Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

What is going on with the schools and this diveristy thing?

Dispatch Report Part 1

PICKERINGTON SCHOOLS


Minority parents petition board



Inequality in discipline tops list of grievances


By Charlie Roduta THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




Fueled by years of frustration, a parents group in Pickerington is calling for immediate action over what it says is mistreatment of black students.
The African-American United Parents of Pickerington told board members at last night?’s meeting that black students face uneven discipline within the district and are treated unfairly.
''Our children can no longer stand one more day of this inequitable treatment,'' said Karen Hairston, vice president of the group.
The group?’s requests include:

?• An increase in the number of black staff members, to reflect the district?’s 15 percent black student population. More than 4 percent of the district?’s staff members are black, Superintendent Bob Thiede said.

?• A policy on extracurricular activities that ensures equal treatment for all parents and students.

?• An equitable discipline policy that includes the creation of a discipline review board and holds staff members accountable for inequitable actions.
Parents have been meeting with Thiede and other district officials for 18 months over the treatment of black students, focusing on discipline; team and sports club assignments; and parents not being allowed at some team practices.
Duane Gosa, the group?’s president, said these issues have been brewing since the 1980s. Parents have brought up anecdotal situations for years and now have state data to prove their concerns, he said.
Data from the Ohio Department of Education show, for example, that for every 100 disciplinary actions at Pickerington Central High School last year, black students were disciplined three times more than whites, even though only 20 percent of the school was black.
And for every 100 disciplinary actions at Lakeview Junior High School, there were seven times more actions taken against black students compared with whites, even though 12 percent of the school was black.
With nearly 10,000 students and the number of different discipline issues, Thiede said the district tries ''to be as fair as possible with discipline.''
He noted some of the positive numbers in the district, such as black students having one of the highest graduation rates in the district, with 98.5 percent of blacks graduating in the 2004-05 school year. Whites had a graduation rate of 98.1 percent in the district.
Noel Williams, president of the Columbus branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has been peppered with calls from parents for the past three months, but has not received a formal complaint.
''Some of the concerns we?’ve gotten have been about minority and African-American students and how they may be treated in the system,'' she said.
Parents also called about the impact of split sessions on their children, Williams said.
In July 2005, Williams said the three-tiered staggered schedule at Groveport Madison High School was sorting children unfairly. Williams said the third session at the high school had the most minority students and had a higher incidence of discipline problems than the two earlier schedules.

Dispatch Report Part 2

Of the split-session schedules the Pickerington school board has reviewed, none features a triple split.
Still, Williams said she will be monitoring the situation at Pickerington and plans to attend meetings to observe how the district is responding to the concerns.
Board member Wes Monhollen told the group a way to address the issue might be to join the school board.
''If you look at this board, it?’s all white,'' he said. ''If you look at the people who ran for the school board, it was all white.''
But Gosa argues that shouldn?’t matter.
''If there is a problem with the district, you can?’t blame it on the color of the board,'' he said.
The group has asked the board to confirm its willingness to address the concerns by Monday and is requesting that board members start implementing such a plan by January.
If the board does not respond by then, Gosa said the group will meet again to talk about what action to take.
He would not say what the plan is, but said ''it?’s something that?’s going to affect them emotionally and financially.''
croduta@dispatch.com

Athletic Teams too?

While the district makes it's teaching staff 15.4% black to match the % of black students - maybe they should consider also making the athletic teams match the same percentage. After all we need to be equitable.

Does anyone know what % of Education Graduates are black? Or educators with Principal certificates? Seems to me that would dictate what's available - not the enrollment of black students.

By Average Joe