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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 1978)
reassignments, and expulsions should be included in the Handbook. Minority Hiring Rationale: Currently, the Portland School Board has a policy of, "achieving a reasonably balanced s ta ff in terms o f race, color, age, and sex (while) taking into account the educational and s ta ff requirements o f the District. ” Just what a "reasonably balanced” staff means is left up to interpretation. The Portland School District has used three different standards in advocating that it has a “ reasonably ba lanced" staff. In the early seventies, the Superintendent claimed that the District has a “ reasonably balanced” staff because it had roughly the same proportion of Minorities on its staff as there were in Portland's overall population (“ M inority Staffing in the Portland Public Schools,” A Report to the Model Cities Education Committee by Superintendent Robert Blanchard, 1973). Recently the D istrict adm inistration inform ed the Coalition that it had a “ reasonably balanced” staff because the proportion of Minorities on the District’s payroll was similar to the proportion o f Minorities in Portland’ s work force. Furthermore, the administration pointed out that the Portland School District’s staff has a greater proportion o f Minorities than the number found on the payrolls o f either the city or county governments. The Portland School District does not have at present a reasonably balanced staff. • Minorities in Important Positions: A ll Professional Positions — 7.8% (263 o f 3,372) • • Percent of Portland's W ork Force That Is Minority: 8.4*7« Percent of Portland's Population That Is Minority. 10.0% • Percent of Student Population That Is Minority: 20.0% Recommendations : Recruitment and Hiring Priority The School Board should set as a priority the recruit ment and hiring o f Minorities in those positions that have daily contact with students. Proportion of Minority Employees The School Board should establish the proportion of M inority students in the District (currently 20%) as the long-term goal o f a “ reasonably balanced” staff. Time Line The School Board should establish a five year time line for achieving a racially balanced staff (percentage of Minority staff equal to the percentage o f Minority students in the District). Each year during this period, the District should accomplish 20% o f this goal. Principals To assure that M inority candidates are available for the job o f principal, the School Board should establish an internship program in the elementary schools to train personnel for the job. Aida Incantiva Program The School Board should require the Superintendent to develop an incentive program for Minority aides to These exerpts from the report of the Community Coalition for School Integration are brought to you by the Portland Observer Oregon's Award Winning Black Newspaper Subscribe by sending your check to: Portland Obser ver, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208. □ $7.50 per year - Tri-County; □ $8.00 Others. obtain their teaching credentials. We recommend that this program be submitted to the Board no later than June 1979. Minority Teacher Placement Rationale: Although the Portland School District has had a desegregation policy since 1964. at no time during the past fourteen years has the placement o f M inority teachers been included in this policy. Up until 1975, the District segregated its Minority teachers in those schools that had the highest concentrations of Minority students. In 1975 the Portland School District was found to be in violation o f the following Federal regulations regarding the placement o f M inority teachers. After notifying Superintendent Blanchard that his School District was in violation o f the above regulation, the Federal government informed him that the District would have to apply for a waiver o f ineligiblity in order to receive Federal funds. In the fall o f 1975, the Portland School District dispursed its M inority teachers throughout the District, adhering strictly to 74-125% form ula contained in waiver o f inelig ib ility guidelines. Subsequently, its ESS A funds were reinstated. The Portland School District maintains that it must continue to assign M inority teachers in a manner that conforms to the 75-125% formula. Information con sidered by the Coalition raises doubt about this conten tion. 1. The Portland School District is using the 75-125% formula because it does not have a formula or plan of its own for desegregating M inority teachers. However, the Portland School District is currently in violation of this formula because it has ten schools with no Minority teachers. 2. Based on communications between the Coalition’s staff and Federal officials, it appears that the Federal government is prim arily concerned with assigning teachers in a manner that racially identifies certain schools (the highest percentage o f M inority students). 