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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 1982)
Page 12 Portland Observer May 13, 1982 Salem NAACP reorganizes S t a f f tr a in in g a t P P S (Editor's Note: This is the second o f two articles concerning multicul tural education in the Portland Public Schools.) by James J. Fenwick Deputy Superintendent Portland Public Schools As part of the Comprehensive De segregation Plan adopted by the Portland School Board in A p ril o f 1980, a 33-hour staff training pro gram was implemented to provide systematic training in multicultural education, human relations and communication. This program has been described by the Portland schools’ Commu nity Relations Department staff as "an honest effort to improve inter racial understanding among stu dents, parents and the community at large.” Two years earlier, however, in re sponse to pressing concerns o f the community, a sharp shift in empha sis in staff development programs had already taken place. A t the mandate o f the community, a more systematic approach to staff under standing o f cultural differences among ethnic groups was initiated. Among the com m unity groups urging this action were the Portland Observer and the Parent Advisory Committee o f the federal Emer gency School Aid Act. In that year an editorial in the Observer called for stepped-up training for Portland teachers and other employees in multicultural curriculum, human re lations and cross-cultural communi cations. As a result o f that new emphasis, a departmental survey conducted in 1979 o f participation in education programs indicated that 2,269 teachers and 120 administrators had participated in multicultural educa tion programs o f one kind or another. Despite this impressive record o f participation, the Community Rela tions Department began to develop a more orderly program fo r sta ff participation and training as sug gested by community groups. The 33-hour training program be gun in 1980 was seen as another step toward building a more systematic approach to staff training. A cornerstone o f the 33-hour pro gram is renewed stress on s ta ff training outcomes which enhance the self-esteem and cultural identity o f m inority students and which im prove racial understanding among all students. Included in the 33-hour sta ff training program, now in its second year, is the goal to increase sta ff knowledge and understanding o f black history and culture, the history and culture o f other minori ties and the impact o f problems created by social class. A new impetus to the staff train ing plan already in place has come from the student achievement policy recently adopted by the Board o f Education. Since its first year, the 33-hour plan has been subject to many changes and improvements. It has been strengthened through the e f forts o f staff, community members and national consultants. Asa H illia rd , prime consultant for the comprehensive plan, and a number o f consultants he recom mended have been assisting the dis trict staff in the development o f the plan. Dr. Hilliard, a nationally rec ognized expert on multicultural edu cation, is a professor at Georgia State University. Because unique problems and conditions exist in each school, flex ib ility in training plans permits a b uilding’ s teachers to address the identified academic and cultural needs o f the students in their school. The 33-hour program has already made impressive inroads in sta ff training. However, considering the complexity o f the staff training ef fo r t—that o f changing attitudes, changing perspectives and adding to existing knowledge—it comes as no surprise that P ortland’ s idealistic goal has yet to be met. These e fforts and stumbling blocks are well summarized by Darrell M illner, Black Studies pro fessor at Portland State University, who has been involved in staff train ing in Portland for three years. " I view the first two years o f the multicultural teacher training effort in Portland as a learning exper ience,” Dr. Millner said. "The d iffi culty in providing teacher remedia tion in an area that should have been a part o f their formal educa tion is formidable. It is made more difficult by the politicized nature of its birth as an effort here. "W ith o u t a doubt the district has committed substantial amounts o f money and s ta ff energy to this e f fo rt. The results have not always been either immediate or apparent, but the process has included mech anisms fo r continuous review and modification. That many people in the district appreciate the im port ance o f this effort and have worked sincerely for its accomplishment is clear. " I t is equally clear that the objec tive o f the m ultiethnic instruction has not yet been met here, but at least a start has been made. The key ingredients in a program o f this kind are unqualified commitment to its success by the policy-making leader ship o f the district and the under standing in the general community that you don’ t undo 300 years o f negative education overnight.” Teachers who have completed the training support Dr. M illner’s com- ments. One teacher commented, "1 didn’t know that my education had so many holes in it—I didn’t know a lot o f the inform ation about A f r i can contributions and history." Another