Stories tagged: students of color
Black and Latino boys disrespected, task force finds
Dale Mezzacappa Posted in September 2010 NEWSFLASH | Permalink
Calling the dropout rate of African American and Latino males in Philadelphia “an alarming crisis,” a School Reform Commission task force on the issue is recommending amending the zero-tolerance discipline policy and overhauling classroom approaches that leave most of these students disaffected and disengaged.
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In case you missed it: Test scores, job markets, and cutting the numbers
Submitted by Jamie Raver on Fri, 07/02/2010 - 12:39 Posted in In case you missed it | Permalink
Lawmaker wants to shift some 'Race to the Top' funds to prevent teacher layoffs Washington Post
Democrats disagree over federal funding for schools - should priority go to maintaining jobs for teachers or favoring schools with better performance? Although a law is a long way from going in to effect, the Race to the Top initiative may face large budget cuts.
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¿Se fue porque quiso? No, lo forzaron
por Wendy Harris Posted in 2010 Edition | Permalink
Como muchos estudiantes de 9no grado, Tiffany Burgos estaba entusiasmada al entrar a la Escuela Superior Kensington de Comercio, Finanzas y Empresarial. Esperaba con gusto sus clases, apreciaba la oportunidad de estudiar materias nuevas, y quería comenzar el proceso de preparación para la universidad.
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Dropped out? No, pushed out
by Wendy Harris Posted in April 2010 Edition | Permalink
Like many 9th graders, Tiffany Burgos was excited when she entered Kensington High School for Business, Finance, and Entrepreneurship. She looked forward to her classes, relished the opportunity to study new subjects, and wanted to start the process of preparing for college.
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Esos vatos locos forever! And school racial violence, Somali pirates
Submitted by Gustavo Martínez on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 13:26 Posted in Social justice in education | Permalink
I'm supposing none of y'all know what the title to this post means. I'll put it this way: that's proper Chicano English, a southwestern US of A dialect of Spanglish, for "aw yeah, crazy dudes!"
Down there, by our own Berlin Wall, we live in español, but go to school in Spanglish, which goes to show how unsuccessful Operation Wetback was.
What worries me is that still, today, there are people who think that English is the only language that should be spoken in this land. But I take relief when amigos gabachos stand in defense of the many tongues spelling out life in the today's United States. So, gracias to attorney and blogger Len Rieser for his post in response to a Christopher Paslay's op-ed piece that appeared in The Inquirer earlier this week.
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Something that can be said for districts
Submitted by Len Rieser on Thu, 02/11/2010 - 13:09 Posted in Education law corner | Permalink
To the blizzard (oh, just a word that came to mind) of questions being asked on these pages about the Renaissance School plan, I’d like to add a legal worry. It has to do with the enthusiasm for spinning schools off to become charters or “contract” schools, operated by private managers.
One can say lots of justifiably critical things about school districts, and about this one in particular. But to those who believe the response to failures by this (or any) school district should be to remove schools from its control, I suggest some caution.
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You bring out the Latin-Caribbean in me...
by Samuel Reed III Posted in February 2010 Edition | Permalink
Why should I teach a predominantly African American class about Latin-Caribbean culture?
My school, like many schools in Philadelphia, is racially isolated. Consequently, tensions exist regarding meeting the School District’s expectation of promoting multicultural studies.
Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic group in the greater Philadelphia area, with over 129,000 in the city. Puerto Ricans are the largest Latino group with an estimated 91,527 residents. Latino students represent close to 17 percent of the total School District population.
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Tepid response to attacks against Asians is nothing new
by Gustavo Martínez Contreras Posted in February 2010 Edition | Permalink
In 1981, two stabbings and a series of brawls between African American and Asian students disrupted school life at University City High School.
Two years later, a Vietnamese student named Do Manh spent a month in traction after a pair of attacks at University City left him with a broken neck and a Laotian girl needing stitches in her lip.
Then, as now, in the aftermath of attacks on Asian students at South Philadelphia High, District officials were slow to recognize the problem as ethnic violence and take action. Only after community outcry did they move to respond.
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Blame won’t help boys who act out
Posted in Fall 2009 Edition | Permalink
To the editors:
Reading “A national trend: Black and Latino boys predominate in emotional support classes,” in the Winter 2008 edition, truly impressed me – especially the work of an intern (Sylvia Morse), while a senior in college.
That being said, let’s turn to the rest of the story, of failure on the part of the District to serve African American and Latino boys.
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Valuing diversity is the key to learning
Ernst Ford Posted in Summer 2009 Edition | Permalink
To the editors:
I service the School District’s public and charter school students through a school bus company. My job is to pick up and drop off students and make sure they’re on time. Some students are well behaved and others are difficult to deal with. It is not an easy task, but I am glad to be of service to our children.
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Black and Latino boys disrespected, task force finds
by Dale Mezzacappa
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