TX principal set up "all white" classes to stop white flight

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/111806dnmetprestonhollow.31e7a33.html

For years, it was an open secret at North Dallas' Preston Hollow Elementary School: Even though the school was overwhelmingly Hispanic and black, white parents could get their children into all-white classes. And once placed, the students would have little interaction with the rest of the students.

The result, a federal judge has ruled, was that principal Teresa Parker "was, in effect, operating, at taxpayer's expense, a private school for Anglo children within a public school that was predominantly
minority"

Judge Sam Lindsay's opinion paints an unflattering picture of the elementary school and a principal who was so desperate to appease the school's affluent white parents that she turned back the clock on school desegregation 50 years

<snip>

Parker also asked members of her staff to sign confidentiality agreements about how students were assigned to their classes, and paperwork detailing the classroom assignments was destroyed under mysterious circumstances, according to the judge's ruling.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

1. Must. Not. Geographically. Stereotype. Must! Not! MUST! NNNOOOOTTTT

GAAAAgggaAAAAArrrrgh

I think I burst a vein here.

[matcom]

2. are you assuming this probably doesn't happen in Boston?

:D

:hide:

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. It doesn't happen in the district where I work

[zanne]

4. I think it's less likely to happen in Boston.

Sorry if I'm geographically stereotyping, but that's life.

[Vorta]

10. Disparate impact.

If we are to endorse disparate impact, then we need to take a good and honest look at the schools.

Whether you draw neighborhood school districts which segregate the schools ecnomically and likely by race (in some or many cases), or whether you make the assigned school an unacceptable choice for parents who have the means or the ability to sacrifice to send their kids to private school, the net result will be the same. You will have schools which are segregated by economics and/or race.

The legitimate point of desegregation, if we are to trust that the judges were not being deceptive in their opinion, was to ensure that the schools would be equally funded, staffed, and equipt. Not only are the schools now equally funded, most school systems spend considerably more per student in black and/or poor majority schools.

Around here, black families are calling for an end to bussing along with the white families. People are tired of their kids going off to schools that are out of sight and out of reach. They feel that they will be better able to participate in a neighborhood school. Some of the school critics in the poor black community (we have a large middle class black community as well) are actually calling for "black children being raised and taught by black people". Now we would hear screams if a white person or group demanded that at a board meeting, but we know what they mean, do we not?

[EvilAL]

45. Ya

they are trying get away from all the white kids that think they are black.
:D

[blogslut]

60. Where were you in 1975?

"June
Judge Arthur Garrity issues an elaborate plan to desegregate Boston's public schools, ordering the busing of 21,000 students. In response, race riots erupt in high schools in Hyde Park, Roxbury, and South Boston. Governor Francis Sargent calls in the National Guard and appeals to President Ford to send federal troops to quell the disturbances.

The violence in Boston represents the height of national tension over busing. Also in the early 1970s, dynamite explosions in Denver destroy over one-third of the city's buses; a mob in Lamar, South Carolina attacks school buses carrying children; protesters in Pontiac, Michigan boycott the schools and firebomb buses; and in Trenton, New Jersey, race riots by students and others force the schools to close for two days.

In the same month that Boston erupts in race riots, the public swimming pools in Jackson, Mississippi are finally integrated."

link: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/jbalkin/brown/1975.html

[foo_bar]

90. yeah, Boston isn't a great counterexample

It's been almost 30 years since buses of black students were pelted with rocks and tomatoes in South Boston. More than a decade has lapsed since Charles Stuart shot his wife in Mission Hill and sparked a veritable witch hunt for a black killer who never existed.

Is Boston, America's third-whitest major metropolitan area, as racist as it once was? Can a city that embraces its history firmly and fondly shed its reputation? Is this city of neighborhoods in fact a city of segregated ethnic enclaves?

http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/11.07/09-racism.html

As far as Boston progressed in terms of neighborhood integration, pockets of residential segregation still exist. The most segregated black and white neighborhoods in Boston, according to the 2000 Census, are: South Boston and Back Bay/Beacon Hill (both 85 percent white) and Mattapan (79 percent black). A positive note: in 1980, South Boston was 99 percent white, Back Bay/Beacon Hill was 90 percent white, and Mattapan was 79 percent black, so these neighborhoods have all experienced slight integration.

http://www.curp.neu.edu/staging/sitearchive/spotlight.asp?id=1430

Senator Edward Kennedy, once a favorite son of the city's Irish community, is threatened by a mob during a demonstration at the federal building. In September, buses carrying black students are met by white crowds in South Boston, yelling slurs and threatening violence. White parents stage a boycott, pulling their children from the schools. The violence persists inside and outside the schools, and white resistance continues for years.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/21_boston.html

