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I he P ortland O bserver • O ctober 4, 1995
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America Goes Back To School
bv R ichard W . R ilev , U.S.
S k HF.TARY OF E D UCATION
The b eginning o f another
school year is a time for all Am eri­
cans to focus anew on our schools
and colleges and what we as par­
ents, grandparents, and community
members can do to make them safe
and challenging places to learn for
the 65 m illion students who pass
through their doors every day.
In traveling the country over
the past two and a h alf years, I have
heard most often from teachers that
family participation is the single
most crucial factor in whether their
students succeed in the classroom.
T h i rty years o f educational research
confirms this belief. When family
and community members are d i­
rectly involved in what their ch il­
dren are learning in school, children
achieve better grades and higher
test scores, have higher graduation
rates, and are more likely to enroll
in higher education.
To reinforce this vital message,
we are kicking o ff “ America Goes
Back to School: A Place for Families
and the Community." Through this
effort we are inviting parents and all
caring Americans to go back to school
and participate in activities that show
how simple yet important it is to be
involved in improving our schools.
"America goes Back to School”
is sponsored by the Family Involve­
ment Partnership for Learning, a year-
old coalition o f more than 140 fam­
ily, education, community, religious
and business organizations. The Fam­
ily Involvem ent Partnership for
Learning is dedicated to improving
children’s learning through the de­
velopment o f family-school-commu­
nity partnerships. “ America Goes
Back to School" w ill help to build
and sustain those partnerships.
This back-to-school initiative
w ill underscore that Americans share
some basic priorities when it comes
to educating their chi Idren: They want
their students to learn the basics-
core academ ics--and com m on
American values such as honesty
and responsibility. They want to
know that the school their children
attend are safe and drug-free. They
want their children to have access
to new technology in the classroom.
They want schools to raise stan­
dards o f achievement and disci­
pline. They want schools to teach
young people real life skills that
prepare them for work and adult­
hood. And they want to make col­
lege accessible to deserving stu­
dents.
Ih e p ro b le m is that too
many adults are unsure o f what
to do to make access to a q u a lity
edu catio n a re a lity fo r th e ir
young people. T h a t’ s w hy I ’ m
enco urag ing a ll A m e rica n to
make a com m itm ent to reach
out and get in v o lv e d in th e ir
schools this year. Schools can’ t
do it alone. They need partners.
PAX: Safety For Students And Neighbors
The Project: PAX
The Location: NE Portland’s
Monroe High School Site
The Problem : Neighbors Con­
cerned About PAX Students Unsu­
pervised To And From School.
T h e S o lu tio n : School Bus
Transportation To And From The
Program.
The Cost: $8700 (Money O rig­
inally Designated For Other A c tiv i­
ties.)
Carol Matarazzo, D irector o f
Alternative Education responsible for
the PAX program, decided to adjust
the student transportation plan for
the program called PAX, (pax is Latin
for peace). Students w ill attend the
special program because they have
been involved in violent activity (i.e.,
lighting) or have been found to be in
possession o f a weapon on school
d istrict property. These students
would normally be in line for expul­
sion from Portland Public Schools.
PAX is the alternative to keeping
them in school and continuing their
education as well as learning to prac­
tice socially acceptable ways o f han­
dling conflict ahd anger. They must
spend a minimum o f forty five days
working with counselor and other
staff in the PAX program.
The intense p ro gram w ill
w o rk w ith both the youngsters
and th e ir fa m ilie s so that the new
beh avior w ill have the very best
chance to become a way o f life .
Both parents and students w ill be
screened and o n ly those most
ready to ben efit from the p ro ­
gram w ill be accepted. A school
p o lice o ffic e r is already assigned
fu ll-tim e to the program .
Neighbors were concerned about
whether students enrolled in this anti­
violence program would be unsuper­
vised as they arrived and left school.
Both arrival and departure w ill be
supervised by the school police ’o f­
ficer and other staff. The cost, $8,700,
w ill mean cuts in other budgets w ith­
in the violence intervention program.
