ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 20, 1997 TAG: 9702200062
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
MARTIN JEFFREY SAYS too many black students who are bused to predominately white schools are mislabeled as learning disabled.
Too many black stude nts in Roanoke schools are being stigmatized with labels, according to the president of the Roanoke branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Martin Jeffrey also says some city schools have too few black teachers.
Jeffrey, who recently became head of the NAACP branch, said the civil rights organization intends to give more attention to educational issues and to develop a strategy for communicating its views.
He has asked the School Board to meet with the NAACP's board of directors to discuss school issues.
Board Chairwoman Marsha Ellison said Wednesday she has told Jeffrey she's willing to meet with him to hear his concerns.
If the NAACP representatives want to meet with the entire board, Ellison said, it would have to be an open meeting to comply with the state's Freedom of Information Act.
Jeffrey says some black students are being mislabeled as learning disabled and too many are being placed in the alternative education program for youngsters with behavioral problems.
"Some children are being labeled too quickly and moved out of traditional classrooms," said Jeffrey, the father of three children in city schools.
In some cases, black students from less affluent neighborhoods are being bused to schools with a majority white enrollment to help improve racial balance, he said. But the schools are not providing help for the children to adjust to a new setting, he said.
"There aren't enough resources being provided for these children who are being put in a more challenging environment," he said. "Some problems might be addressed if we had a teaching assistant to help the students."
But Robert Sieff, director of special services for city schools, said Wednesday that schools must follow a detailed and state-mandated procedure before placing a child in special education, making it "very unlikely" that students are being mislabeled.
Each school has a multidisciplinary committee - which includes a psychologist, guidance counselor, principal, teacher and others - that reviews each case when a child is being evaluated for special education.
If the committee thinks the child could benefit from special education services, it asks for educational and psychological tests and other formal assessments, Sieff said. The child's parents are usually involved early in the process, he said.
When all tests are finished, the committee reviews the results, meets with the parents and makes the decision, Sieff said.
Jeffrey said it appears that a disproportionate number of black students have been placed in the city's alternative education program.
Seventy-one percent of students at Noel C. Taylor Learning Academy - the city's alternative school for middle and high school grades - are black. Forty-one percent of the city's enrollment is black.
About 150 students with behavioral problems in grades 7-12 in regular schools attend the Taylor Academy.
Some students are placed in the alternative program because they have poor attendance, Jeffrey said, but he questions whether that is an appropriate reason for moving them out of regular schools.
"We shouldn't be warehousing students because of a lack of attendance," he said.
But school officials said most students who attend Taylor Academy because of poor attendance do so voluntarily.
"These are students who don't like to go to regular schools because they don't like large schools," said Ann Harman, executive for student services for city schools. "They like the smaller school at Noel C. Taylor, and many are there of their own choosing."
Most students go to the alternative school as a result of a collaborative decision by the student, parents, principal and disciplinary review committee, Harman said.
The NAACP also is concerned about what it views as the city's slow pace in recruiting black teachers, Jeffrey said.
Superintendent Wayne Harris has said the schools are trying to recruit more black teachers, but budget pressures apparently will prevent expansion of the recruitment program next year.
Jeffrey also said the black community wants to have a voice in the design and construction contracts for the Addison Middle School.
School officials have said that several black people served on the selection committee that recommended the architects, Rife & Wood, a Roanoke firm.
School officials said they are aware of Addison's significance to the black community and will strive to have black participation on the project. Addison was the city's black high school when schools were segregated.
Ellison said the school division has held one workshop to provide advice for minority contractors on how to bid on school projects and another will be conducted soon.
Ellison said she will schedule a board meeting soon to discuss state laws and regulations governing bidding and procurement for school projects.
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshots) Jeffrey, Ellison. color.by CNB