Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 1 September 2000 — Page 12

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OPINION

I The public schools’ failing logic By HUGH B. PRICE President, National Urban League In most fields of endeavor, you’d expect that the most qualified people would be asked to tackle the most difficult problems. For exafnple, for a corporation with a non-producing division, you’d expect the best manager to be assigned to return it to profitability, with the help of the company’s best strategic thinkers. Or in, say, basketball or soccer, you'd expect one team’s best defender to guard the other team’s best shooter. But, all too often, in the public schools the approach is just the opposite. Students in those schools most in need of help don’t get the most resources and the best qualified teachers; they get fewer resources and the largest number of the least qualified teachers. For example, a new study released this month by the U.S. Department of Education reports that the nation’s poorest schools continue to significantly lack qualified teachers and such technological resources as computers with Internet access. This continues to be so despite the fact that these schools — a disprpportionate number of which are predominantly Black and Hispanic — now receive almost SO percent of federal education funds- That’s an alarming indication of how desperate the chances for a viable present and future remain for the students in them. l|i another example, a compromise agreement this past week endqd an on-going controversy between state education officials and the jbfew York City School Board. Ijhe two sides compromised on the city schools’ reluctance to comply with a state rule that all new teachers hired for the city’s worst performing schools be certified. (State education standards require that all public school teachers be certified.) Instead, the School Board agreed to place up to 400 certified teacjiers in some of the most troubled elementary schools this fall, and tp hire certified teachers to work in all of the city’s 94 poorest perfprming schools, including middle and high schools, by next fall. rfcw, about 20 percent of the more than 4,800 teachers in those schopls aren’t certified. City officials had pleaded for time, arguing that, requiring newly hired certified teachers to teach in poorly performing schools would discourage candidates for applying for jobs, ip the city schools altogether. One can understand the city’s problem. New York City is no difff^ent in that regard than any other school system. And yet, what aboqt the “problem” facing the pupils in those most troubled schwls? Ttie problem these youngsters face is that, like students everywhere in this era of high stakes testing, they must pass more rigorous tests in order to go on to the next grade and gain a high school diploma. But many of them have and will continue to lack one of the fundamental ingredients for academic success: a teacher who is certified — that is, qualified — to teach the subject they’ve been assigned to teach. It*»;no surprise that this burden falls most heavily on predominan|iy Black and Hispanic schools. Which is to say, many Black and Hispanic pupils. So, it should be no wonder that a recent survey by our affiliate, the New York Urban League, found that 60 percent of Black New Yorkers believe public school teachers have lower expectations for Blask than for white students. It’s an old story that many of the best teachers avoid teaching in “problem schools” either because they think the problem lies with the bureaucracy — or the students. : But that is one of the rotting planks of the so-called educational reform movement that puts the most punitive burdens of under performing on the students, not on the adults who run things. ; Nonetheless, it does suggest some ways this problem can be resolved. One place to start is for society to put its money where its mouth is: Fay teachers well, and pay those who teach in the schools that need good teachers the most even more. Teaching is one of society’s toughest jobs, yet nationally teachers’ first-year salaries average just $27,000 and only rise to about $40,000 after 16 years. We’ve got to do much better if we expect a much needed infusion of talent to enter teaching as a first choice instead of a fall-back career. Washington should stop bickering and mount a bipartisan drive to enlist a teaching corps second to none for America’s neediest schools — a new generation of educators whose starting salaries match those of young attorneys and MBAs, because they are equally valuable to society. If we pay teachers like real professionals, then we can demand some necessary reforms from them in return: Such as their forsaking contract provisions guaranteeing rigid tenure and seniority, set-in-stone limits to class size and length, and a time clock mindset that hamstring the ability of principals to opehlte schools in the best interests of children. And we can demand that, yes, great teachers be expected to tackle the ‘public schools’ greatest challenge — making a high quality education available to all of America’s children.

