reading program in two schools. name. Although that reading program, used suc- The basis of the Distar reading program is rat ,srunning pools -trE:t cessfully by several Houston schools where dis- phonics the sounds of letters and how to use advantaged children now are reading at or them to build and break down words. Teachers above the national average, produced similar re- follow a script for the teaching of reading that sults, Dallas school officials abandoned it in 1982 contains a significant amount of repetition of after only two years of trial. words and exercises, as well as substantial praise At that time, third-graders in one of the for students. g3PT :=41 schools were reading just above the national In a study conducted for the federal gov- average and a year above their peers in similar ernment, Distar was the only reading series test- Dallas schools. Those same students in 1980 had ed that produced significant results with disad- been doing as poorly as youngsters at compara- vantaged children. ble Dallas schools, reading in the bottom fifth of Still, Distar was highly unpopular with 20 students nationwide. percent of theteahcers whohad used it, accord- At the conclusion of the two-year experi- ing to a DISD attitude survey, largely because it ment, third-grade students at H.S. Thompson forcedteachersto keep track on paper ofeach and Charles Rice elementary schools, located in student's progress through the reading program. poor black neighborhoods in South Dallas, were The majority praised the reading program, reading at a significantly higher level than stu- even though they agreed they were forced to dents at the schools used for comparison. work harder with Distar than with other read- Thompson third-graders who spent two ing series. Staff plata by Paul Iverson years learning to read in the special program "It's hard on the teacher. Its taxing," says called Distar were reading at a high third-grade Waynel. Sexton, a second-grade teacher at Doug- Young Dallas student leads level, just above the national average. Third- las Elementary School in Houston. "But the class in reading a poem together graders at Rice who had been in the program benefits so far outweigh the other." two years were reading at the early third-grade In Dallas, Mrs. Gilliam, who represents the "I personally didn't like the approach," she level, about the same level as the district South Dallas area where Thompson and Rice said. "I didn't like the program at all, and some average. elementary schools are located, objected to the of the teachers didn't like it. I couldn't find any- Students at four comparisonschools Distar program because "it was too regimented; body gung-ho about it, except the people who Priscilla Tyler, Jose Navarro, George Washing- kids doing things in a lock-step manner!' set it up. 284 285 Monday. June 6. 1983 PART TWO 177 Part 2: Great expectations Demanding standards, discipline help students learn

The scene is a third-grade classroom to be successfully teaching some of similar teaching methods that are effi- at Houston's Looscan Elementary the state's poorest urban children to cient, effective and, sometimes, School, where children from a poor, read: against the grain developed by the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood Ms. Bledsoe will say she expects the American public education establish- north of downtown are learning to children to learn. ment over the last two decades. read. "I set the same expectations here as The results are classrooms such as Brenda Bledsoe hustles about, a in Spring Branch (one of Houston's Brenda Bledsoe's at Looscan proto- well-organized teacher working di- wealthiest suburban school districts)," types for success in teaching children rectly from her teacher's guide. Only Ms. Bledsoe says. "I see children as to read, according to the Times Her- seconds lapse between exercises in the children, regardless of economic sta- ald's survey of 204 schools in the high-activity classroom as she drills tus. If I don't challenge them, they poorest neighborhoods in the urban her pupils in the sounds that letters won't learn anything." districts of Texas. make. Looscan Principal Herminia M. Expectations are certainly the guid- "You're great." she tells them fre- Uresti agrees. Expectations, she says. ing factor: Even the methods adopted quently. "That's good, very good." are a crucial factor in teaching disad- by teachers and principals in the 18 She' makes the pupils repeat words vantaged children to read. successful schools reflect a refusal to if they hesitate or answer incorrectly. "We are very demanding. We have accept the disadvantages of economic Much of the time, they say the words high standards," she says. "I don't be- and cultural deprivation as reasons for aloud together. They are well-disci- lieve that because of a handicapped not learning. They are teaching meth- plined, seated in neat, traditional background, they can't learn." ods, with a few new twists, that were rows. While Ms. Bledsoe works with In more than 40 th',..d-grade class- around for generations before they one reading group, the others work rooms across Texas, teachers and prin- fell into disfavor during the education independently and quietly. cipals agree with that philosophy. As reform efforts of the last 20 years. The teacher is clearly the boss, and a result, at 18 poor, predominantlymi- Those changes, fueled by the work her pupils know it. nority urban schools, the third-grad- of sociologist James Coleman, were an They also know how to read, with ers in those classrooms are reading at attempt to find new ways to teach dis- reading scores on standardized or above the national average. advantaged children. Coleman's report achievement tests a full year ahead of Expectations are not everything: In for the federal government, which the national average for their grade. all those classrooms. teachers stress charted the course of education for a Ask Ms. Bledsoe why her pupils are phonics (the recognition of words generation, showed that learning is learning so well, and she will echo the through the sounds of their letters) in linked to a pupil's family background. others in a scattered group of teachers teaching reading to youngsters. And The home, Coleman said, is a major found by a Dallas Times Herald study they have implemented strikingly influence on education. Because of :+O6 287 A Better Way . 178

that, poor children do not achieve as The resulting deterioration in well as middle-class children. achievement among urban school pu- "I preached that," says Supt. Linus pils, and the implied decline in the Wright of the Dallas Independent qualityof education, helped drive SchoolDistrict, who acknowledges middle - class families out of the public that Coleman's report has been used schools. By 1980, the nation's largest as a rationale for the failure of public school systems, including Dallas, were schools. "But I've repented my sins. I filled with mostly poor and minority know now that all children can pupils, the very pupils that schools learn." have had little success in educating. Still, Dallas, the eighth largest ur- Among the 204 elementary schools ban school system in the nation, is a serving the poorest neighborhoods in prime example of what happened to the seven largest urban systems in education in U. S. cities during the Texas, only 25 are managing to teach 1960s and 1970s. third-graders to read at national-aver- As the legions of urban poor grew age levels. over that time, so did the search for In the DISK last year, in fact, third- alternatives to teach those "hard-to- graders at only one of the 46 poorest educate" pupils. A parade of new elementary schools reached the na- teaching methods was marched tional average. In some Dcllas schools, through the public schools, including the average third-grader is reading individualized instruction and "open only as well as beginning second- classrooms." graders nationwide. But while educators searched for A Times Herald reporter visited and experimented with new teaching more than 40 classrooms in 18 of those methods that might work with poor 25 schools in poor neighborhoods pupils, the test scores and achieve- where third-graders are learning to ment levels of all pupils took a 20- read and understand what they have year slide. read at a national average or better. "What we're dealing with," says In those classrooms, like Ms. Bledsoe's Harold Hodgkinson, a leading educa- at Looscan, teachers were using meth- tion researcher and former head of ods that have been around for years the National Institute of Education, "is 'but have generally been replaced by a slippage caused by white, upper- newer styles: middle-class teachers trying some Teachers set high standards; teach- very effete styles. ers constantly praised their pupils; "What happened was a stopover of classrooms were highly structured; - UPI 01010 liberal, radical educators applying discipline was important; pupils were Brenda Bledsoe puts her pupils through their demand- their trip to somebody else. Those drilled heavily in phonics; and teaching, high-activity paces in the third-grade class at people did us a disservice by inflicting ers had pupils repeat words or exer- Looscan Elementary School in Houston, located in a their views on kids." cises when they hesitated or failed to poor, predominantly Hispanic neighborhood.

411.1%. 288 289 answer questions correctly. Some factors identified in the study are even more rare in the mainstream `What we're dealing with is a slippage caused of public classrooms: Teachers made substantial use of by white, upper-middle-class teachers trying group responses to questions and exercises; teachers spent almost no time some very effete styles. What happened was a at their desks; teachers used a method of holding direct eye contact with in- slopover of liberal, radical educators dividual pupils while asking and waiting for them to answer questions; and applying their trip to somebody else. Those there was little or no pupil work dis- people did us a disservice by inflicting their' played on the walls of those successful classrooms. views on kids.'