There were a number of protest incidents that turned violent. In one case, a black attorney named Theodore Landsmark was attacked by a group of white teenagers as he exited Boston City Hall. One of the youths, Joseph Rakes, attacked Landsmark with an American flag, using the flagpole as a lance. A photograph of the attack on Landsmark, taken by Stanley Forman for the Boston Herald-American, won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography (known at that time as Spot News Photography) in 1977.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desegregation_busing

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Sounds Distinctly Red State-ish

Here in Mass we typically do wacky crap, like trying to ban Fluffernutter - or progressive stuff, like teaching 2nd graders about gay marriage.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

19. .

:spray:

So true...

[lostnotforgotten]

50. I Lived In Dallas For 7 Years - The Undertones Of Racism Are

Palatable

[readmoreoften]

81. *psst*

I think you mean *palpable* right?

[lostnotforgotten]

93. Yes - Thanks For The Correction

eom

[yurbud]

69. Difference in other parts of country: would still have white flight, but principal would expect to

lose his job for even voicing this idea.

[dsc]

5. This is certainly not a good thing for them to have done

but it appears the alternative was that the whites would flee leaving a defacto segregated school. I wonder if we will ever see the day when people won't treat different races as something to avoid.

[rocktivity]

9. When a decision is between bad and worse, ALWAYS CHOOSE BAD.

The whites will stay as long as they don't have to interact with non-whites? Then what's the point? Integrate the classes and LET them leave.

:headbang:
rocknation

[dsc]

46. I'm not disagreeing

I just can see the other point of view too. These people surely did wrong, but I think they might have been trying to do right.

[rucky]

20. Let 'em leave.

as long as their taxes go to support the kids who want to be there.

[dsc]

47. Most states allow direct voting on school taxes

I have no clue of Texas does though.

[rucky]

49. It wouldn't make a bit of difference.

The same parents who would pull this shit are the same types who never approve taxes - even to their own detriment.

I just had this conversation last night with a neighbor of mine who has SIX kids in the public school system, and started complaining about the 1 1/2% tax that just got approved for the schools. I asked him what he'd do if the schools started going to shit - he said send them to private. Then we did the math on sending six kids to private school and he shut up real quick.

[chimpymustgo]

7. Damn...that's criminal. Racism is some sick sh*t.

I'm glad somebody sued. Teresa Parker is a racist tool...higher ups should also be held responsible.

[booksenkatz]

56. The higher ups have let Ms. Parker keep her job

I agree, they should clean house, top to bottom. Even the superintendent ignored a letter someone had written to him about this previously.

I am from that area of Texas, this news doesn't surprise me one bit. I know this garbage happens everywhere to some degree, but man, down there it's just so... sanctioned by authority. Everything is steeped in it, you taste it in your mouth, you can smell it in your clothes. It's hard to describe to someone who didn't grow up surrounded by it. I'm so happy to be living in the blue part of a swing state now! It's just easier to raise a child here -- my little boy has friends of every shade and ethnic background, not one of them cares, it's the way it should be. God, when will people grow up?

[Ms. Clio]

65. Then the higherups are gonna pay through the nose

The Latino population in Dallas County is large and feisty -- remember the huge rally here against the immigration bill, one of the largest in the country? Dallas County voters just threw out virtually every Repub judge -- it caused so much shock that the entire court system virtually shut down the following day. This county voted for the Dem candidate for governor by a substantial margin. My biggest worry is that the Anglo elites will be doing their usual divide and conquer stuff, playing the Latinos and African Americans off against each other as they have for decades, now.

[originalpckelly]

8. What's wrong with these parents?

They want their children to go to an all-white school? That is sick. Of course it still happens everywhere in America.

Even here in Denver, they have "magnet" programs which cost extra money on top of the school's budget, and their parents have to pay it for the students to get into the magnet program. They do have scholarships, but most poor minority children cannot be enrolled or the scholarship program would go bankrupt.

It's quite surprising to walk into one of these schools and see how one class is predominately white and the other is predominately black/Hispanic.

[Vorta]

16. They want their kids to be safe and educated

Can we please stop calling people names and stick to the issues?

My parents didn't "white flight" in 1970 because they hated black people. They packed us up and left our community because it became unsafe to live and play in, and because the school became unsafe and unproductive. For a year and a half they did all the human relations meetings and other efforts by the white parents committed to staying in the community as well as the similarly committed black parents. It didn't work. Not only did we end up moving, so did many of the black families who were trying to make it work. They didn't want their kids' education ruined either.

