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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/04/1990 A_L( MAPLEWOOD HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION AGENDA June 4, 1990 7: 00 P.m. I. OPENING REMARKS A. Approval of Agenda B. Approval of Minutes/May 1, 1990 Carol Engel II. OLD BUSINESS A. Human Rights Day/Maplewood B. Response to City Council C. Response to Acts of Bias & Prejudice D. Review: Human Rights Award Essay Contest Martin Luther King Day E. Education: P.E.R. Committee Membership Multicultural and Gender-Fair Curriculum III. NEW BUSINESS IV. REPORTS A. Seniors and Others with Special Living Needs Scott Rostron B. League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions Pat Williamson C. City of Maplewood Gail Blackstone D. Grievances V. ADJOURN MINUTES MAPLEWOOD HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION Tuesday, May 1 , 1990--7: 00 P. M. Maplewood City Hall Attendees: Sr . Claire Lynch Dawn Vassar Scott Rostron Carol - Engel Fat Williamson Mike McGuire Karla Sand Gail Blackstone Paul Sand Gretchen Maglich I . MINUTES --M/S/A minutes of the April 3 meeting as amended in section II C 7 - -Materials from St. Paul HR department. II . NEW BUSINESS • A. Karla presented 1989 Annual Report to the city council in April . Council members asked her about the John Glenn incident and monitoring city personnel policies. One • member suggested a Maplewood Human Rights Day in April 1991 . Brief commission discussion of this idea included suggestions to involve government, schools, the business community , churches , the Chamber of Commerce, and local civic groups . It was suggested that we could use it as an educational /awareness tool and possibly involve the state Dept. of Human Rights . This will be a major agenda item next month. B. Karla reported that there was no substantive legislation on HF issues in the session just concluded. III . OLD BUSINESS A. John Glenn Middle School incident--Chief Ken Collins and Office Mike Herbert of the Maplewood Police Department attended this portion of the meeting at the commission' s request. Mike Herbert is assigned full time to District 62? and spends most of his time at North and the two middle schools. He described the incident at John Glenn as one with racial overtones. He stated that the people involved were primarily present and former North High students and that of the 200-225 present, perhaps 25-50 represent a "hardcore" group most of whom have been expelled for a variety of reasons. Several of these same individuals have been arrested by the police for other crimes. Herbert stated that there were a variety of racially motivated fights and other incidents at North during the last school year and that that climate contin- ues to be present. He stated that the school admini - stration has dealt swiftly and equitably with these incidents and that after a few of the "hardcore" individuals had been removed from the school , things calmed down. Herbert and Collins indicated that the current, problem is best dealt with by the police, but that sensitivity training is very much needed especially at the elementary level . Chief Collins said that as far as he is aware, the school board has never addressed these issues. The commission decided that our revised report to the city council should cover the following issues: --racial overtones of John Glenn incident --criminal element involved in these activities - -possibility of dialogue with the school board on these issues. B. Thoughts concerning commission involvment in this issue included working through the following areas : --Paul ' s urban/sububan program for dialogue among ninth and tenth graders ---District 622' s PEER council--Scott serves on the curriculum portion of this body --Multicultural /Gender Fair issues --HP Essay on a topic such as "Does freedom of speech include ethnic slurs'?" I V. REPORTS A. No current grievances . B. Karla reported that the state League is working on procedures to respond to incidents such as the recent ones in White Bear Lake and Inver- Grove Heights. C. Scott reported that the committee on Seniors and Others with Special Living Needs is• progressing. The seniors component will be a key one for the proposed Maplewood community center . D. City Of Maplewood--passed out copies of Scott' s article. Next month' s meeting will be Monday, June 4, 1970 at 7: 00. MEMORANDUM TO: Maplewood Human Relations Commission FROM: Scott AL -t ron AN DATE: /1'I t. ., 1990 SUBJECT: Multi-culture-gender-fair plan For your information I have enclosed information regarding the MCOFDA. As you can see by the enclosed agenda of the PER/CACC meeting of May 14th it was discussed by this committee. Although we did not get to this agenda item until almost ten o' clock, it did get considerable discussion. I will be brief. The enclosed includes the agenda, and the Minnesota Rules from the State Board of Education which require the policy and plan, the proposed school districts policy and plan, as well as timelines. In general, committee members felt the policy and plan was good, however, I raised issue with item number two in the "components of the plan" section. This section indicates a process of in- volvement by a number of community representatives which simply has not happened. I objected to this in the plan in that it was misleading indicating substantial input by community repre- sentatives in the development of the plan, when this simply is not the case. The reason given for this is that because of school district staff turnover in the past year, this particular item got delayed until too late for a proper procedure. In other words, they are all out of sync and trying to catch up. The com- mittee supported the policy and the development of a plan and I made sure it was noted that the process, as indicated in item two, should be corrected to reflect reality. We do not want the school board to act on the assumption that there has been sub- stantial involvement by those persons indicated and other com- mittees when, in fact, it