Teachers and principals in the poor Harold Hodgkinson, education researcher and mostly minority urban schools that are successfully teaching children to read in Texas say that overcoming ing groups, and the teachers worked asked permission to get lut of their the children's image of themselves is with a group at a time while the oth- seats. While a teacher worked with their toughest problem. They combat ers worked independently. one reading group, the other pupils that problem with high standards. Every teacher observed in the suc- worked quietly and independently. "You have to set high expectations cessful schools worked directly from "We have our children under con- for the children and believe in them," theteacher'sguide. They worked trol," says Freddie J. McGowen, prin- says Lydia Cordova, principal of hard, following routine and wasting cipal of Highland -Heights Elementary Scroggins Elementary School in Hous- little time as they moved from group School in one of the poorest neighbor- ton. "You can't make excuses and say to group or exercise to exercise. The hoods inNorthwest Houston. that because these children come from teachers were clearly well-organized. "They're well-disciplined." this (poor) background. they don't "There has to be structure," says While having pupils do reading have potential. They do." Thaddeus Lott, principal of Wesley exercises, most of the teachers moved To mine that potential, the princi- Elementary School, one of the high- around the room. Occasionally, a pal' dnd teachers have independently est-scoring of the poorest elementary teacher would call a group of pupils developed very deliberate approaches schools in Houston. At Wesley, thetogether around a lam.: table and sit with marked similarities. The basic third-graders are reading as well as with them while they read. examples: fourth-graders nationwide. None of the teachers taught from All of the more than 40 class- The structured natureof the behind desks. rooms visited by the Times Herald classrooms was coupled closely with Oakland. Calif.. Supt. David Bowick were visibly structured- Desks were in good discipline: maintains that desks often get in the the traditional rows in all but two or In all but two of the classrooms, dis- way of good teaching. He says the three of the classrooms. The classes cipline was strict. Pupils were notproblem with desks is that too many were divided into two or three read- running around the classroom; they teachers, consciously or subconscious- 290 A Better Way ... -,.... 180

ly. use them to establish barriers be- "You're like a cheerleader almost, tween themselves and pupils. but the results are worth it," says a That problem is widespread, agrees second-grade teacher at Houston's Part 3: DISD Supt. Wright. "My observation Douglas Elementary School. "This from walking around and visiting makes them feel happy and good schools (in Dallas)," he says, "is that about themselves." 90 percent of our teachers were teach- Even when the youngsters an- ing at their desks." swered incorrectly, most teachers did 1" McDade Elementary School not tell the pupils they were wrong, but instead asked who had another teacher Alice Moore is on her feet, N moving all of the time she teaches answer or idea. reading. When she asks a child a Floyd N. Stringfellow, principal of question, she doesn't stand in the Houston's McDade Elementary Programs front of the room and wait for him to which is 90 percent black and nearly answer. 10 percent Hispanic encourages his Instead, Ms. Moore, like other teachers to praise pupils every chance find success teachers in tIstudy, looks directly at they get. He wants the youngsters to the youngster and walks in his direc- believe, he says, that, "I am tion, often standing beside him while somebody." by shunning he answers. She and the other teach- "Race has nothing to do with learn- ers deliberately establish individual ing skills. Just because a student is interactions with their pupils. poor has nothing to do with his ability native tongues For 15 or 20 seconds, there is direct, to learn," Stringfellow says. "Just be- interpersonal contact between a child cause we don't have the income, were arid an adult something teachers not poor in spirit." say happens infrequently in the lives 1..° Surprisingly, one way that the of children in those poorest schools, successful schools did not try to build who often come from single-parent the confidence of pupils was by plac- families. ing their outstanding papers on the 1.' When pupils answer questions classroom walls, a common practice correctly in the successful schools, supported by a number of studies that they are praised profusely. Teachers have concluded that children's work frequently tell them how bright they on the walls is one way to help identi- are or how well they are doing. fy good schools. i "Good thinking," a beaming Pat Education expert Hodgkinson' says, Westberry repeatedly told her pupils however, that by selecting the out- at Elms A. Neal Elementary School in standing work of a few pupils to dis. a poor Hispanic neighborhood of play, a teacher may actually be estab- north San Antonio. Her praise consis- lishing a caste system within the class, tently evoked bright smiles from the singling out some children for praise youngsters. and silently telling others they are not doing well. 291 292 A N,

Tuesday, June 7, 1983 PART THREE 181

Statewide, there are an estimated 500,000 children who have a limited English spoken here knowledge of English. Nationwide, there are an estimated 3.6million school-age children who Clarita Rivera moved to the last of where in defiance of conventional have a limited ability to speak and read five new vocabulary words in the storywisdom among educators children English, according to a study conducted that one of her third-grade reading with language handicaps and from dis- by the National Institute of Education groups was preparing to read. advantaged backgrounds were reading for the U.S. Department of Education. "Twilight," she said, pointing to the at a level equal to or better than the Two-thirds of those youngsters are con- bottom word on the blackboard. national average. centratedin three states:California,

"What's `twilight?' " The Times Herald study found that New York and Texas. 1r Her pupilsat Fannin Elementary the schools that were the most success- Those pupils pose a national educa- School in East Dallas looked puzzled.ful used teaching methods that ran tional and political dilemma; What is the None responded, as they had with pre- counter to the mainstream in bilingual best way to teach them English, and do vious words such as "architect" andeducation of today, and that teachers in the public schools have a responsibility "passageway." those schools made few allowances for to help pupils maintain their native "Crepusculo," Mrs. Rivera said. the language handicaps of their pupils. language? "That's 'twilight.' " Instead, when theyteachEnglish The issue does not encompass Span- Mrs. Rivera had resorted to Spanish,reading, those teachers treat the chil- ish-speaking children alone. As more the native language of her pupils, to de- dren as though they are fluent in Eng- and more refugees from Southeast Asia fine the vocabulary word. Later, shelish. They expect them to understand settle in the nation's cities, the problem used Spanish again to make sure thetheir reading lessons in English, and is growing. And there is no limit to its pupils understood the directions to an avoid using a pupil's native tongue. magnitude if the public schools are go- exercise in their reading lesson. The study indicated that makiyg ing to treat equally all those children The goal at Fannin and dozens of oth- allowances for language handicaps may who do not speak English. er Texas elementary schools with largehave ultimately hindered those children Schools have been wrestling with numbers of children who speak little or in the acquisition of the English how to teach children with limited Eng- no English is to help those children language. lish-speaking ability since the U. S. Su- learn the English language. Teachers of- That finding is further supported by preme Court ruled in 1974 that schools ten use the children's native tongue toan experiment being conducted in con- must make a special educational effort make sure they understand. junction with the Texas Education to overcome the language handicaps of But that practice contrasts sharplyAgency in several predominantly His- those pupils. with what is happening in several poor panic elementary schools, including sev- Two major methods have emerged: urban schools in Texas that have largeen in Houston. Pupils at those schools, bilingual education and English-as-a- numbers of limited-English-speakingwho receive no instruction in their na- Second-Language (ESL), In bilingual kids and where third graders nottive language, are also doing well, ac- education, pupils are taught subjects only read better than Dallas Hispaniccording to test results. such as mathematics and reading in children, but are reading better than The Fannin Elementary School pupils their native language while they learn Dallas third graders as a whole, andare among the thousands of elementary English. In ESL, students are taught in above the national average. school youngsters in the Dallas Indepen- English but are given special language The Times Herald visited more thandent School District whose ability to instruction that helps them adapt to 40 classrooms in 18 urban Texas schools, read and write English is limited, English as quickly as possible. 293 . A Better Way ... 182

Both methods involve the pupils' na- on standardized achievement tests the Texas Education Agency. Seven ele- tive language, if there is a teacher avail- with third graders reading a full year mentary schools in How ton are partici- able who can speak it. Many educators above grade level. pating in the pilot program to determine believe that a child who must cope with "If you push kids," Ms. Uresti says, how well children can learn English if schooling in a language other than his "they will meet the challenge." they are totally immersed in that own is facing hurdles he may never While a Looscan teacher may use language. surmount. Spanish to explain something at the be- "We're real excited about it," Field "It always hurts a child to some ex- ginning of the year, by mid-year teach- Principal Mary Nikirk says. tent to teach him in a language other ers seldom use any Spanish during the Field Elementary School enrolls a than his own," says William Pulte, a teaching of English reading. Alice Diaz, large number of children who speak professor of anthropology at Southern whose third grade is full of children virtually no English at all, and under Methodist University and a specialist in who receive bilingual education during the new total immersion program they bilingual education. other parts of the day, treats those chil- receive all of their instruction in English "When I look at it from a humane dren as though they are fully fluent in plus one or two hours of extra English point of view, kids who can't speak English. She even gives them complicat- language lessons daily. Englishare definitely handicapped," ed instructions in English. According to Mrs. Nikirk, the new to- says Dallas school Supt. Linus Wright. "She expects them to understand," tal immersion program is a vast im- However, pupils at several of the poor Ms. Uresti says. "Children will perform provement over the old bilingual pro- schools included in the reading study according to what you expect." gram, where students received some schools with large numbers of limited- It is clear to the principal at Looscan instruction in their native tongue. English-speaking children that are read- that the accommodation of language "When we had the regular bilingual ing on grade level treat those chil- handicaps reduces the expectations that program, by the fourth grade, students dren as though they fully understand teachers and other educators have for were at least two years behind," she all words and directions in English. limited-English-speaking children, and said. Rudolph Troike. one of the nation's perhaps has hindered those children in But with the new program, even rela- leading experts on bilingual education, their efforts to learn the language. tively new arrivals from Mexico are but says the findings of the Times Herald "Definitely, they've lowered expecta- one year behind after only a few study are "very interesting." tions," Ms. Uresti says. "They just don't months in the total immersion program. "It is possible that the teachers, in do- expect these children to do better be- The probable results of the TEA ex- ing what they were doing, were push- cause they don't speak English." periment in total immersion are likely to ing them (the pupils), and they were At another of Houston's poor, pre- provoke a major controversy over the responding to the challenge," says dominantly Hispanic elementary schools future of bilingual and ESL education Troike, a professor at the University of where third graders are nevertheless in Texas. Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and for- reading at the national average none "I could certainly see Texas and mer head of the Center for Applied of the pupils receive any instruction in not just Texas say, Thank God, we Linguistics. Spanish at any time. The school is part don't have to worry about those kids' Herminia Uresti agrees. She is princi- of an experimental program to see how native language. We can teach them in pal of Looscan Elementary School in a well children learn English when that is English, which is what we thought all predominantly Hispanic neighborhood the only language they are exposed to. along,' " says Troike, whose hometown of northwest Houston. Of 18 poor urban The "total immersion" program at is Brownsville. schools successfully teaching reading in Field Elementary School is part of a Troike said bilingual education has Texas, Looscan's pupils scored highest three-year project being conducted by never been popular with some Texas I... 295 296 , 183

