THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 14, 1996 TAG: 9606140552
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 134 lines
Some African-American parents have formed a group to challenge what they believe is a disparity in the treatment of black students in the school division. And at least three of the 35 families involved have filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.
Members of the Progressive Action Committee plan to take the issue to the School Board on Tuesday. They want board members to hear and address their concerns on a variety of issues from disciplinary actions to academic opportunities in which they feel black students are not getting a fair shot.
Parent Brooke Anderson said she and others in the group feel African-American children and their families ``are being treated like second-class citizens.''
Shirley Carter, a parent in the division and head of the mass communications and journalism department at Norfolk State University, said she has talked with some of the parents and heard concerns that mirror her own based on experiences involving her daughter.
``African Americans are just as concerned as others as to the quality of education our children receive,'' she said. ``My basic concern is that sometimes educators may not be as willing to embrace diversity as they should.
``They make no distinction, they view African-American children as monolithic. We are all stereotyped.''
Some of the issues the group wants addressed include:
The number of African-American students suspended and the number attending alternative programs for at-risk students.
The accessibility of model programs, such as magnet schools, to African-American children.
The need for sensitivity training for employees.
The need to increase the number of minority educators and administrators.
Superintendent Timothy R. Jenney said Thursday he is gathering data on the racial breakdown of disciplinary action in the school system. While the division keeps records, much of the the information is not computerized or kept in a manner which can easily be compared, he said.
``I'm concerned that we don't have good data,'' said Jenney, who joined the division in February. ``We will continue to develop that so decisions can be made in a logical and rational manner to support students to be successful.
``I will look forward to working with our community to help our students.''
Board members said they would listen to the parents' concerns.
``We certainly need to hear them out,'' said Daniel J. Arris. ``And if there proves to be a problem, we need to address it.''
Board member Robert F. Hagans said he was concerned by the issues raised.
``Efforts will be made to investigate and determine if their claims are substantiated,'' he said.
Some of the incidents cited by parents involved conversations with school administrators and teachers where parents felt staff members were rude or hostile. Other cases involved minor disciplinary actions, such as detentions, which were meted out to black students but not to white students guilty of the same offenses, parents said. The nature of the events make them difficult to document, however.
Data collected on disciplinary action by race was not immediately available, making it difficult to statistically support or refute claims of disparities. However, some numbers that are available could be the basis for concern:
In 1992-93, the most recent year for which the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education has figures, African-American students in Virginia Beach were the only ethnic group statistically overrepresented in suspensions. Blacks made up 20 percent of the division's enrollment but 35 percent of those suspended.
``The others (ethnic groups) are underrepresented, if anything,'' said Sharon Tuchman, a program analyst with the Office of Civil Rights.
While African Americans make up about 22 percent of the overall enrollment, they are 54 percent of the population at the Center for Effective Learning, the division's alternative program for at-risk middle school students. Meanwhile, black students represent 8 percent of those at Kemps Landing Magnet School, which serves some of the city's gifted middle school students.
Children who are considered at-risk of failure in school are disproportionately members of minority groups primarily because of poverty, research has shown. However, many of the families who have banded together are solidly middle class, two-parent households with children who have done well academically. Uniformly, the parents said they would support the school in disciplining children if action was warranted.
However, the parents said they often felt that their input was not wanted at the schools; that they were not always notified in a timely manner of disciplinary actions involving their children; and that they and their children felt any complaint or concern lodged with some schools began a cycle of increasing punishment directed at the child.
Donna Parrish said her son's grades and discipline began to slide after transferring to Brandon Middle School in December. Parrish said she requested meetings with staff members in January because of her concerns that he was not doing well in classes. The more she went to the school to work with the staff to help her son, however, the more resistance Parrish said she met. While a couple of teachers sat down with her, others would contact her only when punishment became unavoidable.
The crowning blow, Parrish said, came when an administrator asked if the seventh-grader was being disrespectful at home so that the school could refer him to an alternative education program for students with behavioral problems.
``He's not violent. He's not disruptive. He's an immature 12-year-old,'' Parrish said.
``Black parents are stereotyped as not being interested in their child's educational experience,'' Parrish said, offering her explanation for the opposition she felt at the school. ``They have this stereotype and that's the way they want to keep it.''
While parents from several schools have taken part in two meetings held by the Progressive Action Committee so far, a concentration of them have children at Brandon Middle. Jonathan L. Harnden Sr., the school's principal, said problems at the school involve only a small number of parents among a much larger African-American enrollment. Harnden points to activities like a Black Culture Club and step team as accomplishments that show the school's commitment to diversity. He has met with leaders of the Progressive Action Committee to address their concerns, Harnden said. And he said the school's disciplinary records do not show any racial disparity.
``I feel to the fullest extent we can we're treating everyone fairly,'' Harnden said. ``These children were treated exactly the same as white children would have been treated under the same circumstances.''
``To make a federal case of it really goes beyond the bounds of common sense.''
More parents say they plan to file complaints with the Office for Civil Rights. Each complaint is investigated by a team from that office. That process can take from months to years to complete depending on the complexity of the case, according to a department of education official.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Action Committee plans to hand out information at several predominantly black churches this weekend and to seek concerns from others to take before the board.
School Board member Donald F. Bennis said that numbers alone may not reflect an accurate picture of the situation, but that if a pattern of discriminatory behavior could be shown then it must be addressed.
``If there is a perception of discrimination, then that perception needs to be addressed also,'' he added.
Board member Delceno C. Miles said she and her colleagues need to listen to the parents' concerns and investigate.
``The fact that the parents are organized shows there is legitimacy,'' she said. ``I don't think the criticisms are off-base.''
KEYWORDS: PROGRESSIVE ACTION COMMITTEE RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOLS by CNB