Desegregation was the right thing to do, but it was done very badly. Well intentioned people wanted to throw a switch and make everybody live happily together. It didn't work that way and it doesn't work that way. To my knowledge, no one in Prince George's County Maryland was happy with how desegregation was handled or its results.

[originalpckelly]

48. In your opinion who was committing the crimes?(nt)

[Vorta]

52. criminals

[girl gone mad]

79. Thank you.

There is a lot of judgment going on in this thread as well as a few incredibly ridiculous blanket statement about this region.

My sister in law went to Preston Hollow. Just last Thanksgiving she told her mom that the entire 6 years she was there she went to the bathroom just twice because it was unsafe. This is not a racist family, they are all extremely liberal as are many of their neighbors.

I am not excusing the behavior of the principal or the superintendent. I know for certain I would not want my child to go to a an elementary school where the threat of physical violence was constant and drugs and alcohol were prevalent.

[Infinite Hope]

85. Your sister's subjective fear does not make it objective...

I worked in a congressional office in Dallas and that is one of the lowest risk areas in the area.

Further, it's an ELEMENTARY school.

[knowledgeispwr]

84. Safety probably not an issue here

According to the article, Preston Hollow's attendance district contains affluent white families and mostly middle class minority families. Now I do not know the district personally, but if that economic assessment is correct, it is unlikely that crime and safety were issues in this case.

[Infinite Hope]

87. Your point is irrelevant...

You're talking about the people "voting with their feet" and leaving a particular school whereas this story is about systematic segregation of a school from the top.

Put simply, the difference is choosing to leave by free will and forced segregation.

[Infinite Hope]

88. The bigger story here...

is that a Superintendent was told of the issue, the Principal enforced it with the help of teachers and parents, and the school district lawyers are campaigning on "Separate But Equal." None involved should be allowed to keep their jobs after intentionally and knowingly disobeying the Supreme Court, the Supreme Law of the Land, especially when paid by taxpayers. Further, the lawyers are actively seeking to overturn Brown vs. Board of Education by arguing the "Separate But Equal" doctrine. Had the judge been a wingnut and the argument accepted, Brown vs. Board would have been effectively overturned pending appeal. This is the story so far going untold.

Edit: This was supposed to go at the end of the comments, but I accidently clicked "reply" on my comment.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

35. Maybe they've incorporated codespeak in their psyches.

You know, I'm not a racist, but I'm worried about the safety of my kids. There's too many darkies criminals in that school.

Edit: I SWEAR to all that's holy that I wrote this BEFORE reading #16! Honest!

[Vorta]

89. Oh I agree that it's code, intentional or otherwise

But it is the situation, and it means the same thing when black people say it as it does when white people say it. "Good schools" and "safe neighborhood" means pretty mcuh the same thing wherever you are in this country. If you know of a place where that means 90% black, let me know so I can stop thinking that these are codespeak for racism.

[AbbyR]

74. Pay for magnet schools?

We are about to start them in our school district, and the kids (and parents) get to choose - there is no extra fee. How odd.

[blogslut]

11. Hey! Lookie here!

"The family moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1988, and Mrs. Bush served as a member of the Friends of Dallas Public Library Board and Executive Committee and a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) volunteer and library liaison at Preston Hollow Elementary School, where her children attended school. She also served as a member of the Community Partners Board of Child Protective Services (or CPS, a division of the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, which advocates for children)."

Linkie here: http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/usflag/presidents/lb43.html

And here too!

"During her years raising her children, Laura Bush served as a volunteer in a number of organizations, including Friends of the Midland Public Library, the executive board of the Junior League of Midland, the Friends of Dallas Public Library Board Executive Committee, the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) at Preston Hollow Elementary School, and the Community Partners Board of Child Protective Services."

Linky dinky: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Bush

So, basically, this is Barb and Jenna's old school. Fancy that!

[blogslut]

17. Read #11

I think ya'll will find it fascinating. :)

[tammywammy]

27. The principal that started this "neighborhood classes" got to the school in 2001

I'm not going to bash Laura Bush over something that happened well after she no longer had any contact with this school

[blogslut]

28. Who said anything about bashing?

I just think it would be interesting to hear Mrs. Bush's opinion of the ruling concerning a school where she used to be a member of the PTA.

[tammywammy]

30. Didn't mean to imply you were bashing

I've noticed whenever her name appears it's usually followed by bashing (not that it's not always deserved).