educators. He described a hearing in He says the Lau decision the fam- at it and assume it's a political issue, Austin several years ago on the state ous 1974 U.S. Supreme Court decision when it has only become that laterally bilingual education plan: "One superin- requiring school districts to use special as far as Spanish groups are concerned," tendent stood up and said, 'I believe the programs to help children who speak Troike says. "Only recently and periph- best way to teach English is by the pad- little or no English was the result of erally have political groups gotten dle.' And L fellow superintendents a civil rights lawyer looking around for interested, applauded. a "cause to get involved with". 'On the other side of the coin," "That attitude is still surviving under "He had to talk the family into agree- Troike says, "it is my own very strong the surface," Troike says. ing to allow their kids to be plaintiffs in feeling that if you look at the federal, Bilingual education advocates and op- the case," Troike said. "Initially there and most of the state mandates for bi- ponents continue to debate its educa- was no political push for it at all. lingual education, they are predicated tional effectiveness. Critics contend that "People who originally advanced the on the notion of trying to eradicate the bilingual education is nothing more than idea of bilingual education were primar- native language, and this is a more hu- a way to maintain a separate political ily people in the foreign language mane way to do it. base within the American political are- field," he says. "There was really no po- "Teach them in their native language na. They say bilingual education is poli- litical push for it. just to the point where they learn Eng- tics, and nothing more. "I think only the Anglos who are op. lish, and then dump their native lan- Troike disagrees. posed to it for a variety of reasons look guage," he says.

`Black English': Valid languageor wasteof time? "She be busy, so he going home wit to have a place. If not, the child doesn't But in the few predominantly black me." have a place." schools of Texas' poor city neighborhoods The language that many black young- When Ms. Ewell headed DISD's for- at which third-grade pupils are reading sters use at home and in their neighbor- mer all-black East Oak Cliff Subdistrict. at the national average, Black English hoods is the same language they bring to which was dismantled last year by the does not receive favored. treatment. In school. And that "non-standard dialect" federal courts, her staff developed a spe- most, it is taboo. more commonly called "Black Eng- cial language program for its schools that A Dallas Times Herald study of how lish" has ignited a debate among edu- incorporated Black English and trained reading is taught successfully to disad- cators and linguists over the value and teachers to be sensitive to the language vantaged urban children found that place of that special form of the English differences of their pupils. those schools use only standard English language in American public schools. Similar programs had been developed in the classroom. When children use "Children have to bring their language by other urban school systems; one was standard English incorrectly, they are with them. They don't have another," even ordered by a federal judge in Ann corrected quickly a practice that sup- says Yvonne Ewell, the highest-ranking Arbor, Mich., to help pupils overcome porters of Black English do not like. black woman in the Dallas Independent language handicaps that often stand in "We are going to use standard English School District. "A child's language has the way of learning to read. in the school environment," says Thad- 297 A Better Way ... 184

dens Lott, the black principal of Wesley than "schools have the responsibility to P'" "words ending with th are pro- Elementary School in Houston. Black teach students they can handle a variety nounced as if they ended with f (wit' for English, he says, is a "waste of time and of language forms in a variety of social with). uncalled for. That is not real life for chil- settings," and that "non-acceptance of t/ "non-standard use of the verb to be dren, not the kind of world they are go- the language of children is non-accep- (She be busy for She is busy). ing to face." tance of them personally." Rudolph Troike, a linguistics specialist Teachers in the East Oak Cliff Subdis- e.'" "double-negative (He didn't have and former head of the Center for Ap- trict were told they should not penalize none for He didn't have any). pliedLinguistics,says proponents of pupils for the use of non-standard Eng- P' "addition of plural s to irregular Black English believe that "by being lish and should not allow the child's lan- plurals (childrens, feets). over-critical, you have a negative impa, guage to have an adverse effect on how t""consistent differencesin phono- on kids' self-image and, consequently, on they view the child. logical representations for certain indi- their motivation." According to the program developed in vidual words (ax for ask, querstion for "But never to my knowledge has that Dallas by the East Oak Cliff staff, "Black question, credict for credit). been tested in any controlled way," says English" is distinguished by 10 major Troike, who is currently a professor at characteristics: t/ "dropping inflexional endings (He the University of Illinoisat Urbana- miss the ball for He missed the ball). Champaign. He says the negative-impact "the final consonant sound is often t/ "double-stress of the subject (My contentionisbased on "suppositions, omitted (he for hold). sister she is gone for My sister is gone) rather than hard research." t/ "words which begin with th are e.'" "words which end with r or re, the The oral language program developed pronounced as if they began with d (dis final r sound is dropped (stow for store, for the East Oak Cliff Subdistrict stated for this). flow for floor)." Technology offers hope for improving education WASHINGTON A green-and-gold "U," responds Lamika. and the child is learning to read. tunic appears on the computer screen. "Type `u,' " the computer says. That may be the future: Lamika and Earphones in place, 5-year-old La- Lamika hits the "it" key on the type-her classmates are part of an expensive, mika Moore is ready. So is the IBM writer. A blinking "u" moves to thenationwide research experiment fi- computer in front of her. center of the screen. nanced by International Business Ma- "Say uniform," says the voice from "Say uniform," the machine says. chines Corp. to see if computers used the computer's sound track. And so it goes, through each of theas an integral part of a special instruc- "Uniform" responds Lamika. phonetic sounds that make up the wordtion program can help teach children "This is the sound " says the com- u-n-i-f-or-rn the IBM computerto read. puter. "Say `u.' " and the student working together But while the cornerstone of the so- 300 far promising experiment "Writing to there are 10,000 children in 400 class- even though young girls typically learn Read" is using technology in the rooms in 22 school districts involved in more rapidly. teaching of reading, many of the essen- the program. Also, she said, black children are ap- tial elements of the program are found "Writing to Read" is a self-paced pro- parently learning as well as white chil- in a handful of schools in Texas' poorest gram in which children work in pairs at dren using "Writing to Read," and poor city neighborhoods that are teaching computers and then participate in other children are learning at the same rate as children to read at the national average reading activities. They spend a maxi- those from higher-income families. or above. mum of 15 minutes at the computer, fol- Martin said he spent several years de- An extensive six-week study by the lowed by a work journal in which they veloping the "Writing to Read" program Dallas Times Herald of more than 40 do written work that reinforces the because he concluded it would be impos- classrooms in those schools found that computer exercises. sible to improve the quality of education 10 major factors were present in virtual- Children are then directed to other in the United States by re-training 2 ly all of them. Seven of those factors "stations" by the teacher, including the million public school teachers. An at- high expectations, structured class- writing table, where they engage in cre- tempt to make wholesale changes in a rooms, strong discipline, heavy phonics ative writing using pencil and paper, "labor-intensive industry" is "doomed drills, repetition of words and exercises, and the typewriters, where they type a before you begin," he says. praise for students, arid teachers who do final draft of their compositions. They "I came to the conclusion that the age not use their desks are clearly built also listen to books on tape, while fol- of technology is the only hope we have into "Writing to Read." lowing along in their own books, and for the qualitative improvement of edu- "I couldn't agree more," says "Writ- play games making words from individ- cation," Martin says. ing to Read" creator John Henry Mar- ual letter sounds. Martin believes computers can be a tin. "From my standpoint. we walk ab- "The kids are motivated," Dalton significant classroom aid, though he con- solutely in harmony." says. "They sustain themselves. They're tends that few people are designing Early indications are that the comput- not bashful. They're not shy about mak- high-quality computer programs for er program, a joint venture of IBM and ing mistakes; they know it's part of classroom use. Instead, most computer Martin, is having success. After only learning. programs use existing workbook pages five months in the program, many of "A child doesn't have to be perfect to and tests and stick them on the comput- Lamika's kindergarten classmates can express himself," he said. er screen. read books normally used in the first- Thelma Oglesby, Lamika's kindergar- He contends that school districts are grade reading program. ten teacher, says the program does more wasting millions of dollars annually on "Some kindergarten students can than teach young children how to read. computers and software. "They've been read book No. 2 of the four-book series "They develop a love for books and buying Steinway pianos, but nobody's used in first grade." says William Dal- reading at an early age," Mrs. Oglesby written any music worth playing," he ton, principal of Congress Heights Ele- says. "The mere fact that they see they said. mentary School in Anacostia, one of can decode and encode (break words The underlying theory behind his Washington's poorest neighborhoods. apart and put them together by sound- project to teach young children to read About 50 to 60 percent of the residents ing them out) instills self-confidence, is that "anything they can say, they can living in the neighborhood are on wel- and I think that's essential. The speech write," Martin says. "Writing is speech fare, and few of their children have an patterns improve so much." made visible." opportunity for pre-school education. Thelma Michael, director of the pro- In contrast to most beginning reading Congress Heights is among the 15 of gram for the Washington school system. books which Martin said sellfar 120 elementary schools in Washington said educators have not yet compiled short the expansive vocabulary most where 1,500 kindergarten andfirst- formal data on the program, but teach- children have pupils are encouraged grade students are participating in the ers have observed no difference in the to write anything in the "Writing to "Writing to Read" project. Nationwide, rate of learning between boys and girls, Read" program, and to spell it the way A Better Way . 186 '