3. Being the only M inority teacher in a particular school is often d iffic u lt. M in o rity teachers in this situation can experience neighborhood and community resistence to their presence. In addition, they often are assigned or expected to deal with any or all o f the problems encountered by Minority students who are bused in to their school as part o f the D is tric t’ s desegregation efforts. Recommendation: Developing a Plar. The Portland School District should develop a plan for distributing its M inority teachers in a manner that compliments its desegregation plan. a. The plan should emphasize placing M inority teachers in regular classroom assignments. b. M inority teachers should be placed in a manner that precludes having only one M inority teacher in a particular school. c. Minority teachers should be placed in a manner that does not racially identify certain schools. Integrated Housing Rationale: Integrated housing is often cited as the ultimate solution to racial segregation in public schools. However, it must be remembered that this is a long-term approach and not an adequate solution to the current problems o f inequity. Racial integration in the school system is an essential step towards the long-range goal of housing integration. I f young people gain an ap preciation and respect o f different cultural backgrounds while they are in school, they will be more likely to feel comfortable locating in an integrated neighborhood. Recommendations: The School District should become involved with the city, the Portland Development Commission, the Chamber of Commerce, the real estate industry and lending institutions in developing a long-term marketing program to promote family liveability in the city. Such a proposal is already under consideration by the city. Seminar For Real Estate Agents The Portland School District should annually sponsor a seminar for real estate agents and media represen tatives (all the newspapers, TV stations, radio stations) to inform them o f the educational opportunities available in the public schools, particularly those in volved in school pairing. These seminars should be held in one o f the paired schools. City-School* Commission The School District should reaffirm its commitment to promote neighborhood diversification through the application o f all available means. The grant ap plication for a city-schools commission should be re submitted for funding provided it is revised to propose that the commission be comprised o f existing city- School District officials and broadbased citizen repre sentation. Public Housing The School District and the Community Coalition for School Integration should work with the Housing Authority o f Portland to generate public support for placement o f public housing in middle and upper middle class neighborhoods. Home Purchase Incentives The School District should lend assistance to the Community Coalition for School Integration and ap propriate public and private agencies to explore the possibilities for tax incentives and loan opportunities for home purchases which would improve the racial balance o f a given neighborhood. Fair Housing The School District should be an outspoken advocate o f fair housing practices. Advisory Boards Recommendation: The School Board should closely m onitor the representative on the advisory boards that already exist within the District; avoid having the same person serve on several o f the boards; require that the composition o f the board corresponds to its regulations; be sure that at least five community and civic organizations have each selected a representative to be on the Title V II advisory committee. The city and the state are not considered civic or community organizations. Future School Board Rela tionship w ith Com m unity Coalition for School Inte gration Rationale: One of the important characteristics o f successful school desegregation is community support from all geographic areas o f the city, and from the major civic, business, and government leaders. The Community Coalition for School Integration represents a broad spectrum o f community groups and individual views. Groups and individuals engaged in the months o f research and the numerous public meetings, prior to these recommendations, want to continue their support o f the process of integration in Portland’s Public Schools. This ongoing support is very important for both the School District and the community. In the past, other citizen groups reporting to the School Board on desegregation have ended their activities with the submission o f the report. Much value has been lost in the lack o f ongoing support from an organized citizen group which can ask important questions, look at data from the citizen/parent/consumer point o f view, and channel support from people to help make necessary changes. Recommendations: Community Coalition for School Integration The School Board establish an ongoing relationship with the Community Coalition for School Integration. This relationship should include and not be limited to the following: a. Work with the Coalition on implementation o f the recommendations including the school selections for the paired schools. b. Meet with the steering committee o f the Coalition at the request o f either the Board or the Coalition. c. Provide information requested by the Coalition. d. Request information from the Coalition on issues relating to school integration. PORTLAND OBSERVER SECTION II VOLUME 8. NO. 48 NOVEMBER 30. EQUITY FOR THE EIGHTIES A Summary of the Report of the COMMUNITY COALITION FOR SCHOOL INTEGRATION Administration Rational«: School desegregation in Portland has been carried out in a piece-meal, fragmented manner. Although the Portland School District has instituted a number o f programs that have desegregation/integration as part o f their purpose, it has never developed a comprehensive school desegregation plan. The D is tric t’ s current desegregation/integration programs are the respon sibilities of a number o f different administrative offices. While not constituting an ongoing desegregation/in tegration program, middle school conversions have been identified by the District as part o f its desegregtion ef fort. Middle school conversions have been carried out in a gradual and uncoordinated manner. The evaluation and m onitoring o f the Portland School District’s desegregation/integration programs has also been conducted in a haphazard manner. Recommendations: 1) C entralized C oordinatio n: the Portland Dis trict should develop a comprehensive school deseg regation/integration plan that includes the recom mendations o f the C oalition. The implementation o f this plan should be the responsibility o f one cen tralized administrative office. The person in charge o f this office should be directly under the Superintendent and should be responsible for coordinating and mon itoring all o f the District’ s desegregation/integration programs. 