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(317) 924-5143 P.0. Box 18499, Indianapolis, IN 46218-0499 Recorder 1 indy.net

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1,2000

GOP and white media play politics with Mayor Peterson’s call for 200 more police

The pious hypocrites who make up the Republican majority on the City-County Council continue to whine about Mayor Bart Peterson ’ s plan to add 200 more Indianapolis police officers. During this budget season, Republican councilors have publicly decried the need for new cops to patrol IPD’s neighborhoods. Joining the Republicans caterwauling have been the editorial writers at the Indianapolis Star. (Even though progressive Gannett now owns it, by agreement the Star’s editorial page will remain incorrigibly conservative). The argument used by Republican councilors and their newspaper apologists: Crime is down in Indianapolis, so, why do we need more police? Last week, the problem of too few police in Indianapolis was showcased by what happened to City-Council Councilman Ron Gibson when he was involved in a traffic accident downtown. He called 911, but there weren’t any on duty IPD officers available to take the run. An off-duty sergeant had to be dispatched to Gibson’s

aid.

At certain times of day, in certain IPD districts, there are just a handful of officers available to answer citizens’ calls for help. The IndianapolfcPolice Department serves an area of some 300,000 to 320,000 persons. They’ve got to patrol Indianapolis’ working-class neighborhoods, along with downtown, Devon, Broad Ripple, Meridian-Kessler and Irvington. IPD’s authorized strength of over 1,000 officers isn’t enough to handle the territory IPD must cover. The Republican councilors and their media sycophants know that. They know we need more IPD officers (and sheriffs deputies). But their agenda is to force Mayor Peterson to renege on his major campaign promise. What angers me and should anger you is that the groups complaining the most about the mayor’s plan don’t live in the neighborhoods IPD protects. None of the Republicans on the City-County Council live in neighborhoods served by IPD. None of those who voted for them do either. A large number of the Star’s editorial writers and top editors don’t live in neighborhoods IPD protects. In fact many don’t even live in Indianapolis! Those crying the loudest about Mayor Peterson’s plan for 200 more officers on the street don’t live in our neighborhoods and don’t understand the need and plea for better and more community police officers. The mayor does under-

Just Tellin'lt By AMOS BROWN

stand, having walked those streets and listened to our community’s concerns. When crime is down, that is the time to add more police and sheriffs officers. Now is the time for hiring more of them. So Indianapolis can truly implement community policing, reduce response time, have officers be more proactive in preventing crime before it begins, rather than wait for a crime wave to begin before taking action. The Republican reactionaries on the City-County Council and their media apologists should stop their guerrilla war against putting more police on the street. Mayor Peterson ’ s budget demonstrates he can keep his promises while keeping the tax rate flat. If Peterson were a Republican the council would be all smiles and agreement. This partisan sniping must end. What I’m hearing in the streets It’s been the practice from every president since Eisenhower, that when traveling overseas on official business, the president is accompanied by an official delegation. Most times these official delegations include members of Congress, business leaders and local elected officials like state governors and mayors.

Our community should be proud that our own Congresswoman Julia Carson was part of the official delegation that accompanied President Clinton on his state visit to Nigeria and Tanzania. Carson was one of 13 Congresspersons in the bipartisan delegation. Also accompanying the president and daughter Chelsea, were the mayors of Denver, Detroit, Dallas and New Orleans, the president of the Cook County, Illinois Board of Commissioners, the secretaries of Energy and Transportation, the president’s national security advisor and the Special Envoy to Africa Rev. Jesse Jackson. Coming a month after Indiana Black Expo focused on doing business with Nigeria, Congress^ oman Carson’s visit with the president could help spur business ties to an African nation rich in oil wealth and striving to return to its democratic traditions. Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush allegedly is coming to town next week to raise buckets of bucks for his campaign. Steve Goldsmith was mayor the last time the Texas governor was here. Gov. Bush raised gobs of money then and spoke at Metro Church where he unveiled his “compassionate conservatism” platform, an event where Goldsrhith’s minions went all out trying to exclude this columnist and others from the city’s Black media. Now, I’m wondering whether Bush and the Republicans are conspiring again to exclude Black media from the governor’s impending visit. Usually I’m bombarded with press releases from the Republican Party (along with the

