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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1982)
K?"* Franc?* ne?*« sehoen -N e w a p e p e r fio o a U n i v e r s i t y o f C.-< n L ib r a r y t- Superman Braxton Page 6 "w Special rr Careers Supplement S ection II LU UJ YJ «, C r - , ;n s. 3 Lebanon: A Jewish viewpoint Page 3 PORTLAND OBSERNER l SI S959 SSI)-Xss Jackson fight still on by Herb Cawtborne School Board Member M r. C hairm an and members o f I he Board: I commend Chairman McNamara fo r having the courage and Ihc v i sion Io allow Ihe Board the o p p o r tunity to listen to the feelings, facts, and findings o f the Jackson C o a li tion. I have felt fo r some time that, as representatives o f the entire com m u n ity, (here is no way we can ig nore the sentiments in the Jackson com m unity. Therefore, there is no way to avoid some kind o f confron tation. C onfrontation can be in the fo rm of the clash o f ideas as ex changed by well-meaning people in the course o f a heated debate. On the other hand, c o n fro n ta tio n can be staged through aggressive public e x p re s s io n s , d e m o n s tr a tio n s , threats, and. even, violence. O b viously, the first kind o f confronta tion is best. I hope, in the establish ment o f this item on the agenda, that the Board o f Education is say ing to the Jackson com m unity, "W e want to engage in extensive dialogue and discussions w ith you, and we want to do so w ith the sincerest com m itm ent to appreciatin g your concerns.” This kind o f confronta tio n is p o s itiv e and good fo r our community. As you know , I was opposed to the closure ot Jackson High School, in the summer months, without even a courteous notice o f the possibility that a decision would be made, and w ithout adequate time given to that com m unity fo r its defense. W hile I do believe that Jackson could have been successfully closed in M ay, 1981, at the conclusion o f an exten sive process o f study and hearings, the Board o f E ducation made the decision to keep Jackson operating as a high school. The Jackson com m u n ity w orked hard fo r th a t v ic to ry . They gave th e ir best shot in support o f their program. Had they lo s t, I believe acceptance w o u ld have com e—a fte r a natural period HERB CAWTHORNE o f frustration and disappointment. But they w on. The Board did not choose to close their school. Then, before the ink could dry on the reso lu tio n , new Board members, who had not even taken o ffic e , joined w ith o th e r s ittin g m embers in a closed process which led to the clo sure o f b o th Adam s H ig h School and Jackson. A t least, the Adams com m unity had a m onth's warning o f the recon structed B o a rd ’ s in te n tio n s . A t least, the Adams com m unity had a chance to fig h t. A t least, the mem bers o f the Board com m unicated their intent to the Adam s com m u n ity in a manner w hich gave them tim e , a lth o u g h c e rta in ly not enough, to mobilize support to keep the school open. But the Jackson com m unity was caught completely by surprise. In fa c t, some Board m em bers, such as m yse lf, were caught completely by surprise. Jack- son was given less than 12 hours no tice, and less than one-half hour for its representatives to speak. The process w ith Adams was bad. The process w ith Jackson was even worse. A n d , in my o p in io n , this is the root o f the d ifficu lty in which we find ourselves today. In another recent matter, regard ing the T ubm an M id d le School placement, the Board o f Education fo u n d its e lf at loggerheads w ith a disal cted com m unity. We could not ve the problem by ourselves. We needed an aggressive and sensi tive Superintendent and the help o f federal mediators. I am pleased that the Board had the wisdom to know it needed such Ip. Now we arc at loggerheads w ith the Jackson com m unity, and now , as well, we need help. T h e re fo re , I am not d is a p p o in te d th a t the P o rtla n d C ity Council has taken an interest in this subject. Schools arc an integral part o f the e n tire co m m u n ity, and our decisions cannot be implemented in a vacuum. We should welcome the help o f the C ity C o u n c il. But we should not fa il to exert o u r ow n sense o f leadership. O ur sense o f leadership m ust in clude a re c o g n itio n o f the facts. The Jackson C oalition has mounted an impressive campaign. The issue is due to go before the Education Ser vice D istrict in a few days. The ESD must decide on whether the decision regarding