[RandiFan1290]

33. The PTA was involved in this too.

from the article:

Judge Lindsay also criticized Meg Bittner, the school's PTA president, who wanted to lure more affluent white families out of private schools and back to Preston Hollow.

More white families would result in a healthier PTA, she testified, bigger fundraisers and, ultimately, more money for the school. The best way to lure back white families, teachers and others testified, was to put white children together in the same classrooms.

...

To aid in the recruitment of more affluent whites, the school's PTA created a brochure for parents that featured almost all white students. Hispanic parents had shown up at the school the day photos were being taken for the brochure, but the principal blocked their entry into the classroom where the photos were being taken, the judge's ruling states.

Additionally, the PTA, in conjunction with the school, held separate open houses and kindergarten recruitments for white parents. And when PTA members gave prospective parents tours of the school, they were never taken down the "Hispanic halls" where the minority classes were housed, teachers testified.

[Ms. Clio]

44. The "Hispanic halls" ???

My god, I hope this turns into a huge expensive disaster for these racists. This could really turn into a huge damn stink here in the Metroplex. My god, it's like a fucking time warp.

[Ms. Clio]

34. Amazing information -- George and Laura Bush are segregationists

just like the "Minority Whip" (!) Trent Lott and his idol Strom Thurmond.

Not an iota of difference.

[hsher]

58. Damn you are one hell of a detective!

Now THERE is a story Dems need to jump on. Last nail in *'s coffin.

May I credit your work on the Morning Leibowitz? It's a weekly (sometimes daily) comic strip based on The Daily Show that I run on my blog. There's rumors Jon Stewart's staff is starting to read it and Jon himself is becoming a regular visitor (my hit count has certainly spiked the last few weeks for some reason). I think Cartoon Jon needs to speak your words in comic form this evening. Have I your permission?

The site is here:

http://www.yourmorningleibowitz.blogspot.com

I'll PM you too, in case you don't see this in Your DU.

-Heather

[blogslut]

62. anonymously please

My nickname doesn't go over well with the family set.

[hsher]

63. Understood

Okey-dokey, chief. Will do.
:patriot:

Thank you for giving me permission. This was a hot find, and it deserves and will get more attention.

[never cry wolf]

73. I seriously doubt the twins went to a PUBLIC school

Could you imagine their shame down at the club and at family gatherings? Of course they were only 6 or 7 at the time so maybe public school was deemed good enough and they were shipped off to private schools a bit later.

[blogslut]

78. According to this biography, they did

http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/usflag/presidents/lb43.html

"The family moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1988, and Mrs. Bush served as a member of the Friends of Dallas Public Library Board and Executive Committee and a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) volunteer and library liaison at Preston Hollow Elementary School, where her children attended school. She also served as a member of the Community Partners Board of Child Protective Services (or CPS, a division of the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, which advocates for children)."

As well as this Washington Post story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A39160-2001Mar21?language=printer

"Her command of educational issues is considerable, from her decade in the classroom and library, her stint as PTA mother of twin girls in public school, and her six years as a Texas first lady pushing for school reform."

Now, I was nenver a member of the PTA but I do beleive one must have a child in public school in order to become a member. Plus, I believe one must assign onself to the particular school that one's children attend.

I cannot say how long the girls attended the school but Pickles was indeed on the PTA for Preston Hollow at one time.

[never cry wolf]

83. I stand corrected

I missed that bit in the Wapo story. I'll still wager they didn't spend long in publis schools.

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

12. Funny, we had a neighborhood school that was

predominantly black in the heart of a very affluent white, Jewish community. The local residents pulled their kids and sent them to private schools.

Then a new Superintendent came in and shook things up. He took one of the top Principals in the district and put him in this school. The Principal grew up in the neighborhood so many of the parents knew him. Thos who didn't know him personally knew his reputation. So did the teachers, and they all wanted to work for him.

The reuslt is we have an excellent Principal, excellent teachers, improving student performance, increased parental participation, and an influx of re-enrolled students from private schools back into the public school.

There are ways to affect racial balance and harmony other than caving to racism.

DBDB

[treestar]

13. What's sad about this is the kids themselves don't care

Little kids are non-racist beings. It's their parents that start it into their heads.

