Pase A4________________________________ ■} J
o r H a i t i * ( O h s e w e r _________________________________________
August h , 2004
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views of The Portland Observer
O pinion
Cultural Competence in Schools Essential
Closing the
achievement gap cannot
be achieved without it
B y S usan C astillo
S uperintendent oe P ublic I nstruction
Oregon classrooms have changed significantly in
the past 20 years. The state has been working to
increase the academic achievement of minorities and
students of limited English proficiency and has made
a lot of progress at closing the achievement gap,
especially in elementary schools.
Minority students have always looked to educa
tion as a way to gain better opportunities for them
selves and their families. Oregon schools, like public
school systems throughout our United States, have
continually refined what it means to provide an equal
educational opportunity to every student we serve.
In the 1950s this meant eliminating segregated
schools. In the 1960s this meant elim inating the
disadvantages caused by poverty. In the 1970s
schools tried to eliminate barriers to students with
disabilities. In the 1980s, all schools began receiving
the same amount o f funding per chi Id, per school year.
In the 1990s systems focused on making sure that all
students were learning the
same subjects and were learn
ing it at the same pace. Today,
our focus is on making sure
that all children achieve the
goals that have been set.
Changes in our state over
the past few years tell us that
the number of students with
special needs has risen and
will continue to rise in the fu
ture. Between 1980 and 2002,
Hispanics grew to 12 percent of the student popula
tion, but only 2 percent o f teachers are Hispanic.
Children learn best in environments that are safe,
respectful and nurturing. Their teachers should un
derstand how their backgrounds influence their school
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experience. Every teacher and principal needs to gain
a thorough understanding o f the culture, family and
social values, community beliefs and expectations of
the students they serve. Students, families and com
munity members deserve schools that provide strat-
workforce and find ways to attract more teachers and
administrators o f color and with bilingual skills into
our schools. One of the most effective ways to ensure
a climate o f welcoming support for students and
families is to increase the number o f staff who share
their racial and cultural background
and who can speak their language.
Finally, we also believe these
goals cannot be accom plished
w ithout lead ersh ip . P rin cip als
and superintendents m ust be pre
pared to raise d ifficult questions
about the ach iev em en t gap in
their schools and d istricts, and
courageously initiate the strate
gies that w ill be needed to im
prove.
W ith local school decision making and the cre
ation o f smaller learning communities, teachers are
expanding their role beyond their classroom and
accepting the challenge o f leadership for school-wide
change and focus on high perform ance for all stu
dents. Creating a school climate that is know ledge
able o f and responsive to the culture o f the students
and community is necessary if we are to truly accom
plish our goal of bringing every student up to the high
levels of academic performance we know they can
achieve.
"■ One o f the most effective
ways to ensure a climate o f
welcoming support fo r students
and families is to increase the
number o f staff who share their
racial and cultural background.
egies for effective com munication, such as translated
materials and access to bilingual staff.
We must also be sure that all teachers have the
most effective strategies, tools and materials for cre
ating success for all students. We are currently work
ing with the universities to ensure that all new teach
ers are well equipped in these key areas. We need
more research on the ways that we can close the
achievement gap and increase the learning o f all
students, especially our minority students.
It is critical that we seek ways to diversify our
Florida Vote Headed for Another Disaster
Voting rights still
not protected
by J udge
G reg M athis
It is 2004 and Florida is still in the
dark. Four years after one o f the worst
voting crimes in recent history, the
state still does not have its act to
gether. In an effort to shed some light
on this dark truth and pressure state
officials to step up and protect the
voting rights o f all Floridians, the
Southern Christian Leadership C on
ference recently held its national con
vention in Jacksonville, Fla. The loca
tion was significant because 27,000 votes went un
counted in Jacksonville alone in the last presidential
election.
Even more troubling is that Florida continues to be
unprepared to handle this year’s national election.
One official in the state has revealed that 11 Florida
counties are currently without viable voting systems.