has not. Despite my concerns I do believe that the intentions of the policy and plan are good and well, and the people pursuing it are well meaning. In the coming years we should see a much more "sensitive" development of curriculum in this regard. I did indicate the concern and interest of the Maplewood Human Relations Commission in the school districts efforts with the Multiculture and Gender-Fair activity. One suggestion, that if there are specific concerns we have with the policy or plan, or with the process, or if we have ideas for consideration of the various committees that we put this in writ- - ing to the group and ask for a written response as I believe this would get more attention and would eliminate any miss communica- tion, or lack of action should I not be able to attend all meet- ings. The committee indicated in the plan will meet on May 21st. I hope I can be there, I have a conflict as I am suppose to be in Moorhead. I will see what happens. In the mean time any thoughts, questions or concerns, just give me a call. SRscs ° `'~�--�'w= =.: Minnesota State Board of Education 1411 �. .- w ;��= _:��' illi, (..i�711(1� ti ,ll.l)l' �illl�l�111};. ._> >O (�(-'11.11 tilll'f'I, til. ��.1�1�. \�\ 7,-,1()1il)I�1 �4)'.I'1__t -'• 858+,,.••' Multicultural and Gender-Fair Curriculum Rule Minnesota Rules Part 3500.0550 Subpart 1. Establishment of a Plan The school board in each district shall adopt a written plan to assure that curriculum developed for use in district schools establishes and maintains an inclusive educational program. An inclusive educational program is one which employs curriculum that is developed and delivered so that students and staff gain an understanding and appreciation of: A. the cultural diversity of the United States. Special emphasis must be placed on American Indians/Alaskan Natives, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, Black Americans, and Hispanic Americans. The program must reflect the wide range of contributions by and roles open to Americans of all races and cultures. B. the historical and contemporary contributions of women and men to society. Special emphasis must be placed on the contributions of women. The program must reflect the wide range of contributions by and roles open to • American women and men. C. the historical and contemporary contributions to society by handicapped persons. The program must reflect the wide range of contributions by and roles open to handicapped Americans. Subpart 2. Specifications for the Plan The current plan must: A. address the manner in which the multicultural and gender-fair concepts in Subpart 1, items A, B, and C, are to be incorporated into the curriculum goals, learner outcomes, and evaluation processes established in the district; B. determine the extent to which the district curriculum advisory committee established by Section 126.666, Subdivision 2, will be involved in implementing this part; C. include evidence of substantive involvement by women, persons of color, and handicapped persons in the development of the plan. In communities with no persons of color, the district shall utilize resource people available in the region, state, or nation whenever the plan is developed, reviewed, or revised; Planning for Muhiwkural and Oder-Fair Curriouhan,Minnesota Department of Education 29 • MULTICULTURAL AND GENDER-FAIR/DISABILITY AWARENESS POLICY The State Board of Education adopted a Rule for Multicultural and Gender-Fair Awareness Curriculum (3500.0550) in December 1988, which requires districts to infuse cultural diversity, gender equity, and disability awareness into a school district's policies and practices for curriculum and instruction. District 622 must submit such a plan to the Minnesota State Department of Education by June 1, 1990. The District ' s Multicultural and Gender-Fair/Disability Awareness Committee approved the proposed Board policy and attached plan at its May meeting. Therefore, the Assistant Superintendent recommends the adoption of the following School Board policy and attached plan: BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of Independent School District 622 that the Board adopt Policy 3XX Multicultural and Gender-Fair Disability Awareness. 3XX MULTICULTURAL AND GENDER-FAIR/DISABILITY AWARENESS The School Board recognizes the need of preparing students for success in a diverse, pluralistic society. Furthermore, it advocates and believes that District 622's comprehensive educational program must include cultural diversity, gender equity, and disability awareness. It is, therefore, essential that learner outcomes be developed to incorporate an appreciation, understanding, and sensitivity to cultural diversity, with special emphasis on African/black Americans, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, Asian/Pacific Americans, and Hispanic Americans; gender equity; and physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. To that end, the District shall include Multicultural and Gender-Fair/Disability awareness into the PER process and the curriculum development cycle. Adopted: School Board Independent School District 622 Maplewood, Minnesota The Associate Director of Curriculum will provide inservice to each committee before it begins monitoring and evaluating the plan according to the time lines of the curriculum review cycle (See Appendix I) . The Curriculum Coordinating Council chairs and principals will monitor implementation of the plan at the building level. The Multiculture/Gender Fair/Disabilities Awareness Plan will be reviewed and revised as needed according to the curriculum review cycle (See Appendix I) . Goal 2 An environment will be provided in which each student will develop positive self-esteem and a sense of belonging and gain knowledge of and appreciation/respect for cultural diversity, gender equity, and disability awareness. Objective 1: - The district will provide inservice and training sessions where all staff will become informed of the many issues involved in this plan. Time frame: - Inservice will begin during the fall of 1990 and be ongoing. Objective 2: - The district will promote exchange with urban school districts. Time frame: - 1990-91 and ongoing. Goal 3 The Curriculum Advisory Committee will review the process that ensures the implementation of this plan and make recommendations for modifications. Time frame: - Summer/fall 1990 and ongoing as curriculum is developed. 