But two things are clear:
I. PAX is an important step to
help kids and their families reverse a
trend towards violence. (It is part o f
$1.2 M illio n effort by the school
district, Multnomah County, theCity
o f Portland, neighborhood groups,
and public and private agencies to
create a web o f resources to prevent
violence in our schools and in our
community.)
2. The p riority is for the safety- o f
everyone: staff, students and com­
munity. The teachers and staff o f the
program w ill concentrate on the so­
lutions to basic problems o f violence
and w ill work to change the behavior
and thinking o f the students. Our
entire community w ill be safer when
these changes occur and the students
are able to solve problems without
resorting to violence. W orking to­
gether we can solve these problems.
W ith the classes fo rth e 1995-
96 school year ju s t one week
away this is one part o f the e ffo rt
to make our students sm art, safe
and successful.
Paulus Releases Annual Report Card
Norma Paulus, state superinten­
dent o f public instruction, today re­
leased the Oregon Report Card, an
annual report on trends in Oregon
schools.
This year’ s report is a portrait o f
the 1994-95 school year. It captures
fin an ce and e n ro llm e n t trends,
progress in implementing the Ore­
gon Educational A ct for the 21st
Century and other details o f Ore­
gon’s public school system.
In the 1994-95 school year,
schools received good news in terms
o f funding and improvement efforts.
The 1995 legislature for the first time
made education its first funding p ri­
o rity and renewed its commitment to
the Oregon Educational Act for the
21st C entury, the fo ur-yea r-old
school improvement law.
Here are high lights o f thisyear’s
report:
A fte ra $ 5 8 m illion cut in 1993-
94, schools in the 1994-95 school
year operated with $ 109 m i I lion more
than in 1993-94.
School districts drafted their first
plan, describing how they w ill im ­
plement the Oregon Educational Act
for the 21st Century.
In the coming year, the Depart­
ment w ill award $4.6 mil lion in grants
to train teachers and improve local
educational programs, as part o f the
Oregon Educational Act for the 21 st
Century.
M ore than 4,000 businesses
in Oregon are h e lp in g students
learn how te ch n o lo g y and aca­
dem ic subject are a pplied in the
w o rld o f w ork.
Teachers face increa sing ly
crowded classrooms as Oregon’s
population continues to grow. The
number o f Oregon students has risen
by 7.7 percent since 1990-91, while
the number o f teachers has risen by
only 0 .1 percent. Student enrollment
is expected to continue to climb
through the rest o f the decade, in
other areas.
The state legislature this year
approved a b ill giving school dis­
tricts greater authority in disciplin­
ing violent, disruptive students.
The Oregon Department o f Ed­
ucation and school districts in Alba­
ny, Central Point, North Clackamas,
W est-Linn W ilso nville and else­
where promoted character education.
Ashland, Clatskanie, Hillsboro
Union High School, Salem-Keizer,
North Clackamas, Rainier and St.
Helens school districts saved a total
o f $1.3 m illion over two years and
received a top national award as part
o f a state energy conservation pro­
gram.
Challenge Renewed
To End Racial Busing
More than two decades after the
segregation and busing plans that
high tide o f court-ordered school
have existed for years with minimal
desegregation, critics o f school bus­
public support in failing school dis­
ing around the country are mounting
tricts. Proponents o f existing deseg­
renewed campaigns to end federal
regation plans see it as a tragic retreat
desegregation mandates and the bus­
from the nation’s goal o f equal op­
ing plans that come with them.
portunity that could have grim con­
Encouraged by conservative
sequences for race relations.
electoral successes and a string o f
But both agree that, much like
SupremeCourt decisions lim itingthe
the debate over affirmative action,
responsibilities o f schools to foster
issues o f busing plans and school
desegregation, Denver, Minneapo­
desegregation, largely defined in the
lis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Seattle,
1970s and modified in incremental
Wilmington, Del., and Indianapolis
ways since then, are being reopened
are among cities revisiting the emo­
with a vengeance in the 1990s.
tional debate over school busing.
