Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 11, 1990)
1 nside S cb o en -N ew sp a P er Should Blacks attend a Black or white college? Page 4 Spotlight on Nelson Mandela Page 2 Mattie Ann Callier-Spears discusses the National Council of Negro Women Page 3 More on Earl "The Pearl" Monroe Page 7 L ib r U n iv e 7 O regon E u gen e, U rey PORTLAN& Volum e X X , Num ber 26 By Professor McKinley Burt Ceasescu (surely, the man jests). Equally intriguing was the belated request, “ Ask your employer to become a “ partner” in the “ Star Plan” . En courage your employer to support de veloping the next-generation work force through a range of company-sponsored activités and by allowing you time to make contributions...” I thought about this late-blooming gambit when Mr. Ron Herndon stopped by my house the same week. During our conversation, which included the success ful fruition of his ‘‘P artn ers” For Success: Business and Education proj ect, Herndon re marked that years ago I had introduced him to the concept of harnessing the clout and resources of the business sec tor in the effort to effect meaningful change in the edu cational establish ment. A t this time of the early 1970s, I was mak PROPHET ing the transition from industry to teaching (Portland State University), and was finding very useful educational applications for the prag matic, real-time functions of a highly disciplined past experience. Several weeks ago my “ Perspectives” column described how these elements were inte grated into my course designs. And apropos to the discussion above with Mr. Herndon, I recalled that he was a member of the Black Education Center at that time. I had first encountered these young people when as chief ac countant for a local corporation I was asked to pass on their request for a con tributions to what turned out to be a very committed effort to achieve quality education for African American chil dren by means of an “ Alternative School.” However, the group was working with very meager resources, scattered high rent facilities and the constraints of the usual limited financial experience of recent college graduates. After achiev ing an amicable relationship-consider ing the generation g ap -I advanced the idea that I could design a concept which industry and the foundations would buy. I would emphasize two major elements, “ commitment and CONTINUITY” ; the latter component really translating into “ REAL PROPERTY” , an unachievable goal for most non-profit corporations at the time. My 25 years’ experience in industry and public sector as an accountant or administrator had already apprised me that the business/grantor community had two major concerns: 1. The public school system was sending them young people whose low level of basic skills shocked them sufficiently to get their rapt attention. 2. They were equally shocked by the 80 per cent failure rate of the myriad non-profit organizations coming to them for funds to “ escalate the quality of life of the poor", or to “ intervene in the deterioration of the education establishment.” The ‘troops’ were dispatched to find and photograph a suitable available building that could house a school, bookstore and related activités. The exercise culminated in my design of short one-and a half page cover letter addressed to twenty Oregon grantors. Drawing on my experience the theme was simple; “ W e’re committed and we’re competent as herein documented, but, just as importantly, ten or fifteen years down the line your board of direc tors can speak proudly and point to the physical presence and continuity of their original contribution.” It all worked like a charm, not only for this project but for several of my both Black and white students after I incorporated the tech nique into my “ Urban Economics Class” . The school is still there, o f course, and functioning; you saw the photograph on the front page of last week’s Observer. Now, that, like “ Schools of Excel lence,” is just one of the many kinds of meaningful contribtions that can be brought about in a social/business/edu- cational climate that PERMITS EXCEL LENCE! Few o f us are naive enough to believe that Mr. Prophet single-handedly runs the educational show in Portland- or even that he is the 'author’ of this play. No knowledgeable person will rise from his seat shouting “ Author! Author!” I am not about to make him the whipping boy. To completely define the parameters of this position in the particular case one would need to go back a number of years-to the reign of the “ friendly redhead” after whom the orange administration building was named-and assess the interplay between the office of superintendent, school board politics, and the cabals that actually ran Portland. W e’ll do some of that next week. Then, too, we need to take a hard look at these “ famed” Base Line Es says, the Curriculum and Lesson Plan Models, and the ephemeral “ Local Consultants” ; wasn’t it Shakespeare who might have been commenting upon all these things, “ O, what a tangled web we weave, when first we try to deceive” ? ■’ '>'403 ERVER 25<P July 11, 1990 "The Eyes and Ears o f The Community" School Superintendent Matthew Prophet Says, "Reach For a Star" c ’re reaching brother, w e’re reaching! But, does this mean that our little ones are going to be taken on a metaphoric journey to the heavenly sphere-even before the new OMSI Science Center opens? Is there to be not even a hint of an ‘earthly’ para dise here in education land? W e quote you, * ‘Right