South High School is known throughout the world for the talent it has produced. Its alumni include Jack Klugman, the stage, TV and film actor; Marian Anderson, a The contralto and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th cen- tury; and Goldstein, the founder of . Three years ago, the venerable school’s reputation was tarnished. After racial tensions escalated into violence, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice found that the school had been “delib- Good erately indifferent to the severe and pervasive harassment” of Asian students. Fifteen miles away, at Springfield Township High School, an up- scale suburban school ranked 16th among Philadelphia magazine’s Principal top public high schools in 2009, Principal Otis Hackney followed the news coverage. Hackney had completed his master’s in educa- Three years ago, Otis Hackney tional leadership at Lehigh in 2006 and served two years as assistant principal at South Philly before taking the reins at Springfield. was asked to turn around a school At a faculty meeting, someone asked Hackney if he was glad that he was no longer at South Philly. notorious for tensions among “I said, ‘If I had gotten what I wanted, I’d be principal of South Philly right now,’” Hackney recalls. students. The key, he says, is Not long afterward, a friend from South Philly called. The con- versation turned into a job interview, and almost before Hackney simple, but elusive: Teaching knew it, South Philadelphia had asked him to return—as principal. “I got the phone call during a night lacrosse game, and at first I people to respect each other. was, like, ‘No way, no how,’” Hackney said. “I’m going to give up my nice stadium and my lacrosse team to take on this challenge? I went home and talked it over with my wife, and she thought I had story by Robert W. Fisher ’79 hit my head to even consider it.” photography by Ryan Donnell But at 38, Hackney was a relatively new principal and eager to make a mark. “I looked at it as risk and reward. Am I young enough in my career as an administrator to take a risk?” The upside of turning around a school with a history of violence and harassment, Hack- ney knew, could be huge. “But if it didn’t work, it could be career- ending.” The following July, Hackney was appointed principal of South Philadelphia High School.

22 LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN On any given day, 19 languages are spoken at South Philadelphia High. Taking his cue from the UN, Hackney strives to mix students of different cultures together and “make them get along.” “We’ve worked really here was a time in his life when have learned when I wasn’t paying attention. no one would have seen Otis It’s like studying algebra without knowing hard to get the word out Hackney as a school principal. your multiplication tables.” to students about how “I grew up on 56th Street in He bridged his gaps and became a high West Philadelphia with parents school math teacher, where his recovery from we treat each other and whoT wanted something more for me, and I missed opportunities gave him insight into the school,” Hackney rejected it for a long time,” Hackney recalls. reaching students. “Nothing in my school records says, ‘This kid “I had a young lady who didn’t know her said. To new employees— is something great.’” Kicked out of Central times tables. I’d make her stand up in the teachers, support staff High School for not being “engaged,” Hack- middle of a lesson and say the seven times ney ended up working with his father, an table,” Hackney said. “I told her I wouldn’t or cops—he stresses that HVAC contractor. do this if she was embarrassed, but she said building positive relation- Hackney soon learned how cold it could get she wasn’t, because she knew I just wanted her on a Philadelphia rooftop at 7 o’clock on a Jan- to learn. ships with students is uary morning waiting for a crane to arrive, but “When you’re a high school teacher, you priority number one. it took a near-crisis for him to transform disen- teach in an area that is purely your strength. gagement into achievement. He allows that he You have to remember that for some students, had a “bad night” in Hampton, Virginia, got it’s not easy.” into trouble and ended up before a judge. “This person sitting high in a chair would outh Philly High’s challenges seem get to determine if I walked out of the court- tailor-made for Otis Hackney’s room or not,” he says. “I realized that one of blend of confidence, self-awareness the most important things was to be able to and systems thinking. But they make decisions for myself.” were daunting. On Dec. 3, 2009, After working construction for a while, Sthe school had made national headlines when Hackney enrolled as a secondary math educa- 13 Asian students were sent to the emergency tion major at Temple University. “I had a lot room after they were attacked by black class- of gaps in my knowledge. I was trying to solve mates. The following week, Asian students differential equations but struggling to re- boycotted classes. member trigonometric identities that I should “I did not take this job to fail, or to be

