Schools Director Tells Principals No Assemblies for Ethnic Groups
LA VERGNE, Tenn.
Rutherford County Schools Director Harry Gill said he will tell his principals to avoid special assemblies for ethnic groups after complaints about a high school gathering for Black and Hispanic students to discuss improving test scores, a district spokesman said.
La Vergne High School Principal Melvin Daniels, who is Black, held the Friday assembly that offended some students who felt the meeting was unfairly targeted at minority students.
“What Mr. Daniels was talking about was total outrage,” said senior Stephanie Dement, noting that she’s a B student with hopes of becoming a pediatrician.
A lot of the students were upset about it, she said. “We felt like he was calling us Black people dumb.”
Daniels said his goal was to encourage the students to improve their test scores on Gateway exams in Biology I, English II and Algebra I. Student must pass the test to graduate, as well as the 11th-grade writing assessment.
Daniels said the accusations against him are untrue.
“Everything I’ve heard so far is hogwash,” said Daniels. “The idea of all this name calling is ludicrous.”
Schools that miss the test score mark will be placed on the state’s “Target” list after one year, and the state could end up taking over the school if improvement isn’t shown. La Vergne has been on the Target list twice, but came off the very next year by showing adequate progress.
“Mr. Gill said they will look for alternative ways of handling these situations in the future because of the amount of misperception and misunderstanding from some parents and students,” district spokesman James Evans said.
Hate Crimes Rose 8 Percent in 2006
WASHINGTON
Hate crime incidents rose nearly 8 percent last year, the FBI reported Monday, as civil rights advocates increasingly take to the streets to protest what they call official indifference to intimidation and attacks against Blacks and other minorities.