it sounds until they eventually learn the program "is not an easy system to man-checked three groups of first-graders correct, standard spelling of the word. age." It requires a teacher's aide to mon-who had IQs between 88 and 91, which Therefore, a kindergarten student itor children at the computers, whilehe called "low normal." After a yeat, may write an essay using "egl" for ea- leaving the teacher free to oversee allthose using only a regular reading pro- gle, or "too" for two. other activities the children are involved gram were reading on the first-grade Martin does not see that as any prob- in. It requires the teacher to become a level, those using "Writing to Read" and lem. "We have a kind of sexual fetish kind of supermanager during the read- a regular reading program were reading about spelling, which we impose on ing lesson. at a low second-grade level, and those children too early and damage them for But, Martin said, the effort is worthusing only "Writing to Read" were a life," he said, contending that children it. In five months, the average child isyear above their grade level. easily adapt to standard spellings after beyond the primer capacity to read ..nd According to Martin, the overall cost they see them often enough as they pro- write, he said. for the program, including materials gress in their reading. In preliminary tests of the effective-and computers, is not great. For the full The educator admits that his reading ness of the program. Martin said, heprogram, including the IBM Personal Computers, it will cost schools about $50 a child per year for five years on a lease/purchase basis. That price includes typewriters, teacher training, outside staff support and materials. However, the computers will never replace teachers, Martin says. "This will never dry a kid's eye. This will never take a kid in and make him feel warm. This will never put a Band- - Aid on a kid's foot," Martin said. In- stead the computer changes the teacher'sroleinthe reading process to "teacher as tutor,teacher as editor, teacher as value judgment person." Larry Holmstrom, manager of IBM's Personal Computer learning system, 4, don'tdon't want my kid taught by machine," Holstrom said. He said the computers merely help teachers to do a more effective job. "'Writing to Read' takes the time to be a very patient tutor MAC for kids and responds at the child's rate." Holstrom said he believes "Writing to . Read" is "representative of the future." X He said the new program is "but an em- / bryo" in process of using computers in education. "It is the introduction of the computer as a tutorial machine." 303 Wednesday. June 8. 1983 PART FOUR Part 4: Tooyoungto read? Educators splitonhow much to teach in kindergarten

Last fall, 5-year-old Kenneth walked DISD Supt. Linus Wright. "How can earlier may have positive effects that up to the large tablet in the front of his you knock success?" carry through elementary school is kindergarten classroom. Pointing at Yet Wright maintains that a school supported by the research of Dolores each word, he repeated the Robert system such as Dallas where "ap Durkin, an education professor at the Louis Stevenson lines that many chil- proximately 70 percent of our young- University of Illinois at Urbana- dren learn to recite: sters are culturally and educationally Champaign. When I was down beside the sea deprived" must rely on kindergarten Ms. Durkin studied children who A wooden spade they gave to me as a year to get children ready for the were taught to read before they came to To dig the sandy shore more rigorous education of first grade. school. On standardized achievement My holes were empty like a cup Baylor University Professor Betty tests those children consistently re- In every hole the sea came up Ruth Baker. an early childhood educa- mained ahead of classmates who learned Ti! it could come no more. tion expert. says that when most educa- to read later in school. At that time, Helen Tobias, Kenneth's tors talk about using kindergarten for In a recent interview Ms. Durkin cau- kindergarten teacher, said she wasn't "readiness," they mean teachirig social tioned that she believes effective teach- sure whether Kenneth was reading or skills such as getting along with oth- ing methods and good instructional ma- had simply memorized the poem in the er students the school routine and terials were crucial factors in the success two days the class had been reciting it fundamental skills, such as counting and of those children in her study. along with her. identifying colors. But educators have long debated how But Mrs. Tobias said she was sure of However, an extensive study by the to use the kindergarten year. In the ear- one thing: When Kenneth left kinder- Dallas Times .Herald of the teaching of ly 1900% the Kindergarten Union an garten, he would know how to read. reading in elementary schools in Texas' organization of kindergarten teachers in And she was right. poorest city neighborhoods found that the United States appointed a com- Kenneth. like many of his classmates most of the 18 schools whose third grad- mittee to determine the best teaching at Phyllis Wheatley Elementary School ers read at the national average or methods to use in kindergarten. in South Dallas. is now a reading whiz. above use the kindergarten year to "They couldn't come up with any- At Phyllis Wheatley, at least half the teach many youngsters to read as well. thing," says Baylor Professor Baker. kindergarten pupils learn to read in For example. at Phyllis Wheatley in "This is an age-old question. It's not violation of Dallas Independent School Dallas, at least 50 percent of the kinder- anything new." District policy. The only one of DISD's garteners learn to read. At McDade Ele- The debate today is over whether to 46 poorest elementary schools in which mentary School in Houston, another use kindergarten solely as a "readiness" third graders are reading as well as at poor urban school, 60 percent of the yt..;.z to prepare pupils for the an aca- the national average breaks the rules by kindergarten pupils are reading by the demic process beginning in first grade, teaching its kindergarteners to read. beginning of the second semester. or to use the kindergarten year to begin "I'm not going to go out there and The indications of the Times Herald teaching basic subjects, including slap their hands for doing it,"says study that teaching children to read reading. 2.11 304 %. V up A Better Way... 188

"Readiness" is a "broad term thrown the ideal age to begin reading was 61/2.reading textbooks, she found them di- around by a lot of educators." Ms. Baker That conclusion, he says, was "gobbledvided over when children should begin says. "The child is ready to learn when up whole by educators." The problem is, learning to read. he walks into your classroom." he adds, "there is absolutely nothing to Those whe, backed the whole-word She says most teachers, when they it." method in which children first learn use the term, are talking about aspects The retired professor, who haswhole words and then the various letter of the child's social behavior, such as worked with children in the Austin In-sounds believed that most children learning the school routine and how to dependent School District, complains asshould begin at 6 years old or the first get along with other children in a well about that district's policy on thegrade, and they expressed concern group. Pupils also work on rudimentary teaching of reading in kindergarten.about efforts to get children reading at a skills such as learning the alphabet, Austin has a policy similar to Dallas,younger age. counting, and identifying shapes and emphasizing kindergarten as a readiness One of the problems cited by those colors. year. authors in teaching younger children to "Our present policy calls for kinder- One kindergarten teacher he knowsread is the lack of preparation of most garten to be a strict readiness program." "defies that policy and teaches her kin-kindergarten teachers for teaching

says Wright. "We're trying to guard dergarteners to read," Andersson says.reading. . against a teacher skipping readiness "Still, the school system is rather dis- However, two-thirds of the authors skills (in order) to have a few (pupils) pleased with her work." who back phonics teaching the read. Large urban school systems in Texas sounds of letters first and then grouping "By and large," says the DISD super- are not the only ones that stress usingletters to make words believed that intendent, "I don't think everybody is kindergarten as a year of preparingmost children would benefit from start- ready for academics at kindergarten, not rather than teaching pupils. ing earlier, at 4 or 5 years old. By that in a school system like Dallas. For the In San Francisco, for example. the time,they argued, children already majority of our children, a comprehen- school district is piloting a program in 96 have a "good command" of spoken sive readiness program is best" elementary to teach the sounds of the language. Some educators, however, dispute letters, as well as some words, to kin- Although educators nationwide have that. dergarteners. However, since the pro-debated the best teaching methods for Theodore Andersson, a retired profes- gram covers only one new letter eachkindergarten for the better part of this sor at the University of Texas at Austin, week, it is a program to introduce be- century, the issue has confronted most who has conducted research on children ginning reading concepts rather than toTexas school districts for only the last who learn to read at an early age, insists produce fluent readers in kindergarten. 13 years. Kindergarten was not intro- that young children can and should "I don't think you can say across-the-duced into most of the state's schools learn to read. board that every kindergarten must be until 1970. "There's no question in the world readiness or every kindergarten must be In Texas. it is mandatory for school about that," Andersson says. "I'm abso- academic," Ms. Baker says. "I can't see districts to offer kindergarten, but chil- lutely certain of it. kindergarten as a year of piddling anddren are not required to attend. Under "Kindergarten is already much too play. I also can't see it as a year wherestate law, children must begin attending late," he says. "It's been traditional to the child has no opportunity for social school when they are 7 years old. begin reading at 6 or 7 for so long that development." The Texas Legislature passed a bill in people have begun to think it's right." In her book, "Learning to Read: The 1969 requiring school districts to offer Andersson blames that tradition on a Great Debate," educator Jeanne Challkindergarten for educationally disad- study in the 1930s that concluded that reports that when she polled authors ofvantaged children, and the state began 306 30'7 funding the program in the 1970-71 taged pupils or those who have a limit- the cost must be picked up by the school school year. By 1973. parents of other ed ability to speak English. The state system. children had organized and successfully will fund those kindergarten offerings. About one-fourth of Texas'1,071 lobbied the Legislature to pass a bill of- If a school district offers full day kin- school districts offer full-day kindergar- fering a half day of kindergarten for all dergarten for all children, which Dallas ten, according to Irene Ramirez, kinder- students. does, then the state will pay only for a garten educationspecialist with the Now, school districts must offer a half full day for the language and education- Texas Education Agency. day of kindergarten for all children and ally disadvantaged students and a half Few of them teach reading before the a full day for educationally disadvan- day for the others. The remainder of first grade. Editorial Individual schools responsible for studentsuccess