now, our children can’t use any more innovative or curative ideas.” How fortunate are those pupils, parents and taxpayers in those American cities where the principals in the National As sociation of Schools of Excellence have achieved such high levels of effective education; we sup pose they have never heard such admoni tions. Now, it has always been said that “ the best way to stop a revolution is to take it over” (if you can). If you don’t believe that, just take a look at what is going on in communist Roma- n ia -o r better, still, MATTHEW take a look at the Portland School District’s ‘‘Star Pro gram” . For the past two weeks the Observer has provided space for super intendent Prophet’s description of this effort: ‘‘Schools, Education or Social Services” . The title, as is intended, suggests that the school district has been put between the proverbial ‘ ‘rock and a hard place” - b y the competing pres sures o f governmental constraints, pa rental and public demands, and ‘‘the complaints about spending on social needs.” Since such constraints are a nationwide phenom enon, we are prompted to the inquiry, ‘‘Hasn’t any one made an effort to determine just how it is that 22 'schools of excellence’ were able to deal with the problem in such a successful m anner?” It is interesting that a careful exami nation of Mr. Prophet’s essays reveals an almost point-to-point correspondence or answers to the precise issues being raised by the ‘revolutionaries’ in the struggle for an effective educational process. This, of course, is right in line with our earlier comment, ‘ ‘ the best way to stop a revolution is to take it over.” Or, at least, to ” blunt* ’ itl I thought the good superintendent put his position rather well in this respect, yea, succinctly, “ We want your heart, your energy, and you. We don’t need your letters or telephone calls or more suggestions, criticisms, blue-ribbon panel reports or legislative mandates.” Thank you Mr. Nicolae B° ° U.S. Secretary of Labor Slated to Visit Jefferson High School During a visit to Portland on July 13, U.S. Secretary of Labor E lizabeth Dole will tour three classrooms at Jefferson High School, meeting participants in The Private Industry Council's Summer Training Elizabeth Dole and Education Program (STEP). Secretary Dole will visit a classroom where students are learning about legal rights, a life skills class covering topics ranging from the consequences of teen parenting to conflict resolution, and a computer lab. STEP efforts throughout Washington and .Multnomah Counties are primarily funded by The Private Industry Council through the U.S. Department of Labor and the Job Training Partnership Act. In Portland, STEP is operated in partnership with Portland Public Schools and the Leaders Roundtable—a group o f business, education and government leaders who have joined together to combat youth unemployment. Members of the Leaders Roundtable will be on hand to greet Secretary Dole during a brief reception at Jefferson High School. Fifty-six of the 325 Portland youth being served through STEP this year are funded by private business. Dennis Cole, president of The Private Industry Council, stated, "The support of Portland Public Schools and the business community has been vital to STEP this year. As federal funds have diminished, businesses are stepping up to the plate to sponsor our young people, helping build our future labor force." Portland's STEP program is a national model which offers basic skills, life skills and work experience to low- income young people who are between one and four grade levels behind in reading or math. Following morning classes, STEP participants spend the afternoons working in summer jobs, and are paid for both activities. The program's goals are to improve school retention rates among disadvantaged youth, to decrease the incidence of tten parenting, to prepare youth for higher achievement during the school year, to provide work skills, and to improve self esteem. The summer component is followed by school-year support which includes one-on-one involvement with student advocates. While in Portland, Secretary Dole will be speaking to the City Club and making campaign appearances. Attorney General Dave Frohnmayer will accompany Secretary Dole on her visit to STEP. There will be a ten-minut reception for invited guests at Jefferson High School at 10:00 a.m., followed by a tour of STEP classrooms. At 10:45 a.m„ Secretary Dole and Attorney General Frohnmayer will speak with the media on the front steps of the school. Neighborhood Community Policing Award Narrations Lieutenant Charles Moose and Sharon McCormack from NE Coalition of Neighborhoods Lieutenant Moose’s strategic policing and planning efforts in cooperation with residents and community groups has fostered a new sense of mutual respect, teamwork and empowerment between citizens and the law enforcement efforts of the Police Bureau. His work on the Neighborhood Association Police Officer Program has energized the officer’s and commu nity’s efforts on new and effective methods to help solve neighborhood problems. AFRICAN AMERICAN FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION Presents Qur Admission FREE Portland Area Co-Sponsors win a cruise for two COMPLIMENTS OF The Sheraton Inn-Portland Airport 1990 & THE travel company , P ortland , or çOurt Coronation J llS t J a m e s F a s h io n s For more information call: Wednesday, July 18th, 1990 from 6:30 P.M. - 10:30 A.M. (503)620-9431 1