BLACK FORMER STUDENTS SHARE EXPERIENCES WITH SCHOOL LEADERS

Black students in Cape Girardeau public schools believe they must work harder and are treated differently than their white peers.

That was the consensus of five black former Central High School students who met with school administrators Tuesday to talk about their experiences as students.

"You have to work extra hard, harder than white students," said Chaquone Lane, 20, who described herself as a good student with relatively few problems in school. "It's something you really can't help. You just have to get over that."

Lane, Kijuana Harris, Solomon Sides, Joseph Gray and Tomorra Matthews were members of a student panel co-sponsored by the school district and the Community Leadership Group, an organization formed last year to address needs of the community, particularly in southeast Cape Girardeau.

The panel discussion was an outgrowth of the group's Teen Summit conference attended by about 100 students last April. Summit organizers contacted schools superintendent Dr. Dan Steska last month and suggested a public forum to allow school officials to hear about the issues that face black students.

"This is something where we hope we can come up with a lot to learn," said organizer Scott Porter. "We don't want this to be a Band-Aid that just gets stuck on and later comes off with nothing accomplished."

The discussion was one in a series of steps Steska said he is initiating as part of a "proactive approach to diversity training." In recent months, he has invited guest speakers to discuss diversity issues with administrators and has purchased required literature for administrators that specifically discusses improving educational experiences for minority students.

One of Tuesday's panelists said he would like to see more activities geared toward youths, for teachers to act like they care and for police to listen.

"That's what it's really about. It's not just a racist thing," said Sides, 17. He said he dropped out of school because of problems at home and "a hard head" despite a desire to complete his education.

"A lot of times a kid just needs someone to show they care about what's going on with him," he said.

Panelists said they also perceived lower expectations of achievement from teachers because they are black. Whether the expectations were based upon stereotypes or judgments from a student's academic record, the result was less class participation and academic success among black students, they said.

"I think that any white teacher expects more of white students than black students," said Lane. "I don't know about black teachers because I've never had a black teacher."

School officials said they have had little success attracting minority teachers despite advertising in publications that target black educators and attending college job fairs.

Alma Schrader principal Frank Ellis was the only black teacher three of the panelists had had.

"I'd seen black coaches but no black teachers," said Harris, 19. She said she trusted Ellis as a fifth-grader because "he was the backbone. He supported everybody and everything we did."

Dr. Peggy Placier is an assistant professor in the College of Education at the University of Missouri at Columbia and expert in multicultural education issues. Placier said in a telephone interview Tuesday that predominantly white districts long have had difficulty attracting minority teachers.

The problem stems from early in the integration movement when many black teachers who were not welcomed in predominantly white schools and communities switched careers.

"The question of how to attract them back into the field -- I think a lot of superintendents and principals would like to know the answer to that question," said Placier. "It partly has to do with how welcoming the community is socially and in terms of housing and other factors. It's not just whether the school district is welcoming."

Placier echoed a sentiment from panelists that sometimes their parents didn't understand the workings of a school district. A number of studies have indicated minority parents view schools as hostile environments to be avoided at all costs. They feel unwelcome in schools partly because of educators who view themselves as "the experts," she said.

"I think it's hard for educators to get on the other side of that and hear what the parents and students are saying," Placier said. "It can be a humbling experience for educators to listen to students since the power is usually on the other side."

Placier said student panel discussions are an important first step, but educators must continue to make diversity issues a priority or the time will be wasted.

"School districts have a lot of things to respond to financially, legally, and in terms of state demands for achievement," said Placier. "I think parents and other community members have to keep bringing it up, keep showing that diversity issues are a part of the achievement puzzle they must be concerned about. Just keep it on the table because it can go to the bottom of the list.".

Employees

Alma Schrader: 44 white, 5 black, 0 other

Clippard: 53 white, 0 black, 0 other

Franklin: 37 white, 1 black, 0 other

Jefferson: 73 white, 2 black, 0 other

Blanchard: 61 white, 2 black, 0 other

Schultz: 51 white, 1 black, 0 other

Central Junior High: 72 white, 3 black, 0 other

Central High: 93 white, 6 black, 1 other

Career Center: 47 white, 0 black, 0 other

Board of education office: 21 white, 3 black, 1 other

Maintenance, 8 white, 0 black, 0 other

Caring Communities, 3 white, 1 black, 0 other

Cottonwood, 7 white, 2 black, 0 other.

Alternative, 5 white, 1 black, 0 other

Totals: 575 white, 27 black, 2 other

Students

Alma Schrader: 421 white, 43 black, 2 Hispanic, 15 other.

Clippard: 372 white, 67 black, 3 Hispanic, 12 other

Franklin: 203 white, 47 black, 3 Hispanic.

Jefferson: 274 white, 177 black, 4 Hispanic.

Blanchard: 274 white, 199 black, 4 Hispanic, 5 other

Schultz: 244 white, 64 black, 2 Hispanic, 4 other

Central Junior High: 523 white, 145 black, 6 Hispanic, 9 other

Central High: 790 white, 140 black, 8 Hispanic, 12 other

White: 3,101

Black: 885

Hispanic: 36

Other includes Asian and American Indian.