It is a difficult task, to be sure. but especially in the vital area of reading Houston put it, "If you push kids. they urban school systems can teach children than many education professionals will meet the challenge." from culturally deprived backgrounds to have been willing to admit or to accept Wheatley is the only one of Dallas' 46 read. That rather salient fact was made in recent years. In schools where a ma- poorest elementary schools at which abundantly clear in the series, "Read- jority of the children are failing to read third-graders are reading at or above ing: Finding a better way," which ap- at grade level, it usually is the fault of the national average. But Wheatley, peared last week in the Times Herald. the school district personnel. ironically, is violating DISD policy by One can only conclude from the suc- Most successful urban reading pro- beginning to teach reading in kindergar- cessfulcity school reading programs grams apparently involve structured ten and it also uses the phonics meth- cited in the four-part series (one of classroom settings,strict attention to od, which runs counter to the common which is at the Phyllis Wheatley Ele- mastering standard English skills, the practice at most Dallas elementary mentary School in South Dallas) that use of phonics in teaching students to schools. individual schools bear the largest single pronounce words and to spell them At schools in urban areas where chit= responsibilityfor how well students (along with aspects of the so-called dren perform poorly, administrators and learn to read. And reading, ultimately, "look-say" memory method), close su- teachers often have tried to blame social is the key to education and knowledge. pervision of pupils, immediate corrective factors for their failure. As a result, Parents, of course, play an important action when mistakes occur, praise for poor and minority students often have role in motivating their children to ex- achievement, dedicated teachers, and, been pampered with courses designed to cel, but teachers, principals and program perhaps most important, high expecta- suit"theirlevel" and ethnicback- administrators bear a significantly tions of student performance. ground. Some black pupils even have greater responsibility for achievement As one elementary school principal in been told that they do not have to mas- A Better Way .

ter the grammar and pronunciation of schools should take note of that and ap- standardized English and, instead, can ply the same focus and high standards. use so-called "black English." Some Hi- Too many teachers simply do not spanics have been told that they can teach, anu too many schools continue to learn better in Spanish. As a result, promote students who cannot read and some bilingual programs, instead of pro- have not mastered even the most basic viding a valuable transition to English, skills. We believe that such fraud must have become an end in themselves. be stopped. Educators and administrators like to A teacher at Houston's Looscan Ele- point out that in the past two decades. mentary School. where students' read- most urban school districts in this coun- ing scores on standardized achievement try have experienced substantially tests are a full year ahead of the nation- greater ethnic diversity. That is true, al average for the various grade levels. and we do not mean to minimize the expressed what we think is the proper many cultural and s.ialfactors in- attitude teachers must have to impart volved in such a shift. But we believe knowledge successfully. "I see children there is far more to the failure of the as children, regardless of economic sta- American educational system than that. tus. If I don't challenge them, they This country also has witnessed gross won't learn anything," she said. mismanagement of a sacred trust the Higher expectations clearly are a key. education of its children. especially for minority and poor chil- Many parents, black as well as white. dren. Teacher work habits also play a have enrolled their children in private critical role good teachers do not schools in recent years in the hopes of teach from behind their desks. the sur- finding a better system of education vey found; they move about, praise stu- than what is being offered by most pub- dents profusely, maintain discipline and lic schools. Almost uniformly, the pri- have a positive attitude toward their vate schools and the best public schools profession. emphasize the teaching of standardized As a national commission concluded English, have tough discipline require- earlier this year. much has to be done to ments, give homework regularly and improve the quality of public education demand the mastering of such basic sub- in this country. But we think "Reading; jects as reading. writing, mathematics Finding a better way" should communi- and the sciences. We think the educators cate to educators that it can be done. and administrators at other public And that is an important message.

309 k

The Chicago Reporter Illiteracy: An Education Crisis

71v Two Articles Toy Laura Washington Illiteracy: An Education July 1983 CrisisI' 193

Programs Reach Few Unskilled Adults About the Author Despite New Literacy Push LAURA WASHINGTON, Since 1980, Laura Washington has been education No New Funds or Focus More than 452,000 adults in Chicago resources, organizations or effectiveness reporter for The Chteago Reporter, an are functionally illiterateunable to read to meet the needs of unskilled adults. investigative monthly that examines or write well enough to perform everyday In 1979. a Ford Foundation study re- tasksaccording to the best estimates ported that adult illiterates were "vastly racial issues and urban affairs. Several available. underserved" and proposed a "major shift of Washington's articles have made a But only about 60,000, or 13 percent in educational policy to serve the needs significant impact on Chicago's educa- of them, are being helped by local Nem- of disadvantaged adults." tonal scene. Washington has been a cy programs. Despite the Bell and Bush push, And many of those enrolled in these federal funding for adult basic education finalist twice in major journalism programs will never complete the courses, has not increased significantly in four competitions. leaving them unable to compete in an years. increasingly complex society that requires The Reagan administration is calling Washington. 28, earned both her BA better reading and writing skills than ever for more volunteerism to serve adult before. literacy programs. But national and local and MA degree from Northwestern Uni- It is a problem that has been called a volunteer agencies don't have the re- versity's Medill School is Journalism. new national crisis. sources to combat illiteracy and are During graduate school, she served as a U.S. Secretary of Education Terre] competing with nonprofit groups for Washington. D.C. correspondent for two H. Bell says illiteracy is a priority of his shrinking private funding just to survive. department and has appointed a special Though business executives complahl lowa dailies. She covered everything task force to study the problem. Barbara their workers are unprepared in basic job from the U.S. Agriculture Department to Bush, wife of Vice President George skills, many Chicago companies have the White House. Bush, calls,illiteracy an "epidemic" and dropped most of their in-house remedial is conducting a national publicity cam programs. paign. Some experts suggest the varied ef Washington was drawn to her study of Almost all educators say the problem forts should cooperate and share re- adult illiteracy by her discovery that is growing. Some estimate as many as 32 sources and services. But most directors only eight percent of adults enrolled in a million adults throughout the U.S. can be of literacy programs cannot even agree on classified as functionally illiterate. (See the best methods of teaching adults to public school program aimed at high accompanying story). read. school equivalency diplomas were suc- Yet despite the publicity surrounding cessful. Her research into adult educa- the issue of illiteracy, few experts have Literacy Legacy moved beyond the rhetoric to propose Literacy advocacy is nothing new. tion programs in Chicago. New York. specific solutions that will work nation- Every decade sees the launching of a new Washington, Baltimore and San Fran- wide. literacy program. cisco found that one of five adults are While many adults are falling farther In World War I, the U.S. Armed Forces behind in the race to acquire skills to developed tests for recruits when officials illiterate, and that resources for turning keep up with a technological society, realized many servicemen could not read. that trend around are dwindling. adult education programs have been un- During World War II, the armed forces able to keep pace. They do not have the provided 303,000 soldiers with literacy 1 314 Illiteracy... 194

training. In 'tile 1950s, libraries began donating substantial space and personnel to tutoring programs. In 1965, Congress created the Adult Education Program, which included Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs designed to boost literacy and job skills. In 1970, former President Richard M. Nixon established the Right to Read Program, which promised to abolish illiteracy in 10 years. It was phased out in 1977, branded as a failure by critics because it was under-funded and too limited in its scope.