[pitohui]

23. little kids hate anyone not exactly like themselves

when i was small i was in a grammar school that was about 99 percent white and i was white, however, having a genetic defect that affected my appearance was enough to make me an object of scorn and hate

don't romanticize little kids, kids are conservative and hate anyone who looks different and will abuse them unmercifully unless/until taught to behave better

anyone who thinks different obviously looked like one of the crowd and has no idea whereof they speak -- either that, or like some 80 percent of the population, they don't even remember the single digit ages

[rucky]

31. Somewhere in between these two opinions is the truth.

I'm an elementary school teacher. I've seen it all - good & bad. Some of the worst racism I've witnessed was between light-skinned and dark-skinned blacks. On the other hand, some kids at that age really do get the "golden rule" concept of treating people with respect. Most of the kids have "teachable" moments where they don't realize they're treating someone badly, until you point it out to them (before the other kid retaliates in a way that reinforces their original thinking/feelings).

[951-Riverside]

14. They should go back to Germany! n/t

:MAD:

[Toots]

15. Any bets on whether this principle is a Republican or Democrat?

"Destroyed under mysterious circumstances".....

[Zodiak]

18. This happened in my hometown in Texas

the elementary schools and junior highs set up a pilot honors program called LEAD. I participated in this program for 4 years, and only saw 2 african-americans and zero hispanics in the classes. The african-american people were only there for a single year each. the overwhelming majority of the white students were from rich neighborhoods (and frankly, weren't all that smart).

It was patronage for rich kids with a smattering of actual smart kids to make the program look legitimate. Of course, the racially-biased standardized tests were used as the sole criterion for entry into the program (rather than grades, etc.).

In high school, this carried over into the honors classes. All white, mostly rich and upper-middle class kids with a 20-30% population of actual smart kids (all white, of course). Mind you...we all were segregated from the rest of the school for four years in LEAD and had most of our classes with the same kids.

Was it legalized segregation? You bet your ass.

I was too young to even question it, and I received a good formative education as a result.

[blogslut]

21. kick

for post #11 ;)

[No Exit]

22. Ms. Parker, wouldn't finding another career have been simpler than

all this elaborate deception, deception, deception?

Sheesh! A perfect illustration of "oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Ms. Parker, just ask the neocons! A lie becomes harder and harder to maintain... it's not worth the effort.

And I'm sure that part of these "white only" students' curriculum included the occasional offer of a class "enrichment" trip--perhaps to someplace like Puerto Rico or Mexico. So that they could "experience different cultures", you know...:crazy: The irony is so thick you could cut it with a knife...

[clu]

24. haha nice

i live in dallas and i haven't heard about this. looks like i missed a few issues of the observer.

[blogslut]

26. The Observer is all over it

http://www.dallasobserver.com/blogs/?p=1774

[blogslut]

25. Preston Hollow = Barb n' Jenna's Old School

Doesn't anybody else find that interesting?

[Minnesota_Lib]

29. Very...I wonder how long this policy has been in place

[tammywammy]

32. This principal got to the school in 2001

http://www.dallasobserver.com/blogs/?p=1774#more-1774

So it's implied that that's when it started. From the various news articles, none mention any previous principals.

[Minnesota_Lib]

38. That would be my assumption as well....but she could have been continuing a policy that pre-dated...

...her tenure. If I had to guess based on the article, I'd say she probably started it. But since Laura Bush was a member of the Preston Hollow PTA (I assume when the girls attended), it would be interesting to know for sure. :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Bush

During her years raising her children, Laura Bush served as a volunteer in a number of organizations, including Friends of the Midland Public Library, the executive board of the Junior League of Midland, the Friends of Dallas Public Library Board Executive Committee, the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) at Preston Hollow Elementary School, and the Community Partners Board of Child Protective Services. <3>

[blogslut]

36. Thank you

As was stated, the twins n Laura were @ Preston Hollow before this principle became principle. Just the same, one of the credits in Mrs. Bush's biography was her involvement with the PTA of that school.

As was reported in the DMN story, the current PTA president was also reprimanded by the Judge:

PTA chief criticized

Judge Lindsay also criticized Meg Bittner, the school's PTA president, who wanted to lure more affluent white families out of private schools and back to Preston Hollow.

More white families would result in a healthier PTA, she testified, bigger fundraisers and, ultimately, more money for the school. The best way to lure back white families, teachers and others testified, was to put white children together in the same classrooms...

I think asking the First Lady her opinion of this case is a valid question for the media.

[Ms. Clio]

40. I would not be surprised if this policy predated this particular principal

[rainbow4321]

77. Hispanic kids not allowed to transfer out of ESL after mastering English

From a webpage that evaluates schools around the country. Knowing what we knw now, reading these parental comments have me translating some of them to be "yeah, there are non-whites there but don't worry, your white kids won't be around them".

http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/parents/tx/1882?currpage=1&nextpage=&sortval=

"Great leadership in the Principal and staff. Excellent educators. Bionic PTA. Ethnic diversity. Creative programs."

