School Ad Excludes Whites From Tutoring Program

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – A school principal said no white children were allowed at an after-school tutoring program, and now some parents call it discrimination.

The principal at Mission Viejo Elementary in Aurora sent a letter telling parents the program is only for students of color.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/02/...-school-ad-for-colored-only-tutoring-program/

I think he's forgotten who's funding the program - the public - all of the public. They'll probably make him Teacher of the year.

Wow. What made the principal think this was okay?

All races have students that need tutoring, in fact, I think we should stop with the race thing all together and just embrace the fact that we are all humans no matter if our skin is black, white, yellow, brown, etc... Thought we were striving toward that, but I must live in an imaginary world as I'm constantly reminded we are not there yet. (That applies to every thing that is included/excluded ie: religion, sexual preference, race, you get the idea.)

Anything to get kids to pass those stupid taks and star tests. I've read reports that students of color in some areas don't do as well on them, but why deny any kid the extra help or point out races. Most kids don't even know each other's race, or care, in elementary school.

Well I guess since White students aren't allowed to participate in that group the parents of those kids should start a "Whites Only" tutoring group of their own!

What?

Time for a new principle/staff/or whoever thought this one up.

Glad parents stepped up, and started a new tutoring that accepts anyone who needs the help.

Sonya610 said:

Well I guess since White students aren't allowed to participate in that group the parents of those kids should start a "Whites Only" tutoring group of their own!

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That would go over like a lead balloon.

In this day and time, I find this unreal. Just shakin my head.

Oh for pity's sake. Where has he been living?

Does he realize equality means everyone??

Gosh I can't believe how they are trying to play this off as an "error". :what: I am kinda curious to know what Andre Pearson meant by when he made this statement "It’s focused for and designed for children of color".

My take? I think they are fearful of an AYP subgroup not making proficiency. There are huge penalties involved. Three subgroups hitting many schools hard are: minorities, special education, and low socio-economic status.

Clearly this principal needs some help "thinking outside the box"!

21merc7 said:

Wow. What made the principal think this was okay?

All races have students that need tutoring, in fact, I think we should stop with the race thing all together and just embrace the fact that we are all humans no matter if our skin is black, white, yellow, brown, etc... Thought we were striving toward that, but I must live in an imaginary world as I'm constantly reminded we are not there yet. (That applies to every thing that is included/excluded ie: religion, sexual preference, race, you get the idea.)

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Yeah, that will never ever in a million years ever happen. Someone's race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender is part of their identity. Race is a much bigger issue, and has been for thousands of years, than just a "thing".

eileenhawkeye said:

Yeah, that will never ever in a million years ever happen. Someone's race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender is part of their identity. Race is a much bigger issue, and has been for thousands of years, than just a "thing".

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:sigh: I know, sadly. Trickle down theory doesn't help either.

I do hope that everyone is right that this is about grades, but it is singling out and reaffirming a difference that should not be reaffirmed.

I wish we all were one, maybe that only happens at the end of films when we are alien beings....

Seems like it was started by parents. That's all fine and I understand their reasoning - I work in a school that is 97% African-American and the achievement gap is a real thing. I think the problem arose when it became a school-sponsored program, on school grounds, as opposed to someone's home, etc.

The new tutoring program was started by parents of minority students to help bridge the achievement gap.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/02/...-school-ad-for-colored-only-tutoring-program/

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Not cool. We are passed that mentality.

I wonder if the unhappy mother participates in any of the Parent Organizations at her daughter's school? It is the PASS Team that was putting together the tutoring. Maybe there really is a school wide or even district wide need for a formal tutoring program of some kind. She should get involved, help it to happen. And, the principal probably needs to either be a little better informed on what the program is and how it works (open to everyone) or needs to be more careful when penning his responses.

The entire Parent Handbook for Mission Viejo School is online, anyone can read it. If the unhappy mother hasn't read it, she should. Here are their 3 Parent Organizations she could become involved in. She could also volunteer (there is a special volunteer handbook). Instead of running to to the media, she needs to work with the school. I don't see anything about the school that suggests that they discriminate in any way.

Parent Organizations
Mission Viejo has three parent organizations in which we would like parent participation:
1) The PTSCO (Parent, Teacher, Student, Community Organization)
The primary purpose of the PTSCO is to support the educational success of the school through fundraising and community events. Money raised can be used to support educational programs, community events with an academic or child focus and various school “celebrations”. The PTSCO generally meets the every other month on the second Wednesday of September, November, January, March and May.
2) The School Accountability Committee (“Parent Accountability”)
The primary purpose of Parent Accountability is for parents & community members to review and provide input on the academic programs being implemented by the school and to ensure financial resources are allocated to ensure the success of the chosen program(s). Parent Accountability generally meets four (4) times per year in October, December, February & April.
3) The PASS (Partnership for Academically Successful Students)Team
The PASS Team was created to close the academic achievement gap of our Hispanic and African-American students by identifying causes of the gap and developing solutions through the collaboration of parents, family members, educators and the community. The PASS Team generally meets five (5) times per year:
October, December, February, April & June.
We strongly encourage all parents to attend the meetings of these three important groups.

http://www.cherrycreekschools.org/Schools/MissionViejo/Pages/default.aspx I think it was a miscommunication, or he's retracting because in the district announcement on this page the principal says it is all races and on a come first basis.

SpriteGal said:

http://www.cherrycreekschools.org/Schools/MissionViejo/Pages/default.aspx I think it was a miscommunication, or he's retracting because in the district announcement on this page the principal says it is all races and on a come first basis.

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From that Letter to Parents:

"In addition to the PASS Tutoring Program, we have many other programs that are intended to help students including, but not limited to, Reading Together, Saturday Academy, Math Club, and Reading Clubs, as well as teachers who make themselves available for afterschool tutoring. If you have concerns about your child’s academic progress, please notify your child’s teacher and they will give you guidance on what steps we can take, together, to ensure your child’s success."

i.b.nora said:

From that Letter to Parents:

"In addition to the PASS Tutoring Program, we have many other programs that are intended to help students including, but not limited to, Reading Together, Saturday Academy, Math Club, and Reading Clubs, as well as teachers who make themselves available for afterschool tutoring. If you have concerns about your child’s academic progress, please notify your child’s teacher and they will give you guidance on what steps we can take, together, to ensure your child’s success."

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Spin anic: is what passes for explanation, when sanity can't be found.

I just don;t know how anyone thought that this was an ok idea to discriminate or exclude any child based on color. I taught in an inner city school and i just cannot imagine a group coming up with a proposal to offer services to children but to exclude a certain group based upon color or ethnicity. I'm sitting here going " wait,, what? Explain that to me again".

The HS in my town is 32% Non-Hispanic White...22% Black...22% Asian...and 24% Hispanic/Latino. It's the most diverse HS in my state (NJ). I graduated from there in '10. 24% are eligible for free/reduced lunch.

And this is how each group does in testing:

Language Arts: % That Passes

Asians: 95%
Whites: 92%
Hispanic: 86%
Black: 86%

However, in math, there is a much bigger gap:

Asian: 95%
White: 90%
Hispanic: 72%
Black: 53%

I'm trying to think of why there is a much bigger gap in Math than Language Arts. I think it's because for LA, you either were in the Basic Class, the Honors Class, or the AP Class. It made it easier to help students because they heard everything about LA in that class. But with Math, there were so many different math classes dealing with specific subsets of Math, that maybe other subsets were neglected? IDK.