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.
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