2) Im plem entation: The person in charge o f this o f fice should be responsible for overseeing the implemen tation of all the other recommendations contained in this report. 3) Annual Report: This office should report an nually at a public School Board meeting on the progress that has been made toward equalizing educational op portunity and bringing about racial integration in Port land’s Public Schools. 4) C oalition: The centralized administrative office responsible for the desegregation/integration program for the Portland Public School should work closely with the Community Coalition for School Integration, thus providing an important communication link between in terested, involved citizens and the School District. Student Transfer for School Desegregation/integration Principles A. School Desegregation is the law o f the land. 11 Federal level: In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in school districts is illegal if it exists as a result o f school board policies and practices. Since then, no court in the land has failed to uphold this principle. 2) State level: The Oregon Board o f Education adopted a policy o f school desegregation in 1974. This policy (No. 4171) specifically states that it is the duty o f individual school districts to desegregate so none of their schools has a minority enrollment o f over 50 per cent. 3) Local level: Starting in 1964, the Portland School District has had a policy o f school desegregation. The current policy is to eliminate segregation so that no school has a minority student enrollment over 50 per cent. Currently seven schools are not in compliance with this policy. School Desegregation Must Be Carried Out in An Equitable Manner 1) Federal Constitution: According to the equal protection provision o f the U.S. Constitution (14th Amendment) and the Civil Rights Act o f 1964 (Sec. 601) when school districts desegregate, they must do so in a manner which is not discriminatory. 2) Oregon Statute: “ No person in Oregon shall be subjected to discrimination in any public elementary, secondary, or other school.” Discrimination is defined as “ any act that unreasonably differentiates treatment, intended or unintended, or any act that is fair in form but discriminatory in operation, either o f which is based on race.” (ORS. 659.150) to their neighborhood schools at any time. Data in dicates that 50 percent o f the White children bused into ECECs leave after kindergarten. On the other hand, students in the Black community have been mandatorily and voluntary bused to other schools. Although grade levels have been removed from elementary schools outside the Black community for middle school reorganization, immediate provision has been made to include these grade levels in other neigh boring schools. This has not been the case for elemen tary schools in the Black community. Racial Segregation in the School System The Community Coalition for School Integration maintains that racial isolation represents a serious con flict with the American creed o f equal opportunity and the traditional use o f education as a tool o f economic and social mobility. Racial segregation is detrimental to sound education. It is self-perpetuating and generates separation and conflict, and its effects are cumulative. The Portland School District ha* not Carried Out School Desegregation in an Equitable Mannar In adopting their "Portland Schools for the Seven ties” plan (Resolution No. 3553, March 23, 1970) the School Integration ha* Demonstrated Itself as a Portland School District specified that, “ the elementary Means of Equalizing Educational Opportunity schools in Albina (Black community) area w ill be con verted to early childhood centers consisting o f Research has shown that school desegregation has in- preschools, kindergarten, and grades I to 4.” • creased student achievement and improved interrracial The mandatory elimination o f grade levels in all o f understanding in the community. The more o f the the elementary schools, except Boise, has not been following factors are present, the more likely school carried out in any other community in the District. desegregation w ill produce positive results. Students leaving the Black community for the purpose 1. It is im portant that school desegregation/in o f school desegregation have been scattered and isolated tegration occurs at the early grade levels. throughout the whole School District. For example, the 2. It ts im portant that school desegregation/in 44 students having to leave the Eliot neighborhood in tegration receives public support from important com 1977 were bused to twenty different schools throughout munity leaders and public officials. the District. 3. It is im portant that school desegregation/in The accomodation o f white children from outside the tegration has highly visible support from the school Albina area enrolling in the pre-kindergarten and kin board and superintendent. dergarten programs at the Early Childhood Education 4. It is important that the school district require Centers has resulted in the exclusion o f some resident in-service training on school integration for teachers, children from these programs in three o f the six schools. administrators, and other staff involved in desegrega White children who have transferred into the Early tion/integration. Childhood Education Centers have the option to return 5. It is important that a long-range commitment be
