Œl’1 |J o rtla u ò (Observer
Page A4
September 28. 2005
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
Dangerous
Walking Routes
Local kids put in harm’s way
by
S heila B rown
This year six Portland Public Schools were
closed: Applegate, Edwards, Kenton, Richmond,
Smith, and W hitaker Middle School. Now hun
dreds of children must find safe walking routes'
beyond their familiar neighborhood streets to
new schools a mile or more away.
To get to Chief Joseph, children from Kenton
will have to cross the complex five-way intersec
tion of Lombard and Denver, listed as one of the
most dangerous in Portland.
Children from Applegate will face a more diffi
cult passage. There are no safe walking routes to
Woodlawn with dangerous crossings at Lombard
Street, Vancouver Avenue and Martin Luther
King Jr. Boulevard.
Mothers, don’t let your kids follow Lombard to
Woodlawn. If they walk along the north side of
the highway, past MLK, they will find no safe
crossing at any point. If city officials made safety
top priority, they would place adult crossing
guards at Northeast 11lh Avenue and Lombard.
The south side of Lombard quickly degener
ates where the sidewalk ends as it approaches 11lh
Avenue and the speed of traffic reaches 50 mph
before turning into Portland Highway.
Portland Public Schools claim over a dozen
organizations have affirmed the ’safety’ of these
and other crossings. Yet it’s a mystery that not
one person can be found who has actually walked
any of these so-called “safe walking routes.”
Perhaps such a trek, up to a mile long, was too
challenging for a tender adult.
Parents are asking for school buses through
out the Applegate neighborhood to take their
children to Woodlawn. Is it too much to ask that
a school bus that stops on Albina Avenue make
two or three more stops for students within this
“No M an’s Land.”
Safety for all the 5 to 12-year-old children
whose schools have been closed should be a pre
em inent priority with Superintendent Vicki
Phillips, school board members, officials at Stu
dent Transportation Services, and the City of
Portland. Anything less is unacceptable and in
excusable.
Shield Brown is an Irving Elementary School
reading tutor and member o f the Neighborhood
Schools Alliance.
Supporting Students’ Hopes and Dreams
Drug and alcohol
prevention is key role
by
T a . m ala N f . wsome
"My body is a temple and if I use drugs I won't be able
to run as fast, play as hard or do any o f the things that
kids are supposed to do ... ”
Those are the words of a student at north Portland’s
John Ball Elementary School who, along with many of his
classmates, wrote essays based on the theme "Drugs Kill
Dreams.”
For students, the essays were a valuable way to express
what was important to them. One said he wanted to be an
astronomer, baseball playeror announcer when he grew up.
Another wrote that his dream was to get a good education
and become a professional basketball player. “But most
importantly,” he wrote, “I want to have a nice family.”
For me, the essays offered a wonderful window into
We have a plan for college.
students’ hopes and dreams. They also underscored
the importance and benefits of alcohol and other drug
prevention education in schools.
Student test scores at Ball have increased dramati
cally the past several years. This is a result ot hard
work by our teachers, students and families. It is also
We know through
research that
school-based drug
prevention makes
good economic sense.
a by-product of our philosophy that we teach stu
dents, not just a curriculum. We strive to meet every
student’s needs.
With that in mind, last year, Ball Elementary deliv
ered classroom lessons focusing on the positive
aspects of being drug free. Materials from the non
profit Oregon Partnership were designed to help
students make healthy choices. The lessons, tied to
curriculum subjects ranging from language arts and
math to health and science, were great because they
reinforced what students are already learning. The
essays allowed students to use written expression as
a way to put their knowledge to use and communicate
their feelings about how drugs kill dreams.
As an educator for 22 years, I have seen many
changes in public schools. We have lost many won
derful programs, including the arts, because of bud
get shortfalls. Less money and resources impact how
we deliver instruction, yet we have added stronger
and more rigorous academic goals. In response to
these losses, organizations such as Oregon Partner
ship have stepped in to build strong partnerships and
bring resources and programs to schools.