secession deserves a vote o f the people in the Jackson com m unity. There is good reason to be lieve that, sim ply based on our be lie f in d e m o cra tic p rin c ip le s , the ESD w ill allow such a vote. I f the vote is taken and secession fails to gain a m a jo r ity , we w ill not have won. There w ill be, as a result, b it terness and division in that commu nity fo r years. I f the vote fo r seces sion endorses the idea, we w ill be faced w ith a crisis o f responsibility. We w ill, then, be required to seri ously negotiate, fo r it would be, in deed, irresponsible to allow any part o f our d is tric t to be broken away. None o f the possible outcomes, i f this m atter proceeds to its logical conclusion, is in the best interest o f (Please turn io page 2 column J) A ugust 11, 1962 Volum e XII, N u m t'er44 s*« 's v p v Two Sections In Lebanon: Civilian casualty estimates high O xfam A m e ric a ’ s Special P ro jects O ffic r in Lebanon estim ated last Wednesday that the ration o f ci v ilia n to m ilita r y casualties there may be as high as nine to one, and said there is a serious threat o f an epidemic outbreak o f typhoid and cholera, and even some p o ssibility of plague. Dan C onnell, one o f only a few Americans representing relief agen cies in Beirut, telephoned the Oxfam A m erica o ffic e in Boston today from West B eirut. It was the firs t time he has been able to make tele phone co ntact w ith the agency in nany days. “ The situation in Lebanon is very desperate,” C on n e ll to ld O xfam A m erica’ s Executive D ire c to r Jo seph S hort. “ N ot o n ly are th o u sands injured and homeless but we arc very concerned w ith the possi b ility o f epidem ics am ong the quarter m illion or so displaced Leb anese and P alestinian c iv ilia n s crowded in to abandoned buildings and open air parks.” * a id D r. S h o rt: “ We feel that every day the war continues the hu man costs w ill escalate w ild ly . As one medical w orker in Beirut told us, ‘ The only preventive medicine that w ill help now is peace.” C on n e ll said that hundreds o f young children are suffering from severe diarrhea and m a ln u tritio n , w hich ould lead to m ore serious life -th re a te n in g diseases. “ T h o u sands need fo o d ," he said. “ A few cases o f typhoid have already been reported, and it could spread rapid ly due to unhygienic conditions and polluted water caused by bom bard ment damage to the pipes. There are thousands o f rats ru n n in g every where, and w e’ re w o rrie d about plague and cholera to o .” C onnell said he had spent many days visiting hospitals in Beirut and in the south o f Lebanon, where Ox fam A m erica appeared to be the only American agency w orking in dependently at the time o f his trip . He spoke w ith many do cto rs and other health w orkers. “ Lebanese, P alestinians, Jews, M oslem s and C hristians are all d y in g ,” he said. “ Alm ost all the money we have put in to Lebanon has gone fo r medical supplies, fo o d and blankets, and ‘ fam ily k its ’ consisting o f kerosene stoves, mattresses, cooking pots, washing bowls and jerry cans.” “ The s itu a tio n is a liv in g hell. The continuin g lack o f fo o d , fuel, electricity, medicines and fresh wa ter is especially hard on young ch il dren, and now many hospitals may have to close because o f the short ages. The phosphate burns are the worst. They continue to burn for up to 24 hours, and they lack the acces sary medicines like Ciipjier sulfate to treat them.” O xfam A m erica has w orked in cooperation with the B riti.h Oxfam, one o f six autonom ou s O xfam o r ganizations that o f tea work together on overseas devek-pment s.nd relief projects. The Briti: h O>;fam h is had a fie ld s ta ff in the area since the 1950s. Oxfam America based ,,1 Boston, is a n o n -p ro fit, nor governm ental relief and development acency that supports self-help ; toje s in poor countries in Asia, A I'rita old Latin America and sometimes vzy . relief aid in emergencies. The 17th Annual Miss Tan Portland Scholarship Pagennr. spon sorad by tha Jimmy Bang-Bang Walkar Group, was bald Sunday Au gust 8th at tha Portland Art Musaum. Miss Thaa Warren. 