"The academic excellence is somewhat obscured by overall test scores but evident when one examines the demographic subgroups separately. Interacting with a diverse student population has considerably enhanced the maturation of our children's social skills"

"The posted demographics should not scare-off neighborhood families,..."
--------------
And the school demographic stats:

http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/tx/other/1882

Hispanic 65%
Black 17%
White 16%
Asian/Pacific Islander 2%

------------------

Bilingual student placed in Spanish speaking class..and those that test out were NOT allowed to transfer to the English speaking taught classes:


http://latinalista.blogspot.com/2006/04/english-speaking-latino-students.html
The school that is comprised of about 600 students has 18 percent white students, 66 percent Latino and 14 percent black. A lawyer with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund said that white students form a majority in the mainstream general education classes. Bilingual students are still placed in ESL classes and children that test out are not permitted to transfer to mainstream classes.

One Latina mother says her English-speaking kindergarten-age child has been placed in an ESL class where she is taught only in Spanish.

I worry about the education for her. Right now, they teach her in Spanish. She doesn't need Spanish. She needs English, English, English because that is the language for school.

---------
Ahem..anyone know how to update the Wiki page about the school to include the segregation lawsuit?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_Hollow

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, presidential candidate billionaire Ross Perot, current city mayor Laura Miller and her husband, retired Texas legislator Steven Wolens, live in this neighborhood. Before his term as the Governor of Texas, George Bush and his family also resided in Preston Hollow. Houses in Preston Hollow have continued to increase in value in recent years. Currently houses range from US$200,000 to over $9,000,000.

-------------

[tammywammy]

54. I read the courts opinion

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/11-06/1118phopinion.pdf

Starting on page 27

Assistant Pricipal Robert McElroy has been at the school for 8 years (at the time of the trial). Anywho, after reading everything, it sounds like there wasn't segregation until after Principal Parker came to the school in 2001, or that Mr. McElroy never complained about segregation until after Ms. Parker came to the school.

There's no mention in the opinion of Preston Hollow being segregated before 2001.

[Minnesota_Lib]

42. And Laura served on the Preston Hollow PTA. (snicker)

During her years raising her children, Laura Bush served as a volunteer in a number of organizations, including Friends of the Midland Public Library, the executive board of the Junior League of Midland, the Friends of Dallas Public Library Board Executive Committee, the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) at Preston Hollow Elementary School, and the Community Partners Board of Child Protective Services. <3>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Bush

[hsher]

59. YES - check your PM

[VelmaD]

37. I'm from that area so I'll go ahead and say it

The Dallas suburbs are some of the most fucked up, racist places on earth. I loathe the suburbs generally speaking and it was my early experience of the Dallas suburbs that did it. They want all the advantages that come from living near a big city but they don't want to have to pay for it in taxes and they don't want to have to be around "those" people. Fucktards. I hope someone sues the FUCK out of this school district over this.

[blogslut]

39. LOL

I lived in Farmer's Branch for a while. Hated it. Then I moved into Dallas proper. What a difference!

[rucky]

51. I went to SMU for undergrad.

and haven't returned to Texas since.

:puke:

[tammywammy]

41. Yeah, I wasn't surprised once they mentioned North Dallas

The articles say that DISD didn't know that this was going on. I hope they change their oversight so that this doesn't happen again. What a shame.

[Catherine Vincent]

43. Right on, VelmaD!

:thumbsup:

[gollygee]

53. I hope the penalty for this is severe

that is AWFUL. :(

I feel bad for the minority students who watched as all the white kids got roped off away from them in special classes.

I wonder which classes got the best computers, newest textbooks, etc.

[Vorta]

55. That's a good question. It isn't mentioned at all in the article about the suit.

I wonder which classes got the best computers, newest textbooks, etc.

What if they were absolutely equal or the white kids had the older computers and textbooks? What would be your position?

[gollygee]

57. I'd still be opposed - it's wrong regardless

but the reality of the situation is that if one group is considered special enough to warrant having special classes, they're also most likely considered special enough to warrant getting nicer stuff.

[Vorta]

64. I agree that classes shouldn't be segregated by race.

However, if community schools and tracking within a school has that effect, I think we need to learn to live with it, because what we are doing isn't working. People are voting with their feet, and we can call them racists if it makes us feel better, but I don't think that is productive.