24 LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN embarrassed by the media or in my profes- African-American who broke color barriers. when a student is suspended or arrested—that sion,” he says. “I knew it was going to take a “Jewish, Italian, Polish, Irish.…you go he wants the best for them. When he comes lot of groundwork and diligence. through different pockets of South Philly and upon an altercation, he gives the student a “What happened on Dec. 3, 2009—who you see the remnants of those communities.” To- chance to calm down by visiting a counselor started it, who called who names, who threw day, a large black population shares the neigh- or by walking the halls with him. the first punch—doesn’t really matter to me. borhood with waves of new immigrants from “If students see that [support] on a regu- What’s important is what role did the school China, Vietnam and other Asian countries. lar, consistent and meaningful basis, you can play? What were the systems that contrib- “There has always been a tinge of tension gain traction in transforming the culture of a uted to that environment? Those are the only among different groups,” Hackney says. “It building,” he says. things I can affect.” didn’t always come to a head like it did in Above all, Hackney strives to remain calm Hackney arrived at South Philly High as 2009.” amid even chaotic circumstances. “You have the school district was negotiating a settle- Seemingly minor misunderstandings can to give students the example. If they don’t see ment agreement with the Civil Rights Divi- cause friction. A Vietnamese girl recently ap- it, it’s hard to be it.” sion of the Justice Department. proached a group of African-American girls “Lehigh prepared me for a lot of things,” and said, matter-of-factly, “I need to get to my o one expected us to turn he says, “but not for reporting explicitly to the locker.” One black girl said sarcastically, “Can’t this around overnight,” Justice Department.” you say excuse me?” The Vietnamese student Hackney said in November. But the educational leadership program’s said she felt harassed, because the other stu- “But we’re making prog- emphasis on administrative systems proved dents laughed and snickered, Hackney said. ress.” Violent incidents are useful. “As we were trying to figure this out, we down in Hackney’s two-plus years as princi- “On any given day we have 19 languages had a Vietnamese counselor helping us, and pal,N and while South Philadelphia High has spoken in the building,” he says. “It is in many we found that the Vietnamese word that not achieved overall “adequate yearly progress” ways a social experiment. What a school like roughly translates ‘excuse me’ is only used in based on standardized tests, the school did South Philadelphia High is trying to do is not extremely formal settings.” In short, the two achieve “AYP” in mathematics, and black stu- so different from what the does. girls did not comprehend the nuances of each dents made the grade in reading last year. We take people from different cultures, throw other’s comments. “We still have our struggles. We’ve only them in a room and make them get along.” When Hackney arrived at South Philly, the had three or four fights this year, which for us South Philadelphia, Hackney notes, has English Language Learner classes for students is excellent,” Hackney said. And some parents been home to a mixture of ethnic and racial with other primary languages were held on are having second thoughts about enrolling groups for two centuries. Indeed, Klugman, the second floor of the school, and other stu- their kids in one of the neighborhood’s several the actor, was the son of Russian Jewish im- dents were not permitted to go there. public, parochial or charter schools. “They migrants, and Anderson, the singer, was an “I blew this up,” Hackney says. “These say they’ve heard the other schools are bad. students are part of the school community, so They may not hear that South Philly is a good By walking the halls of his school, Hackney why would we segregate them? Now I have school, but we’re not one of the bad schools defuses the occasional confrontation and gets ELL classes throughout the building, so stu- anymore.” to know students. He gives the same message to everyone: He wants the best for them. dents have to move with the general popula- Hackney acknowledges that there is a tion, which breaks down barriers.” vast gulf between multilingual, impoverished In 2009, the school required students to South Philly and affluent, mostly white report intimidation in writing—in English. Springfield Township. Beneath the surface, “Students would think, ‘I don’t feel confident though, the work of an educator remains writing in English, so I am not going to re- the same. port,’” Hackney says. “Now if a student has an “Kids are still kids. They can lack focus issue, they can write it in their own language, and motivation, and sometimes you have to and we’ll get it translated.” get them to rally around something,” he said. Hackney now faces a bigger challenge: Cre- “So whether it’s a kid in Springfield who ral- ating a culture of respect among faculty, staff, lies around athletics, or a boy in the city who school police and students. To new employees, wants to protect his kid sister, whatever that he stresses that building positive relationships individual needs to want to do better and be with students is priority number one. better, that’s what you tap into. “You can avoid a lot of confrontations “I’m passionate about doing this, because when you walk up to students and they know the opportunity that education provides is you. All of this comes back to how you teach generational change. For students in low- people to respect each other. If I could put that income areas—black, white, immigrant—if in a book or a bottle I’d be a millionaire…and you can provide them with an education and probably donate a lot more to Lehigh.” help them become the first something in their The students do know Hackney, and he family, and really change their mindset, that’s tells them at every turn—even in rare cases how families achieve generational change.”

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