By Madeleine Kleinerman
Portrait
East Lansing HS
1st Place Division 3, News Writing
Diversity Coverage
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Topic relevant to the school or students and reflects lifestyles, challenges and potentials of those from a diverse background
- Sharp, attention-getting lead grabs reader and arouses curiosity
- Shows thorough reporting skills through research and interviewing
- Effective use of facts/quotes from both primary and secondary sources
- Balanced, fair and sensitive presentation
- Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly
- Proper diction/grammar; use of third person
Macconel Pemba was in second grade at Pinecrest when his art teacher told him that he “looked like a thief.” He was helping her clean up supplies they were using for a project. When he handed her something shiny, she said she was surprised he hadn’t taken it for himself. Pemba, now a sophomore, explains how moments like this have taught him how to behave in a store–drop his bag at the door, make sure his hands are always visible, and speak politely to the cashiers. Pemba and many of his black peers are aware of race wherever they go, especially school. While ELHS prides itself on its diversity and inclusivity, systemic racial issues do not evaporate at the door. This is why, as part of this year’s professional development, ELHS staff is watching “America to Me,” a 10-part docu-series that addresses racial issues at Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF), located just west of Chicago. Superintendent Dori Leyko started watching the series on her own last spring, after the principal of OPRF spoke at a Minority Student Achievement Network conference. Over the summer, an administrative group viewed the documentary before deciding to watch it with staff during the coming school year. “I was kind of astonished at the similarities of the school to ELHS,” Leyko said. “As I watched it, I just thought there was so much there that would be enlightening for our team to view and talk about.” Both ELHS and OPRF are about 60 percent white and 20 percent black. Along with a similarity in demographics, they also have similar cultural landscapes. According to the documentary, Oak Park’s current community was resistant to the “white flight” that occurred during its racial integration in the 60s and 70s. East Lansing’s district is similar because it is 20 percent school-of-choice and located in a college town. “The folks (at OPRF) were very open minded and race conscious and were very much committed to the idea of having a diverse community,” Glenn Mitcham, director of curriculum, said. “You would think that Oak Park would just be this amazing community of people that get along… but that’s not the case at all. They’re really struggling with this issue of race in their school.” The progressivism of both OPRF and ELHS has often masked racial issues that bubble beneath the surface. Kalaia Hampton, a senior, described how other students often needlessly describe her behavior as disrespectful. “Sometimes if you do something, you’re ‘ghetto,’ but you’re really just being yourself,” she said. “Or you’re acting ‘black,’ which really isn’t a bad thing, but people say it’s disrespectful.” The negativity around “acting black” in academic or social environments is one reason that black students have been taught to change their language and behavior based on who they’re around. While this is routine for these students, it’s negative because it reinforces the idea that their culture is not as acceptable. “It’s like when we’re trying to get a job, we have to talk in our white voice,” Avery Jones, a sophomore, said. “If we talk the way we normally talk they’re gonna say, this person is black, they don’t have a good background.” Because of these factors, black students are likely to change their behavior or switch to their “white voices” at school. While teachers might not specifically discourage “black” behavior or language, ELHS staff is still primarily white. “I do think that representation matters,” Klaudia Burton, one of two teachers of color at ELHS, said. “I think it makes a difference when you walk into the classroom and you see somebody who looks like you.” Along with these issues, race is still closely tied to a widening achievement gap. Over half of black students who took last April’s SAT at ELHS scored below benchmark. In comparison, only about a third of their Asian, Hispanic, white and mixed-race peers fell short of the score. Maggie Moore, an OPRF alumni, noted that these are not the test statistics that are typically associated with high-achieving schools like ELHS and OPRF. “Within a school, there’s going to be another, if not several more smaller schools, which are not comprised of ‘sky’s the limit’ type of classes and programming and students and teachers and rigor,” she said. “Even though on paper, this school looks to be so amazing, there’s actually a lot of things that it could do way better to serve all of its students.” “America to Me” is the beginning of a conversation about race and how it affects student achievement and experience. While fixing the system to provide equitable education will take time, teachers believe this discussion is a step in the right direction. “It is jumpstarting the conversation about a lot of things that people have probably avoided discussing,” Burton said. “But it is by no means an end point. This is definitely an issue that needs to continue and go beyond the conversation.” Principal Andrew Wells emphasized the importance of student voice on this issue by referencing the student lead professional development that occurred last year at ELHS. “I think we need to realize that our student voice has been powerful, as far as the sense of urgency is concerned,” Wells said. “That’s necessary to provide equitable education to our students.” Moving forward, it is the integration of this student voice into the race conversation that will prove most important. Involving students in discussion around the issues presented in “America to Me” is vital to addressing race at ELHS. Hearing stories and perspectives from students like Pemba, Jones, and Hampton is the only way their experiences can truly be understood. “If nobody knows, how will anything ever change?” Hampton said. “[Staff] will never really see it from our perspective, but… at the end of the day, we’re kids. Adults run the school, they’re who’s in charge, and if you can’t go to who’s in charge, you can’t expect change.”