Democrats and Libertarians). But I’ve not heard a word from the GOP about Bush’s visit. I hope the candidate who promises to “leave no child behind” won’t again exclude Indy’s Black media when he visits. Some print media articles have bemoaned the fact that just 10 percent attending the Indiana State Fair were African American. But if 10 percent of this year’s state fair record attendance of some , * 740,000 was Black, that would be some 74,000. That’s a stronger Black attendance than the Circle City Classic; second only to Black . Expo. Apologies to Debbie Denmon, , the African-American weekend morning anchor at WTHR/Channel 13, who’s leaving to be a weekday morning and midday anchor in Dallas. I had Debbie going to . the wrong Dallas station. She’ll be working for WFAA the highly regarded ABC affiliate. WRTV/Channel 6 has hired an African-American weatherman. Vytas Reid comes to the station from Fort Wayne. He’ll do weekend weather and is the first Black .. to do weather in Channel 6’s history. Speaking of weather, Chris Wright, who has not been on local television since leaving Channel 8 last year, debuts on his new station, Channel 13 on Sunday, Sept. 24. See ‘ya next week! Amos Brown’s opinions are not necessarily those of The Indianapolis Recorder. You can contact him at (317) 293-9600 or e-mail him at ACBROWN@AOL COM.

Community policing needs more officers

By MAYOR BART PETERSON Public safety should be the first priority of any local government. Everyone in our city deserves to feel safe at home, at work, and on our streets. Our police officers work hard to make our streets safer, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that they are understaffed. Compared to other cities of over 250,000 people, Indianapolis lags behind in terms of the number of police officers for every 1,000 residents. In fact, IPD actually has about the same number of officers today as it did in 1970. We simply cannot fight crime effectively with a police force that’s no larger than it was 30 years

ago, before Columbine, crack cocaine, and corporate-style gangs. That’s why, when I campaigned for mayor, I committed to adding 200 police officers to Indianapolis streets. ‘Underlying my pledge were the many citizens who asked me to help make their neighborhoods safer, as well as a 1998 police union study recommending 300 officers be added to IPD, and the words of our then police chief who told the Boston Globe that IPD lacked the staff to fight crack cocaine and the record number of homicides it caused. Although our crime rates have receded some from their record-breaking highs two years ago, we cannot now sink into complacency. Now is the time to step up the attack on crime

“...CALIFORNIA WILL BE IN THE BUSH-CHENEY COLUMN. ”

in our city, before it’s too late. With the threat of methamphetamine, which has been called the worst drug ever to hit America, looming ever larger, and bigger cities starting to see increases again in homicide rates and other violent crimes, we must put more resources into fighting crime now, before the next crisis hits. To fight crime most effectively, we must cut it off at its roots. That’s where community policing comes in. By becoming actively involved in the neighborhoods they serve, community police officers build trust with residents. By forging positive relationships between neighbors and police officers, community policing makes police officers more accountable to the community and encourages citizens to help fight crime. Community policing works, but it’s officer intensive. It takes more officers both to patrol the streets and to become more involved with community groups. We need these additional officers to make community policing really work. We need them to help stop the next crisis before it starts. Already, we’ve received a federal grant to cover about half the cost of hiring the additional officers for the next three years. The remaining cost to us — about $1.6 million this year — sounds expensive, especially when compared to the cost of buying a home or a new car. But compared to the overall costs of running a city, $1.6 million is a small price to pay for safety, peace of mind, and our city’s good reputation. Actually, it’s the same as the cost of repairing the City-County Building elevators next year. And it’s only a fraction of 1 percent of the total 2001 proposed budget. Public safety is — and always should be — our city’s first priority. The decision to add 50 officers to the rolls next year helps put our expenditures in line with our priorities.

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