Federal Shortfall Today, the major source of literacy programs is ABE, and critics charge that it, too, is locked into limited funds and Tutoring by Literacy Volunteers of Chicago ineffective methods. In 1983, the Adult Education Program The Illinois State Board of Education If they can't get counseling relief and at- enrolled 2.3 million adults with a federal gauges the effectiveness of adult educe. tention, then you're going to have budget of $86.4 million and additional tion programs by the number of students another dropout situation," says Jean state subsidies. Its federal funding was who get jobs or further education after Coleman, director of outreach services $18.6 million in 1965. The Reagan they take the classes. In the 1981.82 for the American Library Association. administration has upped its budget to school year, about 1,364, or 2A percent, Some of the teachers in the ABE pro- $95 million for the next school year, but of those enrolled at the board of educa- gram recognize these problems and are that still falls short of the $100 million tion and CUSI got jobs after completing trying to address them. allocated two years ago. the year. Another 1,388, or 2.5 percent, Robert Friedman, an instructor at As a result, Illinois programs must be continued to advanced schooling, the Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson Ave., cut at least 10 percent next year, says state reports. is experimenting with a new approach Ralph Goodman, assistant manager of the Critics of the programs claim they to literacythe learning group. The Illinois State Board of Education adult are disorganized bureaucracies with over- nine - month-old class of 10 students and continuing education section. crowded classes and a shortage of coun- learn from each other rather than "take In Chicago, about 58,000 students selors and teachers. They say CUSI and dictation," he says. attend adult education classes at the the public schools use a mechanical, He combines frequent counseling, Chicago Urban Skills Institute (CUM}, traditional approach to instruction that group discussions and individualized the Chicago Board of Education and alienates adults and contributes to the 50 instruction to build student interest and PACE Institute at Cook County Jail. percent dropout rate typical of public confidence. CUSI is the largest of the three, with ABE programs. Rose Porche, a 35-year-old black 45,000 students and a budget of $1.8 "One of the problems with ABE is woman, has been in many classrooms, but million a year. The board of education the dropout factor:A person who has couldn't even understand her children's has about 11,000 adult students and its dropped out of high school may not be homework. "I didn't know how to learn. budget is also $1.8 million. successful because of personal loads. I would freeze up. If somebody gave me a 13 195

book, I could read the book but I in 1962, it claims 17,000 students in 165 population. Hagenauer says his strate- couldn't tell them what I read," she programs. gy is more effective. "It's difficult to im- says. Literacy Volunteers of Chicago is the plement a program in the inner city. Friedman keeps the class size down local affiliate of Literacy Volunteers of There's not enough resources. But my to leave room for individualized attention America. It opened last year on a budget basic sense is to develop a program in for slower readers. But that becoMes of $160,000, the result of a VISTA grant. the community where the need is great- expensive. Its target population is its estimate of est." Most ABE classes in Chicago range 650,000 functionally illiterate adults in He cites the Ford Foundation study, from 12 to 30 students. There are not the Chicago area. The organization was which stated tutors from most volunteer enough resources to go around. In Illi- only able to provide tutors for about 250 organizations may have difficulty work- nois, 100,000 adults were on waiting lists adults this year, according to Director ing with disadvantaged adults. for ABE programs in 1981. Last year, the George Hagenauer. Alternative Success Illinois Board of Education was able to Laubach uses a method of teaching Because volunteer programs stress one- provide only 40 percent of the total phonics (the sounding out of words by to-one tutoring, the costin time and funds requested from state programs. the use of vowels) developed in the personnelprohibits them from reach- Bell has urged the private sector to Philippines 50 years ago by Methodist ing out to the thousands who need help. pick up the slack in the funding short. missionary Frank Laubach. The agency's Non-profit schools and community fall. Private programs aimed at erasing 30,000 volunteers tutor 50,000 adults groups are often cited by studies as being illiteracy have proved to be more success- each year across the country. better alternatives to the ABE programs ful in their goals than most ABE pro- The local Laubach affiliate is the Chi- administered by CUSI and the board of grams, many educators concede. cago Literacy Council, 220 S. State St., of education. Although these private programs use which has been in operation for 10 years. Chicago's Alternative Schools Net- a variety of teaching methods, they It tutors about 100 adults a year on a work, a group of 20 non-profit schools, feature characteristics that seem to reach shoestring budget of $8,000. enroll about 2,000 adults. The schools adults better: small classes, individual Volunteer tutoring groups believe that tie education to students' environment attention, counseling and closer ties to one-on-one instr...:tion with heavy em- and address political and social objectives the community. phasis on phonetics (sounding out words) along with reading and writing. But they reach far fewer adults than is essential to teach adults, says Irene Since functional illiterates lack survival ABE, and suffer from a lack of funding. Sayre, director of the Chicago Literacy skills, educators must emphasize skills There also is little coordination of efforts Council. Sayre is distressed that public students can apply in life, says Javier among the different schools and agencies. schools and adult education programs Saracho. Saracho teaches literacy for teach reading through memorization, ra- Centro Latino/Universidad Popular, 1045 Volunteer Shortage ther than comprehension. W. Belmont Ave. The community'school Volunteerismis the major route Tutors at Literacy Volunteers go be- specializes in "native literacy, or literacy promoted by Bell to stem the tide of yond teaching phonetics, says Hagenauer. in Spanish." illiteracy. They use "language experience stories" as "We go beyond the concept of illi- There are two major volunteer organi- reading lessons and step-by-step mastery teracy as a mechanical process. We want zations, Literacy Volunteers of America' of skills. them to think about the things that and Laubach Literacy Action, that have In addition, Hagenauer draws both surround them," Saracho relates. been training reading tutors for decades. students and tutors from the minority During a recent math class, Saracho's Literacy Volunteers of America, a net- communities targeted by Literacy Volun- students calculated, in Spanish, the work of schools, libraries and community teers. salary one of the students, a housewife, centers, trains tutors in four reading Most volunteer agencies draw tutors would earn If she were paid for her labor: techniques. Established in Syracuse, NY from a white, middle-class, educated $60 a day. 3 45- Illiteracy... 196

Saracho, a native Spaniard, is a stu ment to study English. The enrollment rate-20 percent, says Dan Rabideau, dent of Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educa- has grown to over 1,000 students who Spanish coordinator. tor who proposes that education is an attend adult education classes. active exercise that enables adults who Solider: lad Humana (human solidari-Corporate Cutback feel powerless to change their lives. The ty) was fox nded on a "holistic" ph iloso One of the main goals of all literacy philosophy has been the force behind phy, says Executive Director Dino Pacioprograms is to prepare functionally successful literacy campaigns in Nicara- Lindin. "One has to learn to listen be- illiterate adults for the job market. For gua and Cuba. fore one can read and write. Forget years, corporations have been concerned Rene Arceo believes teaching literacy about reading and writing for a long time,about the quality of job applicants. takes only two routes. "Education is and have people talk, listen and express The Conference Board, a New York. political. Any teaching is political. Ei themselves through folklore, poems. based business research group, found ther you make people more conscious song," Lindin advises. that 35 percent of the companies it sur- of what's going on around them, or you New York state granted about veyed nationally offer some remedial can take advantage of their passivity," $600,000 directly to community pro- aid to employees. says Arceo, a literacy teacher at Institute grams last year. Solidaridad received 20 In 1976, the Reporter located eight del Progreso Latino, a school at 1831 S. percent of that sum. Its twoyear-old companies that were spending a com- Racine Ave. Arceo encourages his stu literacy program has a low dropout bined total of $1 million annually on dents to get involved in community politics, cultural affairs and current events. The Alternative Schools Network has <10----"....--.... been immersed in a threeyear struggle to ,..".:41"." obtain public adult education money through the Illinois State Board of Education. State regulations prohibit s direct funding of nonprofit agencies. Private schools must contract with CUSI DISIS09E114211= Mo' or the board of education to get money. w GG `, " That means they must adhere to the 11141 woew: public schools' curriculum, administra Io... op op . 5op tion and philosophy which alternative 00-, op op schools resist. OW AZ W. :woowww.w. op pp "It becomes an issue of who controls op the programs," says Jack Wuest, the CW..17worpop4p.ippimewe, network's director. Wuest and other community educe tors argue they offer the best services to disadvantaged adults and should receive federal and state ABE grants. Community educators point to Soli derided Humana, located on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

The Latino school was born in 1971 2% when six peoplr; met in a small apart- Tutor training by Literacy Volunteers of Chicago b 8 remedial education (see "Eight Chicago grams. "If people are going to be re Major Employers Teach Basic Skills in trained, that mechanism has got to in Company Schools; Criticize Lack of Job dude basic education. There are so Preparedness Among Public High School many older people who can't take ad- Grcduates," The Chicago Reporter, Janu vantage of retraining for technical jobs ary 1976). until they get the basic education," she The companies, including Illinois Bell says. Telephone Co., Sears Roebuck and Co., For example, at the Polaroid Corp. in and First Chicago Corp., offered entry Cambridge, Mass., 300 workers take basic level employees inhouse training in math and English classes to enhance their fundamental reading, writing, typing and job skills. Half the students end up in math, the Reporter found. higherlevel jobs at the end of the pro- But an update reveals that all of these gram, according to Linda Stoker, director companies have cut or eliminated the in- of Polaroid's Fundamental Skills Pro. house classes. gram. Peoples Gas, Light and Coke Co. was once involved in about four remedial Better Connections programs in cooperation with the Chi- As successful as the private literacy cago public schools. The need for such programs are in teaching basic skills, programs has diminished recently, says they remain scattered and under-funded spokesman Ed Joyce. "Because of the and often isolated from each other. economy, people with more skills are Peter A. Waite, executive director of coming to us for jobs," Joyce says. All Laubach Literacy Action, admits scat- are being turned away, however. Peoples tered volunteer efforts cannot effectively Gas has been under a hiring freeze for 18 address widespread illiteracy among months. adults. Last fail he told a congressional Most corporate activity these days is subcommittee that a coordinated effort centered on General Schools Super- among volunteers, community groups intendent Ruth B. Love's Adopta-Schooland public schools is needed. "We have program. not made a serious impact on the prob- The program encourages major cor- lem," he says. porations and other organizations to The Campaign for Literacy, which "adopt" a public school and provide its was first convened last year, hopes to students with tutoring and technical ser- address that issue through a national vices, equipment and supplies, and per- effort that will explore new ways to im- haps a glimpse into the world of work prove literacy programs. through work-study programs in the high But the new organization, comprised schools. Currently, 126 businesses and of 10 national groups, faces the problem 12,000 students participate. of all literacy programsit must raise Business should get involved in reme- $250,000 to fund the project for its dial services for older adults, says Regina first year of operation.EB Polk, a union training coordinator who places laid-off workers in training pro- Illiteracy . 198

