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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (March 28, 2012)
News Justice continued from page 1 are suspended and expelled at far higher rates than other students for exactly the same behavior. “We know that it raises the risk factors for students,” Jackson says. “They are less like- ly to graduate. They’re more likely to have challenges in life. They are more at risk for criminal behavior and more at risk for going to prison. Excluding kids is not effective.” Not to mention the topsy-turvy logic of suspending a student for not going to school. Or the fact that almost one in five teens his age have tried marijuana – and white students statistically are more likely to use it regularly. “What we do when we exclude students is we push them out of school,” says Jack- son. “I say that’s exactly when we need to hold on to them tighter.” sion and four calls to the police. The pro- gram also returned $287.40 in restitution to victims of theft. “Last year the best data we have suggests that without RJ there would have been 100 more days of suspension,” Grey says. “And the more a child is suspended or excluded, the further behind he gets in his classes and the more isolated and frustrated he becomes. They act out and then they drop out. That’s a fact. “So if we can mediate the conflict we can keep them in school where they belong, and Pilot Program Parkrose was the first school district in the metro-area to try Restorative Justice, or RJ for short. With grants from Multnomah County and the City of Portland, Parkrose has been using RJ for four years now. Ask students and teachers and they will tell you that the in-school program is a powerful tool for learning, changing behavior and increasing the peace. “We absolutely wanted to use it as a way to break the school to prison pipeline,” says Parkrose School Superintendent Karen Gray. “We believe it is part of our mission to keep children in school. “Too many of our kids, and mostly our kids of color, were being excluded from school and then dropping out and ending up in the juvenile justice system.” Superintendent Grey says the Parkrose RJ program is working, and she has the data to prove it. District estimates show that last school year (2010-11) at Parkrose Middle School, for example, RJ prevented 158 days of suspension, 36 days of in-school suspen- Superintendent Karen Gray out of jail.” Some behavior can’t be solved with Restorative Justice. So where do schools draw that line? “The line is a weapon,” Grey says. “It’s selling drugs. It’s bomb threats. In that case, I’m sorry, but in those cases we have to step it up. But where we can use Restorative Jus- tice, we should.” Portland Public Schools last year started a Restorative Justice program in Rigler Ele- mentary. This year it added King Elementary, Beverly Cleary Middle School and Grant High School. Resolution at Grant Many Portlanders heard the words Restorative Justice for the first time this year after students at Grant High School broke silence about locker room misbehav- ior. Police were called in and filed a report that showed horseplay among some athletes had turned into bullying, and possibly even sexual abuse. Much ink was spilled calling for severe penalties and criticizing the school staff. But the boys who spoke out, and their fam- ilies, did not seek prosecution. After an investigation, police dropped the case. Grant staff and students decided to use Obituaries Services Saturday for Clarence Bethune Clarence Bethune, com- munity organizer and friend to many, passed away last week from a stroke. Services are Saturday, March 31 at 11 a.m. at the New Hope Missionary Bap- tist Church, 3725 N. Gantenbein in Portland. Bethune is remembered for many years of volunteer- ing at the Portland Rescue Mission on East Burnside Street, as well as at North Portland high schools including Jefferson, where he was a big supporter of youth baseball. Bethune was also an ordained minister at New Hope. A former bank loan offi- cer, Bethune served on the Albina Community Bank and the African American Alliance for Homeowner- ship boards of directors. The Skanner Publisher Bernie Foster described him as “a tremendous human being that loved kids,” and added that over the past year Bethune focused especially on local youth sports. “He spent a lot of time at Jeff,” Foster said. “Clarence’s deal was to get these kids -- Jefferson high school 8th and 9th graders -- in the Major Leagues,” Foster said. “Whether or not he was ever successful, I don’t know.” Foster says Bethune was the man behind the scene for many local families of color who were able to achieve their dream of buy- Malcolm Key land. Born on April 14, 1924, in Henderson, Ken., Key was the eldest of 12 children born to James Cornelius Key and Anna Mae Williams. He traveled the world playing his drums and singing with as an interna- tional entertainer for over 35 years before settling in Portland. Sir Malcolm performed in all the hot spots on the East and West Coast, being a reg- ular in New York City, Atlantic City, and Honolulu. He performed with the “Ink Spots” on the Queen Eliza- beth 2 that was headed towards Yokohama, Japan and was the headliner fol- lowing the Ben Vereen Show. His “tour of duty” took him to military bases in Japan where he was a hit. Malcolm was a well- April 14, 1924 March 14, 2012 Malcolm Key, better known as “Sir Malcolm,” age 87, left earth and joined Heaven’s Orchestra, on Wednesday, March 14, 2012. A memorial is planned , Saturday, April 7, from 1-3 p.m. at OMEGA Funeral & Cremation, 223 SE 122nd Ave., Port- Page 10 The Portland Skanner March 28, 2012 Restorative Justice meetings to handle the issues raised. One boy was excluded from Grant and is now at another school, but three others stayed put, a decision support- ed by all the teens involved. Jackson says that Restorative Justice was a better choice for the students and for the wider school community. “They had to be accountable to their school community, which is in fact, a much greater lesson,” she says. “Restorative jus- tice helps students develop their integrity. A lot of students can develop that integrity, but we just don’t give them that chance.” ing a home – working out their finances, counseling people about credit, taxes and saving for a down pay- ment. “He was committed to service, trying to get people into good homes -- he will be truly missed,” Foster said. known musician throughout his career. He was well associated with great artists such as Bobby Blue Bland, Nancy Wilson, Lionel Hampton and Sammy Davis Jr. Malcolm also was a great music teacher being influential in the career of Portland’s own Mel Brown. Sir Malcolm was a mem- ber of the Musician Union Local 99 and had a Gold Card with the Federation of Musicians Malcolm is survived by his son Malcolm Key and wife Vickie; of California, daughter Shirley Bosley of the Pacific Northwest, four siblings, Martha Daniels (Indiana), Owen and Mari- on Key, (Kentucky), and Leon Key (New York), and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and many other lov- ing family members.