19. walked aw ay w ith tha titla of Miss Tan Portland 1982. Rend about tha pageant in Kathryn Hall Bogla’s column, page 8. (Photo courtesy of Tha Oregonian) Superintendent Prophet on School District Reorganization by M atthew W Prophet Superintendent, Portland Public Schools Last week the Board o f Education approved my recommendations for temporary adm inistrative reorgani zation o f central o ffic e services to better facilitate the delivery o f edu cational services to kids in the class room. The action by the School Board marks the first time in 12 years that the central organizational pattern o f the D is tric t has been readjusted . W hile the changes, and Ihc re p o rt ing responsibilities and task assign ments fo r some in d iv id u a ls have been m o d ifie d or adjusted , as re flected in a new D is tric t organiza tional chart, they are just the “ first step” in an e v o lu tio n a ry process and deal only w ith area and central administrative functions and role re lationships which most directly im pact the effectiveness o f b u ild in g principals. In due course, all facets o f the o rg a n iz a tio n w ill be a d dressed. The firs t p rio rity in these readjustm ents is to c la rify and es tablish a clear understanding o f who does what. It w ill take more time to complete Ihe organizational realign ment for long range operations. Second tier priorities Also targeted fo r later addressal arc a second tier o f 5 1 assorted p ri orities which represent some o f Ihc m ajor elements to be dealt with and incorporated in an educational mas ter plan for the Portland schools for the 1980s. This "sh o p p in g lis t" o f D istrict priorities includes a look at feeder school patterns, boundary analyses, desegregation program as sessment, application o f high tech nology in the classroom , D is tric t wide specialized vocational and aca demic centers, increased citizen in volvement, development o f a busi- ness/industry partnership w ith the schools, strengthening linkages o f high schools to higher education, im p ro ve d a ffirm a tiv e a ctio n and equal o p p o rtu n ity goal responses, impact o f Southeast Asian student in flu x on in d iv id u a l schools, and im p ro ve m e n t o f student achieve ment. Mora priorities Long-range fiscal p la n n in g , the problems o f diminished federal sup p o rt, closures and consolidations, equitable resources to all buildings and schools, renovation o f schools, clearer d e fin itio n o f basic skills and com petency goals, m id d le school standardization, special problems o f small schools, future o f specialized high schools, the changing role o f special education, impact o f collect ive bargaining agreements, planning and im plem entation o f Tubman at E lio t, vocational and career educa tio n . a lte rn a tiv e ed u ca tio n , co n sistent D is tric tw id e student d isci pline, food services cost, com pre hensive desegregation plan, im ple ment appropriate components o f ef fective schools concept, student transportation costs, employee m or ale, I a rly C h ild h o o d E ducation C enters, magnet school develop ment, barrier free access for b u ild ings, return teachers on special as signment back to the classroom to positions in direct support o f teach ers, city school relations, E liot at Boise, H u m b o ld t o ve rcro w d in g , state and federal legislation, manag ing an aging school plant, more pre scriptive education planning for all students, a p p lica tio n o f new tech nology to m anagem ent, dropouts and non attendance, mainstreaming p ro b le m s, im p ro ve d leadership training, s ta ll development, public re la tio n s, fu tu re o f C o lu m b ia / W h itta k e r, m axim ize support to teachers and principals, and talent ed and gilted programs and services List not all-inclusive This is not an all-inclusive listing but it forms the foundation for Dis trictw id e comprehensive planning that portends continuing changes to stream line the o rg a n iz a tio n and manage changes in my efforts to im prove the schools. To focus clearly the organization in attacking these and other p rio ri ties for the 1980s and beyond, I have made a num ber o f org a n iza tio n a l changes intended to strengthen the a b ility o f the o rg a n iz a tio n to re spond to the needs o f the schools and the co m m u n ity . T ow ard this end I realigned and reorganized some key adm inistrative functions as follows: 1. Designated Dr. Donald M cE l roy as Deputy Executive Superinten dent to coordinate day-to-day man agement o f the schools. 2. Assigned Dr. James Fenwick as D eputy S uperintendent fo r p la n n ing, in s tru c tio n a l im provem ent and evaluation to coordinate short term and long range edu ca tio n a l planning. .1. Named C lint Thomas as Depu ty Superintendent fo r school sup port services. 4 Assigned W illia m G erald as (Please turn to page 2 column /)