shaken the public. Some warn illiteracy may unravel America's social and economic fabric. "The number of illiterates in this country is largeand itis growing," U.S. Secretary of Education Terre, H. Bell told a congreisional subcommittee last fall. "Today's postindustrial society is based on rapid technological change and instantaneous communication," he added. "Our society demands continuous learning as a necessity for personal survival, effectiveness and fulfillment." Bell and others say that adults unable to read at today's standards are a drag on industry, business and their own ambi- tions. Chicago educators are calling for a 89, citywide campaign against illiteracy. "This is a major social and economic problem. It has to be raised as a major issue," says Jack VItiest, director of Alternative Schools Network, a group of ro. private, non-profit schools for adults. rutormo by Literacy Voiusi HIM Cnicegu et Howard Community Center This well-meaning avalanche of publicity has buried the real issue: no one really knows what illiteracy is, how many Functional Illiteracy Traps Minorities people it affects or how to curb it. As Demands for Higher Skills Increase Hard to Define "Trouble." Once out of prison, he got a job, but Experts cannot agree on a precise For most of his life, Edward Saddler, still could not lead a normal live. When definition of "literacy." 26, could not read that word. ne wanted to go to the Loop, he walked Simple literacy means the ability to It describes his life. He never want to for six hours from his far South Side read and write. Virtually everyone in school past the second grade because of a home. He could not read CIA signs. the United States today can perform spinal injury. Educators might describe Saddler as that task. !die and on the streets, he was con- "functionally illiterate"not able to The U.S.Census Bureau defines an victed of murder at age 13. Saddler's read well enough to function successfully "illiterate" as anyone with less than a lawyer asked him to sign a paper. "He in life. sixth-grade education and who cannot said it would get me some probation, so I Functional illiteracy has been labeled read or write. signed it. I got sent up for 15 years," he an "epidemic" by federal officials. Lately In 1880, census takers counted about says. blasts of information about illiteracy have 17 percent of the U.S. population as illi- 319 199

terate. One hundred years later, in 1980, tions governing the U.S. grain exchange tional illiterate emerges as a person with only 0.5 percent fit that category. Rosa- program. no high school diploma; unemployed lind Bruno, a census bureau statistician, or in a lowpaying job; black or Latino; readily admits, "Its no longer a good It wasn't until 1975 that researchers and aged 25 to 50. measure by today's standards." began to measure functional literacy. A "We once used the definition that University of Texas study, the Adult Per- someone was illiterate if they read be- formance Level Project, is the best litera- Embarrassment low the fifth-grade level. But that doesn't cy yardstick available, according to most Many are demoralized and ashamed of work today. It's a matter of compe educators, The study tested a cross sec- their handicap, "It's the last great closet tency," says Jorie L. Mark, services tion of adults nationwide in skills like constituency," says Michael Fox, direc- section chief of the adult education ser- counting and converting currency, com- tor of PLAN, a Washington, D,C. literacy vices division of the U.S. Department of parison shopping or interpreting a child's program. Education. report card. It's difficult to imagine Salvador Now, educators have a new tag: "func- Researchers found that onefifth of Medina cowering in a closet. The husky, tional literacy." American adults-32 million"function 28-year-old Mexican sports a tough-guy "There's a big difference between with difficulty." That is more people look: donned in redplaid shirt and simple literacy and functional literacy. than the population of Canada. Another scruffy jeans, he peers from beneath a Statistically, we look like a very literate 33.9 percent are competent enough to black cap bulging with thick, unruly hair. population. Functional literacy is more perform simple tasks, and nearly half- "I was ashamed to start this class," of a cultural definition than a statistical 46.3 percentmastered most skills tested. Medina confesses at a recent literacy definition," says Jean Coleman, direc- The proportion of residents in large class at Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson tor of outreach services for the American cities who are illiterate is a bit higher than Ave. "I was ashamed of myself, afraid to Library Association. the national estimate-21 percentthe face myself. This is the first time I step- Literacy today is an exercise in "func- study found, The number of Chicago's ped into a school since I was 19." tions"ability to perform typical reading, 2.1 million adults who are illiterate Like many Latinos, Medina carries a writing and mathematics tasks encoun- based on that percentage would be about double load. He is illiterate in both tered in everyday life. Generally, func- 452,000. Spanish and English. tionally literate adults should be able to Others claim there may be more. Na- Rose Porche, 35, stayed in school complete a job application; pen a business tional estimates range from 13 million to until she was 16, but she never got letter; order a meal and leave a tip in a 72 million. And as many as 650,000 an eighth-grade diploma. She languished restaurant; and decipher a doctor's pre- Chicagoans may be fuctionally illiterate, for years in a class for the mentally handi- scription. according to Literacy Volunteers of Chi- capped. Porche claims she was misplaced. Those who complete at least six years cago, a non.profit organization that pro- "I was no dummy," the short, stout black of grade school should read minimally, vides tutoring services. woman asserts with cool self-confidence. experts say. But an adult should read at Though a final tally is elusive, educa- Still, the idea of returning to school sixth.grade level to understand a driver's tors have no doubt about who dominates terrified her. "1 was scared. I had the license manual; at eighthgrade level to the ranks of the illiterate. About 44 per- shakes. It took me a while to realize figure out directions for preparing a TV cent of black and 56 percent of Latino there's a lot of things you think you dinner; and at 12th-grade level to make adults fit the category, compared with16 know that you don't. It hurts when you sense of an insurance policy. percent of white adults, the study shows. can't sit down and deal with them." Functional literacy may also depend Forty percent of functional illiterates Porche has developed a keen sense on residence and occupation. It doesn't come from families with annual incomes of survival she wants to share. "We've matter if a farmer in southern Illinois of less than $5,000, and 36 percent are experienced a lot of things (in life) and can't read a CTA service manual. But he unemployed. we want to express them, but we don't does need to understand federal regula- A Chicago profile of a typical func- know how," she says. 321 Illiteracy... 200

A look around the nation turns up coordinator for the Warehouse, Mail Or- more examples of adults struggling for der, Office, Technical and Professional skills many Americans take for granted. Employees Union Local 743, which A Washington, D.C. black man who 'The concept of a funda- represents Alden's workers. drives a school bus cannot read street mental education has Last Christmas, they were laid off signs. "I know a stop sign is red," he says. changed and the stan- when the plant closed down, and now A Chicago factory worker always smoked dards have risen.' they find they have few marketable skills. on the job, until he was told the sign "The market is very different. Em- nearby read, "Danger: flammable." In ployers who would hire warehouse peo- restaurants, a San Francisco man always ple without a high school diploma be- orders a hamburger. He won't admit he fore don't have to any longer. The con- cannot read the menu. In Baltimore, a cept of having a fundamental education regularly surveys achievement among 50-year-old professional cook says she has has changed and the standards have never read a recipe. American students. risen," Polk says. Many young adults never even finish Some are still in unemployment lines. high school. Each year, 850,000 teen- Of the 400 workers Polk is helping ap- Second Generation agers drop out of school, according to the ply for retraining programs, 120 could But functional illiteracy is not con- U.S. Department of Education. not pass a high school-level skills test. In fined to adults who are out of school. And although the Chicago Board of a sense, they have suddenly become Although everyone today is guaranteed a Education estimates 32 percent to 36 functionally illiterate. 12th-grade education, educators fear percent of the public high school stu- "It's traumatic for them. These are illiteracy may in fact be growing among dents drop out, the Reporter has found people who were very competent in their the young. that more than half of the ninth-grade jobs. These people used to be indepen- "We do have educational opportuni- students never graduate (see "School dent," Polk explains. "Now they are 50 ties, but for every educational opportuni- System Abandons Dropouts as Rate years old and they have to go sit in classes ty, there's a way of ':copping through the Hits 55 Percent," The Chicago Reporter, with 18-year-olds. Who the hell wants to cracks. People are getting out of high May 1980). admit they're 50 years old and don't school with no skills at all, or skills so know what an 18-year-old should know?" poor they cannot use them for everyday Demanding Jobs Because the definition of literacy is living," says Coleman of the American Older dropouts face a different di- molded by society's demands, education Library Association. lemmathe changing nature of work may must be shaped to fit with an increasingly Youths in school often read far below shrink their value on the job market. technological society. Fifty years ago, a grade level. In the fall of 1981, Chicago Six months ago, some 1,400 workers secretary needed only the ability to type. public high school juniors scored at the at a local mail-order house would have Today, a secretary must operate a word- 25th percentile in reading achievement been shocked to hear themselves referred processor, translate technical contracts tests, a drop of five percentile points to as functionally illiterate. Many of the and handle office orders and purchases. since 1974. The national average is at packers, clerks and stock personnel had Such expectations are impossible for the 50th percentile. worked at Aldens, Inc. for 25 to 30 years, an adult who can barely read a letter The National Assessment of Educa- and some had dropped out of high school or double-check a restaurant bill. The tional Progress Pstimates that between 5 years ago for a solid and secure job at the disadvantaged adult may be hard pressed percent and 10 percent of American high plant, 5000 W. Roosevelt Rd. to become a responsible citizen. The bur- school students graduate "without the "Back then, it was perfectly natural den of progress and the pull poverty basic reading and writing skills needed to to leave school before graduation for a may lock many adults on an educational survive in today's world." The assessment good job," says Regina Polk, training treadmill.ea 32z Journalism Fellows