The people voting with their feet probably don't think of themselves as racist. They are moving to "good schools" and "safe neighborhoods" in their minds. Or, they are paying for "good schools". They don't want their kids subjected to what they experienced. I certainly don't. I'll take a second job and shovel dirt to pay tuition before I would subject my little girl to what my sister and I endured. It was like being in Hell. In sixth grade I was a happy kid who loved school. By the end of seventh grade I didn't care if I never went to school again. It was dangerous. I was jumped, mugged, and tormented for being white, being gay, and being a good student. My sister was tormented, groped, and threatened with rape. These were not isolated incidents. The faculty was trying their best to make this work and they couldn't. They also couldn't protect us.

That's my experience. If yours is different, then please share it.

[gollygee]

67. I went to an ethnically diverse school and didn't have that experience

and there are schools that are all white that have problems with violence too. That's a problem with violence, not with ethnic diversity.

[danalytical]

72. Most of this has to do with poverty

You went to a mostly minority school. Unfortunately many/most(?) cities are poor now because of white flight which plunged those who remained into deeper poverty. If the roles had been reversed in some upside down universe and white was black and black was white, the situation would probably have been exactly the same for you. It's not necessarily a question of being treated the way you were treated because of going to school with mostly minorities and you being white, it has more to do with going to a school populated by poverty stricken people who are of different race. If you had gone to a school with nearly all minority children, but this school was in a more affluent area you would most likely have experienced FAR LESS bullying, and what you did experience would be easier to control with authorities.

Poverty, race, low education levels, violent neighborgoods, high rates of imprisonment in the communities, drugs, lack of support from parents, corroding cities, and all the other trappings of an abandoned city and it's people; these are to blame, not the color of the people at the school. I'm sure being different had a lot to do with what you experienced, but it's the social and economic conditions you were all in that magnified the differences.

Having said all that. There is no way in hell I would ever send my 5 yr old daughter to an inner city school around here. Not the way they are now anyways. I feel sorry for those children who have no choice and must go to these schools. It's terrible, but sending my daughter to a hostile dangerous environment wouldn't change that.

So what do you do? How do we affect real change in the city schools? Forced bussing obviously was a failure. People with money move from the city or send their kids to private schools. Leaving less money and support in the affected areas. Those left behind have no way to leave. Imagine kids being murdered at school a couple times every year, not isolated incidents, and you are going to send your most precious defenseless loved ones there every morning?

[Vorta]

86. I don't have all the answers but I have some ideas-

• Break the superintendent system which rewards people for work not done and promises not kept. No superintendent in the United States should have a contract. They should work at the pleasure of the School Board, and if they aren't satisfactory, then fire them with two weeks severance.

• Promote from within. It doesn't even make sense to use a corporate chain store mentality in hiring the superintendent.

• Stop credentializing. There is no reason why a superintendent needs to have a PHD. For some reason calling these people 'Doctor' changes their self perception and they forget that they work for the school board. For some reason the current system also produces people who aspire to politics, and use the schools as a stepping stone. We need people who are dedicated to education, not people who are dedicated to moving to higher office as soon as possible.

• Take credentialing away from the reward system. There is no reason why you need a masters or PHD to teach most public school classes. People who get these higher degrees expect higher pay, and if you do the math, it doesn't pay for itself unless you throw yourself in to the politics of climbing the ladder. We need teachers who like teaching, not teachers who are looking for a way out.

• Get good lawyers, and return to a community school system where children attend the school closest to home. It's hard enough to get good parents to come to a school in their neighborhood, it's virtually impossible to get bad parents to come to a school that they have never seen and often have no easy access to.

• Abandon "every kid to college". It was well intended, but it was a mistake, as well as being contemptuous of tradesmen and blue collar work. Not every kid wants to go to college, Not every culture supports it. We need trades people more than we need Human Resources Management assistant 1 types. The only thing "every kid to college" did was drive up the drop-out rate and make a fortune for the private trade schools.

• Reopen the vocational/technical schools. There is nothing wrong with a kid wanting to be an AC tech, plumber, carpenter, auto mechanic, beautician, dental hygienist, welder, etc.... You want diversity? How many black guys do you see going into some of these commercial trade schools? I don't see many. I don't think I have ever had a black AC tech to the house, and only one black electrician in ten years of living here. I never see a black guys driving the plumbing truck, and the last black auto mechanic I had was in San Francisco. You can't build a solid middle class on nothing but paper jobs- you need vertical and horizontal diversification. Without it, everyone is either on the top or the bottom.

• Build smaller schools. The larger schools can probably be converted in part to vo-tech schools.

• Reduce the number of administrators and their function (assume they have one). Petition legislatures or Congress for greater immunity for the public schools to stop these endless court battles.