said, "1 understand more now why kids learn in d iffe r ent ways. I want more strategies to meet these needs in my classroom." The district staff directly respon sible for the training program recog nizes that the sought-for goal o f providing a totally positive climate for all Portland school students has not as yet been met. N or has the goal o f fa cilita tin g open two-way communication lines between cul tures been fully realized. Nevertheless, the s ta ff training and development component o f the Comprehensive Desegregation Plan is moving ahead and the d istrict is committed to its continuous pro gress. The Portland school district has taken a giant step tow ard im proving interracial understanding among staff, students and citizens. S A LE M —The Salem Chapter o f the N ational Association fo r the Advancement o f Colored People (N AAC P) is in the process o f reor ganizing and reestablishing its char ter here in the capital city. A membership meeting has been scheduled fo r Tuesday, May 18, 1982 at the City o f Salem Housing A u th o rity Com m unity Room lo cated at 360 Church Street S.E. (be tween Trade and Mission Streets). A get-acquainted " s o c ia l" at 6:30 p.m. will precede the meeting which begins at 7 pm. The Salem Chapter extends an open invitation to all interested and prospective members to come out and support us in our efforts to re organize and reestablish. For further inform ation, please contact Mr. Fulton Burns, Interim President, at 585-6852. AroZ OITICK SUPPLY 7240 N.E. SANDY BLVD. PORTLAND, OREGON 97213 Phone: (503) 288-0216 • Furniture A Supplies • Printing • Rubber Stamps • HHN PEOPLE WHO DON’T ATTEND BOS SCHOOL MAY FLUNK OUR SEPT. 5 ENTRANCE EXAM. Getting on the bus gets a lot easier after September 5th. I f you know how it’s done. The way to learn is to climb aboard one of our Bus School buses and walk through a simple ten-minute familiariza tion course. (See the schedule below.) Then, when you get off this big yellow bus, you’ll know how to get on all our other buses. THREE DOORS. NO WAITING. Take our articulated buses. Please. With a new Ten-Ride Ticket or Monthly Pass, you'll be able to board these beauties through any door. (The Ten-Ride Ticket you validate in the machine inside each door, the Pass you do nothing with except show it to a Fare In spector upon request.) In other words, only cash fares will have to enter up front on the “artics”. Think how that can speed up boarding and exiting. RE-ZONED ZONES. One caution though: Before you board, you need to know what zone you’re in and what zone(s) you’re heading for. You guessed it, the zones are changing too. So longer rides will cost more and shorter rides will cost propor tionately less. Seems only fair. Anyway, before you know what kind of ticket or pass to buy, you’ll need to know how many zones you’ll be traveling through. Is the new zone system confus ing? A little. All of which is another good reason to attend Bus School and us explain things. WHY IN THE WORLD ARE WE DOING ALL THIS? Fair question. And the straight an sw er is, efficiency. The many changes coming September 5th will allow us to do two things which usually don’t go hand- in-hand. Improve our service and reduce our costs. We’ll be able to move more people more efficiently, more conveniently. That ATTEND THE TEN-MINUTE BUS SCHOOL NEAREST YOU. TUESDAY. APRIL 27-MAY 1 1. Fred M eyer— Beaverton 2. Lloyd Center TUESDAY, M AY4-M AY8 1. Fred M eyer— Tigard 2. Jantzen Beach Mall TUESDAY MAY I I MAY 15 1. Fred Meyer -Gresham 2. Clackamas Town Center TUESDAY MAY 18-MAY 22 1. Natl. Trans Week—Swan Island *2. Pioneer Square TUESDAY, MAY 25-MAY ¿9 1. Fred Meyer — Stadium 2. Oregon City Shopping Ctr. TUESDAY, JUNE 1 -JUNE 5 1 Fred Meyer — Hollywood 2. Tanasbourne Mall TUESDAY, JUNE 8-JUNE 12 1. Fred Meyer — Tualatin 2. Rose Festival TUESDAY, JUNE 15-JUNE 19 1 Fred Meyer — Gliaan 2 Washington Square TUESDAY, JUNE 22-JUNE 26 1. Fred Meyer — Raleigh Hills 2. Lloyd Center TUESDAY, JUNE 29 JULY 3 1. F Meyer t9th & Hawthorne 2. Clackamas Town Center TUESDAY, JULY 6-JULY 10 1. Fred M eyer— Oak Grove 2. Jantzen Beach Mall TUESDAY, JULY 13-JULY 17 1. Fred M eyer— Interstate 2. Tanasbourne Mall TUESDAY, JULY 20-JULY 24 1 Fred M eyer— Gresham 2. Washington Square TUESDAY, JULY 27-JULY 31 1. Fred M eyer— Glisan 2. Beaverton Mall should save us some sizeable bucks. And that, in the long run, will allow us to keep fare increases to a minimum. Will it all work, you ask? It has for 15 years throughout Europe. Now, thanks to a federal grant, Portland is the first city in America to install such a program. As long as everyone takes a few minutes to learn the new ropes, it can't fail. YOU’RE GONNA LIKE WHAT YOU LEARN. So come attend Bus School and get your B.S. Degree. Not only will you learn which doors to use, but how many zones you travel, what tickets make the most sense for you, how to use the Self-Service equipment, where our new Eastside routes are, and more. All in ten painless minutes. Don’t play hooky. This little course in busology may open up a lot of doors to you. TRI-MET •Pwrfw-er Sqmrr v hrduled 11 im ft .»pm Tue» Set AJI o«hrr U m »tM>o» 12 noon 7 » pm Tue» S« ON SEPTEMBER 5TH TRI-MET GOES A WHOLE NEW ROOTE. SPEEDY SELF SERVICE HANDY N E W TICKETS • MORE FAIR FARES • DIRECT EASTSIDE ROUTES t