The federal government, as an
Norfolk, Va., and Oklahoma C ity
advocate for school desegregation,
have already eliminated mandatory
is a p la in tiff intervenor or has filed a
busing for the purposes o f desegre­
b rie f in 513 court orders. It is esti­
gation.
mated that there are at least as many
Critics o f busing see the move­
others in which it is not involved.
ment as an assault on outmoded de-
The issue is often framed now
much as it was in the past, with calls
for neighborhood schools even ifthey
are essent ial ly segregated as opposed
to busing for the purpose o f desegre­
gation. But unlike affirmative ac­
tion, the debate is complicated by the
degree to which minorities are deep­
ly split on the wisdom and efficacy o f
busing to achieve racial balance.
“ Busing has not enjoyed any
significant grass-roots support for
decades,” said C lint Bolick, litiga­
tion director o f the conservative In­
stitute for Justice.
“ The only people who support it
are the ideologues who continue to
occupy leadership positions in the
civ il rights establishment. I would be
w illin g to flatly predict that busing
for rac i al ba lance w i 11 d isappear from
large urban school districts in 10
years or less."
non
P age A3
College Debt Cut By Oregon Donors
More Oregon students w ill see a
silver lining in the cloud o f college
debt this year due to a 23% increase
in scholarship funding
ment schedule by three years,” she
said.
tion. Programs administered by the
Commission help students attend
public or private four-year colleges
and universities, community colleg­
es and many types o f vocational in­
stitutions.
There are award programs for
the construction field funded by the
Oregon State Homebuilders Associ­
ation and grants from the State Board
o f Barbers and Hairdressers.
Applications w ill be available
for the 1996-97 school year at high
school guidance and college finan­
cial aid offices after December I . In
addition, applications may be re­
quested from the Oregon State Schol­
arship Commission, Attn: Grant De­
prospects o f long term college debt.
The average award this year is
$ 1,800.00 per person. “ Any dollar in
gift aid directly impacts individual
students by reducing their college
debt," said Sherrill K irc h h o ff Pri­
OSSC scholarships flow from
many sources. The Oregon Commu­
nity Foundation and the Ford Family
Foundation fund several programs.
Awards also come from individuals
who establish specific trust funds
managed by banks, such as US Bank
and Bank o f America.
Employee groups, unions and
businesses are also stepping up to the
challenge o f funding scholarships,
adding more than 35 new programs
since 1993.
Individuals or organizations in­
terested in learning more about spon­
soring scholarships can contact
Kirshhoffat 1 -800-452-8807, exten­
sion 7386.
vate Award C oordinator for the
OSSC. “ An annual $1000 scholar­
ship can cut a student’s loan repay-
partment; 1500 Valley River Drive,
Suite 100; Eugene, OR 97401. Re­
I he OSSC is the state agency
established to assist Oregon students
in gaining post-high school educa-
quest must include a self-addressed
business envelope with 55-cent post­
age to endure delivery.
The Oregon State Scholarship
Commission(OSSC), announced this
week 1228 students claimed a total
of $2,243,300.00 in scholarships
funded by federal programs, busi­
nesses and individual donors. This
tops last year's total by more than
$400,000.00.
This is good news for people
facing increased tuition costs and the
YWCA Transitional School For
Homeless Children Changes Location
The YW C A o f Portland’s Tran
sitional School forChildren ofHome-
less Families moved to its new loca­
tion on NE Marine Dr according to
Janice Hall, President o f the YW C A
Board o f Directors. Its former site
■ was the second floor o f the Down­
town YW C A building at 1111 SW
I Oth. The new site is at the former
location o f the Columbia Elementa­
ry School.
The new site w ill provide the
Transitional School with additional
space, a single floor layout and play­
ground facilities that the form er
Downtown location could not pro­
vide. “ For the past year with daily
attendance levels of over 70 students
the move became a necessity,” com­
ments Cheryl Bickle Transitional
School Director. “ The new location
can provide our students and teach­
ers with a much more traditional ed­
ucational environment.”
Ihe Y W C A School provides
stability and consistency in the lives
o f the children it serves. “ Stability is
most important when you consider
that a full 20% o f our student move
three or more times during the course
o f their enrollment” says Bickle.
V o lu n te e rs
from
Hanna
Andersson and Sequent Computer
Systems helped relocated the school ‘
from the former site a, the YW C A
Downtown Center. The Y W C A is
most appreciative o f the many public
and private donors and volunteers
who have helped the school make
outstanding contributions to the learn­
ing skills o f the children o f homeless
families during its first five years.