• Don't make VO-tech schools reform schools. They may well be useful for males who are not interested in academics, but they are not for punishment or placement of boys (and now girls) who would otherwise be expelled. This contributed to the demise of Vo-tech schools. You want diversity sensitivity in the general population? Here's a good place to make sure that it's the rule.

• Get good lawyers- you can't run a school for the individual, you have to run it for the most good for the most people. There are students who cannot keep up, students who will not behave, and students who can't learn. They don't belong in a school situation where they are dragging everyone else down academically and teacher morale down so low you can't find it anymore.

• Ger good lawyers- you can't teach a single class is multiple languages. Get good teachers so that ESL students (including native born without command of the language) can and will learn to speak formal English. Conduct school in formal English.

• Break some eggs- but get everyone's hand on the whisk. Get as many of the parents as you possibly can together to accept that not everyone is going to be happy. PTA's aren't for bake sales and school plays- they are for input and supervision. IF parents are involved, then those parents who aren't involved won't have a leg to stand on when problems are resolved without them and not to their satisfaction

[danalytical]

94. Well thought out

and obviously experienced in knowing what the actual problems are. I agree with you and could add to that list; given more time. Maybe you should write that list up formally and propose it to your local state representative and/or senator. State legislature, not DC people. Maybe they would adapt your suggestion as reform legislation?

The one suggestion on your list I have an immediate follow up question to is:

"• Get good lawyers- you can't run a school for the individual, you have to run it for the most good for the most people. There are students who cannot keep up, students who will not behave, and students who can't learn. They don't belong in a school situation where they are dragging everyone else down academically and teacher morale down so low you can't find it anymore."

OK, but what do we do these kids? Grimp class in the basement (that's what they do in Newington CT). Or just kick them out? By law the public must offer education till at least the age of 16 from what I remember. So if they get kicked out of school they get a personal babysitter/teacher.

[blogslut]

61. It would still be segregation

n/t

[Ms. Clio]

66. Brown v. Board of Education

settled that question in 1954.

[Maestro]

68. As a asst. principal in a neighboring district,

how completely stupid can one be? Really, I have no more words.

[yurbud]

70. and they placed the black kids in vocational classes on picking cotton and birthing babies

[WindRavenX]

71. disgusting

Just...not words. Jesus Christ.

[SoCalDem]

75. It's all about erecting "barriers"..

While slavery was "accepted", the slaves were separated from the main house and forced to live in squalor

The slaves were "not allowed" to learn to read..Why?? because once they learned how to read and write they might find out that what was being done to them was actually a BAD thing, and their revolts could "harm" the financial status of the master

Once "freed", there was a "Now what do we do?", aspect to that freedom, so "sharecropping" came along to keep them poor and in servitude.

Jim Crow "laws" saw to it that they were still and underclass even if they did manage to educate themselves..

Brown v Board, made the states integrate, but there were always ways to see to it that "their schools" were always substandard, and of course real estate red-lining "helped" to keep some neighborhoods lily-white..

Affirmative Action drove the whole process behind closed doors, but never really solved the issue. There are always ways to discriminate, and people who think that way will always find ways to get around laws if they think they are doing it for the "right" reasons.

The language may change, but the ideas are 400 years old... or older..

[tinfoil tiaras]

76. My school is just a bundle of multicultural fun

-a very odd thing for the part of the country. and a very odd thing for a private school too....

[Jed Dilligan]

80. My middle school in upstate NY was like this

Segregated professional (white and a few Asians), townie (white trash), and black. They were called "tracks" (something like remedial, regular, and "enriched") and occupied different wings of the school.

[Vorta]

91. Getting rid of tracking was well intended, but nearly fatal

Tracking is older than integration, and it works for the most part. One problem is that not many people like to have their kid be in second or third track. Sometimes there was a legitimate disagreement about which track a child belonged in, and other times it was ego or disappointment driving the complaint. The real problem was that there wasn't a good system in place for making sure that personalities didn't replace good judgment. Another problem with the old tracking system was that there usually wasn't a way to work up through the tracks- once a C-group always a C-group. Some schools based tracks entirely on reading ability. First grade is not a good time to determine a child's ability level in every subject, even if it did work pretty well. SO like a lot of things, we threw the baby out with the bathwater.

[njtechguy]

82. I have an idea....

How about trying to rid our country of ignorant racists, maybe that will stop "white flight". By the way that term in itself makes me feel uneasy for some reason.

[hsher]

92. Cartoon Jon has just nailed 'em - the Leibowitz is up

For more rude illustrated Jon Stewart ruckus:

http://www.yourmorningleibowitz.blogspot.com
WE AIM TO PLEASE