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The question of whether recruiting a more diverse staff,administration and faculty will improve educational performance andreduce racism is one of the key points in Rome s rebuttal of thestrategic plan. He argued that hiring teachers of color haslittle, if any, correlation to student performance. Instead, he wrote, the district should focus on improving theeconomic situation of lower socio-economic families and educatingthem about the link between academic success and their future. Understanding achievement gaps Why do students of color tend to lag behind others in academicachievement? One argument has been that the root of the problem issocioeconomic status. But Diversity Now notes that students frompoor families may be white or black, new Americans or nativeEnglish speakers, boys or girls. A largely unrecognized factor may be stereotype threat, aphenomenon identified by former Columbia University Provost ClaudeSteele. The idea, explains the report, is that when a group isnegatively stereotyped they are likely to become anxious abouttheir performance, which will hinder their ability to perform attheir maximum level. In other words, the underlying problem maybe the local climate rather than student ability. In any case, gaps in achievement due to economic status may not beinevitable. Diversity Now suggests that professionals from schoolsystems that have succeeded in narrowing such gaps should beinvited to a summit in Burlington where best practices can beexplored. Local students who are recent immigrants to the United Statesquestion their segregation into English-as-a-second-languageclasses and argue that they should not be judged based on NewEngland Common Assessment Program (NECAP) scores, a mandatorystandardized test. Internal segregation, through tracking and in ELL classes, perpetuates stereotypes that have made our schools a hostileenvironment, undermining achievement, according the Diversity NowSteering Committee. In a statement read during a protest outside the high school,16-year old Jacques Okuka explained, Coming to America is hardenough! Sometimes a week later we were given a test to take in alanguage that we can t understand. Low scores also lead to racist jokes by white students, he added. Another sign of discrimination identified by the students isunequal application of discipline. Abukar recounted an incident inwhich, after a student used the N-word and she responded bycalling her attacker white trash, she was suspended for threedays. Statistical evidence backs up her contention that disciplinepolicies may reflect a form of discrimination. In a 2011 report on Ethnic Differences in Academics and Disciplinary Actions Diversity Now noted that although minority students are 27 percentof the student body in Burlington, they represent 34 percent ofthose receiving in-school and 60 percent of those getting out-ofschool suspensions. Nationally, black boys are three times morelikely to be suspended than white boys. The disparity is evenlarger for black girls. I don't see the big steps they (school leaders) are takingright now, Abukar concluded. We've been talking about itfor days, weeks, even months now and no progress has shown up. Time for Transformation In 1997, one of the 36 panelists who offered views and experiencesabout harassment to the Vermont Advisory Committee was AyanaAl-Faruk, who had four sons in Burlington schools at the time.After recounting incidents in which racist taunts were hurled ather children she concluded, The Burlington school system andVermont generally likes to pride itself on being liberal andprogressive. Being progressive, however, does not mean beinganti-racist? Fifteen years on, the city has become considerably more diverse.More than 60 languages are spoken by local families, additionalevidence that a racial and ethnic tipping point has beenreached. But critics of the school system claim that many of theproblems identified in the 1990s persist a culture of denial, ahostile learning environment, hate speech, unequally applieddiscipline, and what the 1999 harassment report called a generalinsensitively to minority student safety concerns. The main difference today is that students, as well as adults, areprepared to speak up, protest and demand change. Burlington hasreportedly taken more concrete steps than most other Vermont schooldistricts but not fast enough, according to those who havevoiced their concerns and sentiments to the board. District staff haven t done nearly enough, charged UVM studentDavid Buckingham. Instead, the students have been told theirdemands are not valid and that their protests have been provokedby outside agitators. He read a list of petition demandsincluding integrating English-language learners into the rest ofthe school population, recruiting more minority faculty andcounselors, adding black history to the curriculum, hiring anoutside evaluator to assess student satisfaction, and replacing thelocal leadership. We ve had enough time, said Progressive Counselor VinceBrennan, who chaired the task force that produced the strategicplan and more recently called for Collins replacement. It stime for transformation, he said. Robert Appel, executive director of the State Human RightsCommission, also attended, and said that he and other members ofthe commission are following the situation with great concern and promise, particularly since Burlington is the largest, mostdiverse district in the state. Appel argued that the problem is notprimarily a matter of administrative leadership but rather truecommunication. People seem to be talking by each other instead ofwith each other at this point, he said. Others were less conciliatory, however, calling the schooldistrict s leadership an abject failure and warning that,unless things change dramatically and soon, the situation could implode. It s shameful that we re having this discussion today, remarked Dr. Ken Palm, a black parent. I feel frustrated andangry that the children of color in this school district attendschool every single day in a hostile environment without protectionand without advocates. Although he enjoys living in Vermont, Palm said he would doeverything I can to keep my grandchildren from going to school inthis district. The problem, he added, is that whiteadministrators often don t see students of color as theirchildren, or even as human beings. In such cases, the honorablething to do is to step down. Burlington Rabbi Joshua Chasan agreed that bold actions will berequired. We need to be working together, he counseled, responding to the new racial and class realities. Yet he foundthe tone of some comments on Tuesday, particularly angry calls forSuperintendent Collins removal, a bit troubling. I thought there was a no bullying policy in this building, therabbi concluded, and I ve heard a lot of bullying tonight. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Multifunction Beauty Equipment Manufacturer , IPL Beauty Equipment for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Diode Laser Hair Removal.
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