Page 6
<ri'1 |J o rtia n h (Dbseruer
March 10, 2010
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Martin
Race and And Portland
Public
Schools
they did it over the articu- students in their neighborhood 77 percent said one school. On
Cleaning A disruptive
late, research-based and emo- high school. PPS’s actions and the creation of single-sex acad-
tional objections of more than inactions had severe conse- emies, 69 percent of respon-
pattern
300 students, parents, educators quences for Jefferson students, dents were opposed,
Service
and community members.
staffand community: Nine prin-
PTSA volunteers also docu-
documented
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by J eanette
L ona F ruen
The front page news item
“Violent death adds to an old
anger, reported that “many
people in Portland are perplexed
that large segments of Portland’s
African American community
see the shooting death of Aaron
C ampbell through a racial lens.”
Another Oregonian frontpage
reported the attack by Portland
police on 21-year-old Delease
Carter. I have known Delease
since her senior year at Jefferson
High School. She is a fierce
competitor on the basketball
court, a sensitive poet, polite,
X s ^ X e T iX a b o u tth c p o -'
lice attack removed any doubt
that there are racists in the Port
land Police
. Bureau.
.
But racism in our beloved City
of the Roses has not been limited
to the police. For over a decade
have witnessed paternalistic
attitudes, ill-advised decisions,
unconscionable actions and a
refusal by Portland Public
Schools to seek meaningful in-
put from Jefferson High School
students, staff and community.
et me cite a few blatant
eXí m?noQ .U n n e u
,
n
8, the PPS board sent
pi slips to every teacher, sec-
retary cafeteria worker and
custodian at Jefferson. The
board called it “reconstitution.”
t h a t t h p r p a r p r a r i c t c in t h o P n r t
In nearly five hours of testi-
mony not a single person sup-
ported PPS’s drastic reorgani-
zation of Jefferson. The district
even acknowledged in a memo
that “there appears to be little
hard data regarding improving
student achievement through re-
constitution.”
This divisive, disruptive action
ignored the successes o f
Jefferson students and staff. For
example, Alicia Moreland, the
1998 Jefferson Rose Festival
cipals in 11 years; further de-
cline in enrollment; fewer course
offerings; staff turnover; and a
disruption of school, family and
community relationships.
Fast forward to 2006 when
once again PPS was consider-
ing restructuring Jefferson. The
Parent Teacher Student Asso-
ciation (PTSA) president testi-
fied to the school board that
repeated restructuring, high ad-
ministrative turnover and lack of
district leadership led to instabil-
ity in the learning environment at
Jefferson and that the proposal
was “ill advised, poorly con-
ceived, and contrary to the
wishes of those most closely
allied with Jefferson.”
When the district denied re-
peated requests to seek mean-
ingful community input, PTSA
volunteers conducted a 15-ques-
tion survey. Hundreds of people
responded. Survey results were
consistent with the top priorities
identified at community meet-
ings over years: academ ic
achievement, family and com-
munity involvement and com-
bust and rigorous educational
opportunities.”
The school board and district
administration created single-sex
academies and once again reor
ganized Jefferson High School.
The result: Students have had
fewer course offerings, hundreds
ofthousands of taxpayer dollars
werewastedemployingfivead-
ministrators (three from out of
state) for four academies; and in
the fall of 2008, the district an-
nounced that the boys’ academy
would close for lack of enroll-
ment.
With experiences like these
and decades of well-documented
overt and covert racism is it any
wonder that African American
residents-and their white allies
- view the Portland Police Bu-
reau and Portland Public Schools
through a racial lens?
Jeanette Lona Fruen is a
munications.
On the question of whether
Jefferson should be reorganized,
71 percent said no. On the ques-
tion of whether Jefferson should
be divided into separate acad-
emíes or run as one high school,
long time Jefferson High
School advocate. A 70+ white
grandm other,
she
was
awarded a lifetime achieve-
ment award at Portland’s larg-
est Martin Luther King Jr. cel
ebration.
The district failed to communicate
these successes so that families would
be encouraged to enroll students in
their neighborhood high School.
I
<
®
Ambassador, was named Rose
Festival Queen; went to Stanford
on a full academic scholarship;
graduated with honors in three
years, and completed medical
school and is a physician. The
Jefferson Jazz Band was ranked
#2 in the nation. The school’s
video production department
won local and national awards,
The Jefferson arts and literary
magazine was ranked among the
top 15 in the nation.
But the district failed to build
on these successes. And the
district failed to communicate
these successes so that families
would be encouraged to enroll
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mented how only 21 corecourses
and 28 electives would be of-
fered in a proposed Arts and
Technologies academy; 36 core
courses and 8 electives in a Sci-
ence and Technologies acad-
emy; but a much more robust 38
core courses and 31 electives in
a community-preferred single
comprehensive high school.
Despite these facts, PPS con-
tinually repeated its disingenu-
ous claims that their proposed
academy structure provided “ro-
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