ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 6, 1997 TAG: 9701060008
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Superintendent Wayne Harris wants to narrow the racial gap in Roanoke schools.
Nearly 40 percent of the students are black, but less than 15 percent of the teachers are black.
The gap has gotten wider as more black teachers have retired in recent years.
"The increasing number of retirements of our African-American teachers, combined with a critical shortage of African-American students in teacher degree programs, requires that Roanoke continue to increase its recruitment efforts," Harris said.
To help with recruitment, he has recommended that the schools offer $2,000 payments to 10 black teachers next year who agree to work in Roanoke for at least two years.
Harris has also proposed the expansion of a summer intern program designed to attract black teachers, and a tuition assistance plan to help instructional aides become teachers.
The number of summer interns would be increased from 15 to 20, the majority of whom would be black. The tuition assistance program would be expanded so 14 instructional aides could take college courses next year; the schools are paying the tuition for 10 aides this year.
The aides must agree to teach one year in Roanoke for each year of financial assistance. The school division assures a job to those who compete the program.
School Board member Melinda Payne has been pushing for more aggressive recruitment of minority teachers, principals, assistant principals and other school administrators.
"You can't tell me the people are not out there," she said. "Maybe we need to do more advertising, to be recruiting and planning ahead when we know we've got retirements coming up."
The percentage of black and other minority teachers has declined from 16 percent in the 1993-94 school year to 14.7 percent in the current year. The percentage in the administrative and teaching staff combined has dropped from 19 percent to 15.1 percent.
Of 1,136 city teachers, 156 are black (13.8 percent) and 10 are Hispanic, Asian or another minority. Six of the city's 29 principals are black, and six of 19 assistant principals are black.
Nearly 21 percent of all school administrators in Roanoke - including principals, assistant principals and central staff - are black.
Nationally, 34 percent of students are black or some other minority, but only 10 percent of teachers are minorities, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Roanoke school officials say they face stiff competition from other school systems, including some urban localities that pay higher salaries, for the limited pool of minority teachers and administrators. They hope the city's plan to raise teachers' salaries to the national average by 1998-99 will help it compete better.
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