White And Black Teens Say Racial
Attitudes Have Changed In Alabama
Attitudes among young people
in M ontgom ery, Alabama, have
changed considerably since 1955
when Rosa Parks was arrested there
for refusing to move to the back o f
the bus, according to a group ofblack
and white teenagers, who participat­
ed in an interview for this Sunday’s
Parade magazine.
“ Me and Kanika have been in
school together since elementary
school," 18-year-old Jennifer G rif­
fin, who is white, said o f her friend
Kanika Walcott, also 18, who is black.
“ We cheered together through j un ior
high. And i f school was just being
integrated, and I saw Kanika get beat­
en or someth ing because ofher color,
I would die. I could not stand to see
it. I would try to help her.”
W illiam Blair, who is also 18
and white, agreed. “ Yeah, we’d stick
up for our black friends. But back
then it was ingrained in the white
people’s heads that black people were
inferior. You wouldn’t help them.
Science
And
Technology
Diversity
Addressed
More than 2,000 scientists, stu­
dents, science educators and other
leaders in science education are gath­
ering this week in Washington, D C.
for the National Science Founda­
tio n ’s, 4th annual “ Diversity in the
S c ie n tific and T e c h n o lo g ic a l
W orkforce Conference.”
This isoneofthe largest gather­
ings o f the nation's science and tech­
nology leaders to highlight national
efforts toward diversity in the sci­
ence, mathematics, engineering and
technology fields.
The conference w ill showcase
outstanding research achievements
by more than 350 African American,
Native American and Hispanic stu­
dents participating in foundation-
funded research projects.
There w ill be discussion o f the
current status o f education programs
to assure diversity in scientific enter
prises and the progress made in d i­
versity programs,
No matter how i.meh you liked them,
you just didn't do that.”
The teens, who were all students
at Robert E. Lee High School when
the interview took place, said al­
though things are better, they still are
not perfect “ I ’ m a cheerleader,”
Kanika said, “ and there are only two
black cheerleaders. And some peo-
ple-m ostly black friends-tel I me that
I ’m a sellout because I ’m going to
cheer with the white people, and I
talk white’ and I dress white.” Some­
body had the nerve to tell me I wear
silver jew elry because I want to be
white.”
Shauntice Allen, who is black
and had a sim ilar experience, asked,
■“ to/hat does that mean? And what is
'acting black'?”
“ There was this boy who used to
go to our school,” commented G rif­
fin. “ He was just known to hate black
people. He'd wear rebelflag shirts
that said, You wear your X (M a l­
colm), I 'll wear my cross ’ And one
time this white girl came in, and she
was dressed in the gangsta’ look,
with the big football team jacket and
the baseba 11 hat. And he goes,' Look
at her, there’ s a nigger. ’ And I turned
around, What is that?’ and he said,
oh, that g irl is just trying to be a
nigger.’ I ’ ve heard it many times
since. I t ’s supposed to be a white
person acting like a black person.”
G riffin said she thinks the phrase
‘acting like a black person’ evolved
out o f the fact that “ hip-hop and the
whole rap scene was brought on by
black people They have their own
kind ofdress, their own kind o f slang.
So ifa white person does this, they’ re
‘acting like a black person’-th e y
‘ want to be black.’”
Robert D. Nesbitt, Sr., who is
86-years-old and worked with Dr
Martin Luther King, moderated the
discussion “ Change w ill depend on
people like you,” he told the teenag­
ers. “ But we don’t have enough o f
you.”
The Seventh Annual
Saward Lecture
“Interpersonal Violence:
Framing Community Solutions”
by Chukwudi Onwuachi-
Saunders, M.D., M.P.H.
Deputy Health Commissioner,
City of Philadelphia and
head of its innovative
violence reduction initiative,
“Operation Peace in Philadelphia”
Friday, O ctober 13, 1995
7:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
For tickets, call (503) 335 6776
(tickets are free but required)
J. Q u w h JL
Presented by
A
KAISER PERMANENTE
Center for Health Research
Join us in celebrating
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