Our children’s needs have not changed. They
need skills to resist peer pressure, to understand why
drug use makes it harder to do well in their academics,
sports and other activities. They
need to know that, despite popu
lar perceptions, most Oregon
youth do not drink alcohol, smoke
cigarettes or use other drugs. They
need to know that we believe in
them, see the best they have to
offer and will help them achieve
their goals.
As we begin another academic
year, Ball is again providing alco
hol and other drug prevention
education Oregon requires of its
public schools. We also continue
to host evening workshops to help parents and
caregivers do an even better job of raising their
children.
We know through research that school-based
drug prevention makes good economic sense. One
study, by the Rand organization, found that every $1
invested in such programs saves more than $5 in
social costs. Equally important, we believe we are
instilling a strong sense o f community at Ball and
empowering parents and students. We consider it not
a policy mandate but an opportunity to serve stu
dents and their families in a way that will pay divi
dends for years.
As one student essayist wrote, “I want to have a
son and I don’t want my son to use drugs. I dream
about showing my son how to play basketball. And
I will not only show him, by being an example, but I will
also talk to him about not doing drugs.”
Tamala Newsome is principal at John Ball El
ementary School in north Portland.
Can Black Preachers Get Bush To Deliver?
by J udge
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G reg M athis
As part of his re-election
bid. P resid en t Bush a t
tempted to reach black vot
ers through their churches.
Preachers opened their
ears to listen to what the
President had to say. Many
even developed personal re
lationships with him. Now,
as the black community faces
one o f our greatest chal-
lenges-com ing together and
rebuilding with our brothers and
sisters who lost their homes, their
jobs and, in many cases, their loved
ones, when Hurricane Katrina hit
the Gulf Coast - the question has to
be asked: Can the black ministers
that have stood with Bush get him
to deliver on his promise to rebuild
the Gulf Coast and uplift the poor?
Many of the ministers working
with the President say they do so in
the interest of the black commu
nity. It makes sense - time can be
spent pointing out what the Presi
dent does wrong — or energy can
be put towards working with him
and his staff to develop programs
that address poverty, lack of ac
cess to health care, education and
more.
The ministers must be careful,
though, to ensure they are not
pawns in the
R e p u b lic a n
party’s plan to
capture a larger
share o f the
black vote and
that they are
not being used
to demonstrate
to the public
that President
Bush does, in
fa c t,
“care
about black people.”
On Sept. 5 during his tour of
Baton Rouge, La., President Bush
stood with Bishop T.D. Jakes,
founder o f the 3(),(MX)-member
Potter’s House, a “mega-church”
in Dallas,Texas. Jakes, an African-
American. would later deliver the
sermon at the Washington National
Cathedral, as part of a national day
of prayer for Hurricane Katrina’s
victims. Bush then met with black
preachers from across the country,
including Bishop Roy Winbush
from Louisiana. Cynicism aside, it’s
hard to believe that these events
aren’t calculated. On Sept. 2, dur
ing his first tour of the G ulf Coast,
the President stood with the white
Republican governors of Missis
sippi and Alabama: he did not ven
ture into New Orleans to see the
devastation there. W hen public
grumblings about race and the role
it played in the incompetent way
Katrina’s aftermath was handled
grew louder, the President began to
appear with and talk to his black
friends from the religious commu
nity.
Havingjust visited Baton Rouge
and witnessing the despair first
hand - thousands of people, most
of them black, packed into shelters,
dressed in unkempt clothes, many
of them appear ill - 1 can only hope
that President Bush’sdealings with
black ministers are sincere.
The black church has always
had the ears and trust of the black
community; this is especially true
during times of tragedy. To take
advantage of that relationship to
gain future votes would add further
insult to injury. The religious lead
ers that have Bush’s ear must hold
him to his word; if he reneges, they
should publicly disassociate them
selves from him. K atrina's victims
need an authentic unity, one that
will deliver sustainable results so
they reconstruct their lives.
Judge Greg Mathis is chairman
o f the Rainbow PUSH-Excel Board
and a national board member o f
the Southern Christian leadership
Conference.