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1976 Since 1976 The Institute for Educa- tional Leadership hat administered DAVID BEDNAREK The Milwaukee Journal Desegregation The Fellows in Education Journalism Milwaukee. WI Program, enabling Journalists to con- MICHAEL BOWLER The Sun Textbook Selection duct studies of education and related Baltimore, MD social issues. Journalists who have par- HELEN CARRINGER The Beacon Journal Parent Power ticipated in this Fellowship program Akron. OH and their study topics are listed by year. JAMES A, K1LLACKY The Daily Oklahoman Teacher Unions Oklahoma City, OK JACQUELYN KING WRR News Radio Testing Dallas, TX ANDREW MILLER The Kansas City Star Testing Kansas City. KS LAEL MORGAN Tundra Times Bilingual Education Fairbanks. AK LINDA STAHL The Courier-Journal Basic Skills Louisville. KY STANLEY WELLBORN U.S News & World Report Federal Education Policy Washington. DC

1977 CONSTANTINE ANGELOS The Seattle Times Basic Skills Seattle. WA MURIEL COHEN The Boston Globe Teacher Education pc7 Boston. MA REBECCA KUZINS The Muskegon Chronicle Special Education Muskegon, MI LORENZO MIDDLETON The Washington Star Desegregation Washington. DC CYNTHIA PARSONS The Christian Science Monitor School Finance Boston. MA WAYNE F. REILLY The Bangor Daily News Competency Based Testing Bangor, ME DALE ALAN RICE The Post-Standard Magnet Schools Syracuse. NY 326 1978 HUNTLY COLLINS The Oregonian Gifted & Talented Education pvr Portland. OR JIMMIE COVINGTON The Commercial Appeal Competency Based Testing Memphis. TN JOE DONOVAN KYW News Radio Basic Skills Philadelphia. PA GARY FIFE United Indian Planners News Indian Education Washington. DC ROBERT FRAHM The Journal Times Competency Based 'Testing Racine. WI DIANE GRANAT Chicago Daily Herald Parent Power Arlington Heights. IL SAUNDRA IVEY The Tennessean School Finance: Tax Revolt Nashville, TN Issues RICK JANKA The Milwaukee Sentinel Achieving Quality Education Milwaukee, WI ROSA MORALES KCET Mevision Desegregation Los Angeles, CA ETHEL PAYNE Si Louis Sentinel Black Colleges St. Louis, MO DONALD SPEICH Los Angeles Times Effect of Proposition 13 Los Angeles, CA MONTE TRAMMER The Sun Declining Enrollments Baltimore. MD and School Closing LINDA WILLIAMS Daily Herald/South Mississippi SunSchool Finance Patterns Biloxi, MS in the South

1979* ROBERT BENJAMIN Cincinnati Post Educating Low-Income Cincinnati. OH Students JOHN CUMMINS The Salt Lake Tribune Education in Salt Lake City. UT High-Growth Areas CHRISTIE DUNPHY The Evening Gazette Declining Enrollment in Worcester, MA High Schools CHARLES HARDY The Charlotte Observer Black Achievement/Operation Charlotte. NC Push WISTA JOHNSON The New York Amsterdam News Health Education in New York, NY Urban Schools MARK LIFF New York Daily News Education of Indochinese New York. NY Refugees BETTE ORSIN1 St. Petersburg Times Suicide/Depression on College St. Petersburg, FL Campuses BARBARA REINHARDTOptions in Education Teenage Pregnancy and N: zonal Public Radio the Schools Washington. DC *LINDA WERTSCH Chicago Sun-Times Teacher Accountability Chicago, IL FRAN ZUPAN The Columbia Record Sex Barriers in Job Preparation Columbia. SC JANE EISNER The Virginia-Pilot What's Effective in Virginia's Norfolk. VA Integrated Schools JACK KENNEDY The Lincoln Journal Rural vs. Consolidated Lincoln, NE Districts: What's Effective In Nebraska JANET KOLODZY Arkansas Democrat What's Effective in Arkansas Little Rock. AR Schools MARGO POPE The Florida Times-Union What's Effective in Florida's Jacksonville, FL Suburban Schools WAYNE REILLY Bangor Daily News What's Effective in the Bangor. ME Rural Schools of Maine M. WILLIAM SALGANIKThe Sun Academic Achievement in Baltimore, MD Urban Schools: What Works In Baltimore ROBERT BENJAMIN The Cincinnati Post Towards Effective Urban Cincinnati, OH Schools: A National Study

* In 1979. one group of Fellows looked at general education issues: a second group focused on "What Makes Effective Schools?"

1980-81 MEA ANDREWS Missoullan Middle Schools in Montana Missoula. MT LINDA AUSTIN Dallas Times Herald How High Schools Serve Dallas. TX Minorities in Texas 328 JOHN MCMANUS The Ledger-Star How Inner City Schools Work Norfolk. VA for Minority Children ELIZABETH OLDER Charleston Daily Mail From Coal Mines to Gifted Charleston. WV Education CAROL RUBENSTEIN Oregon Journat How Elementary Schools Work Portland. OR for Four Different Minority Groups STEPHANIE SEVICK The Hartford Courant Schools That Work in. Hartford, CT "Gold Coast" Towns PATRICIA SULLIVAN Sun Sentinel Schools That Serve the Gifted Fort Lauderdale. FL in Florida

1982 CHARLOTTE GRIMES St. Louis Post-Dispatch Girls and the Law St. Louis, MO WILEY HALL The Evening Sun Getting Tough with Violent Baltimore, MD Juvenile Offenders LESLIE HENDERSON The Knoxville Journal Violent Juvenile Crime in Knoxville. TN East Tennessee: A Family Perspective ANDREW PETKOFSKY The Richmond News Leader Locks and Lessons: Virginia's Richmond. VA Reform Schools WOODY RE6ISTER The Tennessean Juvenile Incarceration and Nashville. TN Alternatives in Tennessee GARY STRAUSS The Idaho Statesman Juvenile Justice in Idaho Boise. ID

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1983

JAMES BENCIVENGA The Christian Science Monitor Big City Schools Boston. MA and Technology Wr ROBERT A. FRAHM The Journal Times Minorities: Classroom Racine. WI Crisis JOHN C. FUREY Statesman Journal Southeast Asian Salem. OR Refugees in Schools AMY GOLDSTEIN The Virginian-Riot The Effects of Norfolk. VA Dismantling Mandatory Busing JACALYN GOLSTON The Fresno Bee The Struggle For Fresno. CA Integration DALE RICE Dallas Times Herald Urban Schools Dallas. TX that Effectively Teach Children to Read LAURA WASHINGTON The Chicago Reporter Illiteracy: An Chicago. IL Education Crisis LINDA WALLACE WILLIAMS The Commercial Appeal Business-Education Memphis. TN Coalitions

330 1-,

1.983*

BIDAL AGUERO El Editor The Role of the Lubbock, TX Local University in Educating Chicano Children BRUCE BARTON The Caroiina Indian Voice Is One School Pembroke, NC System the Best System for Lumbee Indian?

ALBERT E. BRUNO The Dakota Sun * Tribally Controlled Fort Yates. ND Community Colleges JOSE A. BURCIAGA El Obseruador Latino Youth Who San Jose, CA Don't Finish High School MILTON JORDAN The Carolina Times From School to Work: Durham, NC A Leap of Despair LINDA OGAWA RAMIREZ Phiiippine News Counseling for South San Francisco, CA Fi lipinv Students RICHARD J. SMITH MainStream Newsietter Indian Children Plymouth-Canton Community in Detroit Schools Plymouth, MI

*Study Grantees: In 1983 IEL awarded one week study grants to Journalists from minority news organizations.

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Reading in Urban Schools

Desegregation in the Eighties

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