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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 1985)
Page 2. Portland Observer, March 27,1966 Schools move to end racial discrimination by Lam ia Duke G R A S S R O O T N E W S . N .W . — the Special Education component of the Portland Public Schoob is in a transition stage as they re-evaluate their referral, assessment and place ment practices. The Desegregation Monitoring and Advisory Committee (D M A C ) dis covered a disproportion o f Black children referred and placed in Special Education under the category of Scholarships granted Six Black graduate students are the 1984-85 recipients o f a total of $18,000 in scholarships granted by the National Black M B A Association. The scholarships were awarded dur ing the Sixth Annual N B M B A A Con ference and Exposition in San Fran cisco, October 3-7, 1984 Geoffrey Wayne Davis o f Indiana University, Gladys Hart DeClouet o f the U ni versity o f Wisconsin, Gabrielle Elise Simms o f Harvard University, Karen Natalie Jones o f Atlanta University, Elizabeth Sessoms Wilkerson of Stan ford University and Robert D. Taylor o f Stanford University were the re cipients. Each received a $3,000 schol arship and were chosen from over 100 applicants from around the United States. A special $1,000 scholarship was also awarded to Marcene D. M it chell o f Stanford University. The recipients were judged on the basis o f scholastic excellence, per sonal interviews and community serv ice, a two-page essay describing “ your strategy and approach for entering the business community as an em ployee or entrepreneur given current national economic conditions.’* "O ffering these scholarships under scores N B M B A A ’s commitment and dedication to the Black commun ity,” says Beverly Hawkins, National President ol the N B M B A A . "W e see today's student population as the critical link with our communities' future economic growth.” “ Our scholarship program is a result o f strong corporate participa tion by leading companies including Coca-Cola, Atlantic Richfield, Am er ican Hospital Supply, Bcndix Cor- portation. Black Enterprise magazine, Baxter Travenol Laboratories, Exxon Corporation, The First National Bank o f Chicago, the Ford M otor Company, the Pepsi Cola Company, the Northern Trust Company and United California Bank,” says Steve Lewis, Chairman o f the 1984-85 Scholarship Program. "N o t only do these fortune 500 and other companies provide the N B M B A A with Financial assistance to fund our scholarships, but they are involved in our annual conference as speakers, panelists and exhibitors and other ongoing activities through out the year," says Hawkins. The National Black M B A Associa tion 1985-86 Scholarship Program was formerly announced in early March, 1985, with a minimum o f six scholarships to be awarded at the Seventh Annual N B M B A A Confer ence and Exposition in Washington, D .C ., October 30- November 3, 1985. For more information regarding the 1985-86 N B M B A A Scholarship Program, contact: N B M B A A , H I E . Wacker Drive, Suite 600, Chicago, Illinois 60601. The N B M B A A is a non-profit organization o f 1500 minority M B A ’s in private and public sectors nation wide, whose goal is to focus on its combined leverage towards achieving meaningful gains for the minority M B A professional and improving community relations. Conference on child abuse “ Breaking the Cycle o f Abuse: New Hopes, New Beginnings," is the theme for the fourth annual North west Conference on child sexual abuse, sponsored by Portland State Univer sity’s Community Psychology Group. The conference will be held Thurs day and Friday, April I I and 12, in Smith Memorial Center at P.S.U . Presenters from a variety o f back grounds will be discussing the aspect o f recovery. Hours for the conference are 8:00 a m. to 4:30 p.m both days, and regis tration fees are $10 for one day or $15 for both days. Persons interested in attending may register in advance or at the door. For more information, call 229-4787. learning disabled. And once in Special Education that process that leads a child back into general education is vague. The problems in Special Education mirrors a national disproportion affecting Black children. The unique aspects o f Portland's Special edu cation department is the willingness o f management to evaluate and imple ment change. With the approval o f School Super intendent Matthew Prophet. Maralyn Turner, assistant superintendent for special instruction, has launched a file review. And instead o f relying on the school district’s personnel office for professionals o f color. Turner plans to contract Black psychologists and others to assist her with this evalua tion. “ D M A C questions have spurred us to focus our information. I don't believe the disproportions are inten tional, but built into the assessment process,” Turner added. A t a recent D M A C meeting a mem ber o f Turner’s staff said. " A lot o f these assessment tests were normed on white middle-class homes. W e realize the tools we are utilizing, which we were told were fair, have come into question. Considering that the tests were standgrd.jhey are not fa ir.” Some members o f the D M A C and other Black professionals felt an in telligent Black child, especially a Black male, who had an insensitive, culturally ignorant classroom teacher, could get referred to Special Educa tion and get lost in its maze. Data from the school district revealed Black children enrolled in Special Ed ucation peaked in the first grade at 25.9 percent and stayed above 20 percent until the tenth grade where it reaches an all time high o f 30.3 per cent. In terms o f funding. Special Edu cation has a catch-22 element in its funding mechanism. Dollars allo cated to Special Education are based on a per pupil basis. Hypothetically, funding is reduced once students re-enter general education. In 1983-84 the school district was reimbursed for Special Education by the va le with $1,779,902 and $714.018 from the federal government. Turner is positive and upbeat as her department searches for a solution. "Because o f D M A C 's willingness to work with us we will come up with solutions that are good for all chil dren. I f there are things we can do around assessment, pre-referral or placement which treats Black chil dren fairer, then we can come up with solutions that treat all children fair ly ," Turner concluded. Announcing wide area paging coverage without the wide area price. The paging people who hasr always brought you selection and service now b rin g you one of the widest coverage areas In Portland Plus one big advantage: O ur com petitors charge you for "extended coverage." 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