The Rev. Reginald Early requested the School Board re-examine the school system’s approach to educating minority students, at the School Board meeting Tuesday, Aug. 14.
Early, president of the Loudoun Chapter of the NAACP, said he is concerned with two things, the achievement gap between minority students and white students, and disciplinary actions taken against minority students, in relation to those taken against white students.
"All children regardless of their ethnic identity or economic status deserves the best Loudoun has to offer," Early said. "It is time to stop attending conferences, instituting feel- good programs and conducting so-called recruitment of minority teachers in Hawaii in the winter. It is time to focus on minority achievement and research-based programs."
The NAACP presented two research papers to the School Board in 1998 and again in 2004, to highlight the statistics, and suggested ways to improve test scores of minority students in the county.
"Loudoun’s data shows a very small inconsistent improvement, only a few percentage points at a time," he said. "Given that some schools in the nation have eliminated the achievement gap, the branch believes that we must demand more effective and vigorous action by Loudoun County Public Schools administration and School Board to address this vital social justice issue."
Early reminded the School Board, according to the Virginia Department of Education, Loudoun County Public Schools did not meet Adequate Yearly Progress during the 2005-2006 school year.
More than 10 percent fewer minorities graduates from Loudoun County Public Schools than white students, Early said.
"This represents a civil rights issue," Early said.
Approximately one-third of the school system’s minority students failed English standardized testing.
"It represents institutional failure," he said.
EARLY ALSO questioned the disproportionate number of suspensions and expulsions of minority students compared to white students, statistics compiled by the school system’s research office and presented to the Minority Student Achievement Advisory Committee.
"It is not logical to assume that minority students are less well behaved than white students and deserve to be suspended approximately three times more often than white students," he said. "Rather these data indicate that discipline is applied disproportionately."
SUPERINTENDENT Edgar B. Hatrick said the school system has been making progress, but it’s not where he wants it to be.
"I think that the folks that are here tonight would recognize we have made some progress," Hatrick said. "We’re not where we want to be. That’s very clear to all of us. But the picture is much better now than it was 10 years ago, much better now than it was 20 years ago, much better now than it was, I think, than it was even five or six years ago, and that is due, in great part, to leadership that has been provided by senior staff and School Board members in making sure that among your goals, minority student achievement enjoys a prominent role."
Hatrick advised the School Board to analyze the data and revisit Early’s concerns at a September School Board meeting.
"I can think back to the '70s when we were addressing some of the issues that are being addressed here," he said. "I think what that speaks to is a long history of the NAACP and then the student achievement committee and the minority student achievement advisory committee working with the public schools of Loudoun County."
The superintendent noted much improvement have been made, such as the increased number of minority students who now take SATs.
SCHOOL BOAD MEMBERS agreed minority student achievement is at the top of their priority list.
"When we adopted our School Board goals we took a very aggressive approach with minority student achievement," said Joseph Guzman (Sugarland Run). "But I think we should never let up and should never be complacent about the progress we've made. We owe it to our children and country to make sure we extract all of the talent from all of the diversity we have."