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Justice
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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.