These flaws are alarming in their enormity.
In 2002, Congress crafted the Help America Vote
Act that was supposed to help ensure that elections
would run smoothly. One method o f improving elec
tions, in theory, was to switch from paper ballots to
touch screen voting machines. This "solution,” how
ever, com pounds the problem. Touch screen voting
machines are unreliable. C hief in this unreliability is
the lack o f a paper trail. W ithout a paper trail to follow
in case o f a close election, touch screen voting
machines are de facto fraud inducers.
Technology is not the only problem. A Civil War
throwback law has the effect o f disenfranchising the
voting power of African Americans. This 1868 law
prevents voting rights from automatically vesting in
those citizens who have paid their debt
to society.
This debacle disproportionately af
fects African Americans and Democrats.
With the ratio o f ex-felon potential vot
ers shaping up to be 3 to 1 Democrat to
Republican, the Republican power base
in Florida has done its best to make sure
these citizens continue to be disenfran
chised.
The Tampa Tribune notes that at
least five bills addressing felons’ vot
ing rights were introduced in the 2004
legislative session. All died in com m it
tees without a hearing. Something is
wrong.
This issue was barely discussed at the Democratic
National Convention. Considering that voting irregu
larities and back-room politicking cost the Democrats
the White House, one would think that the party
would want to give some camera time to efforts to
improve and restore faith in the voting system. Voting
integrity is a major issue that needs to be discussed.
Perhaps African-Americans are more sensitive to
voting rights issues. Unlike other groups that make
up the core of the Democratic Party, African A m eri
cans have fought long and hard for the right to vote.
The reality of Jim Crow is less than 50 years old. We
should demand that the Justice Department send
monitors to Florida to ensure a fair election. It is a
shame that in 2004, we must bring the light to the so-
called Sunshine State.
Judge Greg Mathis is chairman o f the Rainbow
PUSH-Excel Board and a national board member o f
the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Letters to the Editor
Kerry Represents Our Values
President Bush went into power
in murky circumstances, deceived
us into an un-necessary war, alien
ated all o f our potential allies, gave
tax cuts to the rich and bailed out
his corporate friends. He keeps play
ing scare tactics in order to make us
th in k w e sh o u ld n ot attem p t
changes.
On the other side, it seem s to
me that John Kerry represents so
m uch the values o f this country.
He has w isdom and intelligence,
integrity and courage. He has
experience and strength, m o ral
ity and principle. He is a strong
leader with w ho can steer our
country back on course through
these difficult tim es.
J. Gutierrez
Northeast Portland
Bush is Just Too Dangerous
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It started for me when I was 12.
The year was 1972 and the election
was N ixon-M cG ovem . My 6th
grade social studies teacher, Ms.
Moore, asked the class to divide by
who would vote for each candidate
and it ended up that she and I were
the only ones on the McGovern
side o f the room.
We spent the next hour and much
of the week debating the merits of
the two candidates — it was a time
I’ll never forget; perhaps my first actually endanger me physically.
sense that the minority can often be 1 ’ m now concerned that this adm in
right and my first taste of a Jew istration may "accidentally” push
standing with a black person, my the button or take us to war unnec
teacher, and how that dynamic essarily again.
could work.
At 4 3 ,1 don’t believe this coun
I don’t think I’ve missed a presi try can afford another 4 years of
dential election since then - Carter, George Bush & Co. It's just too
Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton I and II, dangerous for Americans and the
Gore and now Kerry. The elections peoples of the world.
Albert Kaufman
have always been important, hut
Southwest Portland
I’ve never felt that the results could
Change the Channel from Bogus News
Fox News says th ey ’ll give you
the new s and let you decide for
yourself. But during the D em o
cratic C onvention, Fox shut out
m any o f the speeches and showed
their ow n pundits instead.
W atching Fox is like listening
to a baseball gam e w here the an-
nouncer only tells you only w hen
one team scores.
Sunny Petit
Northeast Portland