4. Staff Development Plan Summer . 1990: - Curriculum Chairs review curricula and meet with Multiculture/Gender Fair committee. Fall , 1990 - District-wide inservice on legislation and plan for implementation. Winter . 1991 - Media specialists will select new materials to supplement Social Studies curriculum after reviewing selection procedures to ensure their selections meets the intent of this plan and Minnesota rules 3500.0550. 5. Monitoring Systematic monitoring and evaluation of the plan will be the yearly responsibility of the Multiculture/Gender Fair committee, the PER committee, and the Citizens' Advisory Committee as the subject area committees come up in the curriculum review cycle (See Appendix I) . . 3 . Process As each curricular area determines intent, including philosophy, mission, and learner outcomes; and reviews instructional materials, the committee members will involve people of color, women, and people with handicaps in its deliberations. In addition, the Multiculture/Gender Fair committee will review curriculum and instructional materials and make recommendations to the PER/Citizens Advisory Committee on Curriculum and the Curriculum Coordinating Council. Goals.Objectives , and Timelines Goal 1 The pre-kindergarten through graduation outcomes, curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessment processes will reflect the history, culture, and perspective of society. There will be special emphasis on American Indians/Alaskan Natives, Asian/Pacific Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, women, and persons with handicaps. Objective 1: - The Curriculum Coordinating Council and each curriculum development area will include Goal One in the curriculum development process. Time frame: - The curriculum teams will complete their tasks as defined by the curriculum development cycle. The first team will commence work on this goal in the fall of 1990 by collecting data as part of its North Central Evaluation process (See Appendix I for time frame) . The MCGFDA Committee with work with the curriculum teams and make recommendations to both the PER/CACC and the Curriculum Coordinating Council prior to approval of the curriculum. Objective 2: - Each media specialist will review his/her collection to determine the need to weed and/or purchase additional multiculture/gender fair/ disability aware materials. New materials will be purchased to relate to the curriculum being developed. Time frame: - Defined by the curriculum cycle and commenced in the fall of 1990 (See Appendix I) . COMPONENTS OF THE PLAN • 1. Role of the District Curriculum Advisory (PER) Committee The PER/Citizens ' Advisory Committee on Curriculum and the Curriculum Coordinating Council will insure that multiculture/gender fair/ disability awareness materials and activities are incorporated into the curriculum during the curriculum development and review cycle by being the major committees to review and approve curricula as developed by the various subject area committees. The Multiculture/ Gender Fair/Disability Awareness Committee will assist the above committees by providing recommendations and reports on the status of implementation in each subject area committee as the subject areas come up in the curriculum review cyclel (See Appendix I ) . 2. evidence of Substantive Involvement The following people have accepted appointment to the Multiculture/Gender Fair/Disability Awareness Committee: Mr . Al Pinnix Ms. Evelyn Galloway Ms. Sybil Gund Ms. Linda Wainio Ms. Lois Olson Ms. Lucille Bryant Mr . Scott Rostrom Ms. Karen Klein Ms. Pat Brasky At its May meeting, the Multiculture/Gender Fair/Disability Awareness (MCGFDA) Committee participated in the development and implementation of this plan and the board policy by reviewing and recommending them to the PER/Citizens ' Advisory Committee on Curriculum and the Curriculum Coordinating Council. In addition, the MCGFDA Committee will meet with the subject area curriculum committees as they determine intent and select instructional materials according to steps 1 and 3 of the curriculum review cycle (see Appendix I) , and the committee will also make regular reports to the Per/Citizens' Advisory Committee on Curriculum and the Curriculum Coordinating Council. PLAN FOR MULTICULTURE/GENDER FAIR/DISABILITY AWARENESS CURRICULUM Timeline 1. Identify multiculture/Gender Fair/ April-May,90 Disability Aware Task Force consisting of teachers and community members, community members, including women, people of color, and handicapped indi- viduals. * 2. Develop a charge statement May,90 Determine goals/outcomes Develop timelines Recommend policy and plan 3. Get approval from: May, 90 CCC CACC/PER Principals 4 . Present plan to School Board May, 90 5. Provide inservice session for staff to Aug.-Oct. ,90 develop awareness of issues in multi- culture/gender fair/disability aware curriculum and the state mandates to implement a plan to establish and maintain including materials in curriculum. 6. Inservice Staff/Implement plan Sept. , 90 7. Review and assess progress according to Sept. , 90 the district's curriculum review cycle. * See detailed description under the components section. MEMORANDUM DATE: June 1, 1990 NOTE: The memo of April 23 , 1990 to the City Council was a preliminary report and was not meant to be a final report. This is the Commission ' s final report and recommendation. TO: Maplewood City Council FROM: Karla V. Sand, Chair MAPLEWOOD HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION RE: St. Paul Pioneer Press Article - March 30, 1990 This report is in response to the Maplewood City Council ' s request for information on the incident of 3/29/90 at John Glenn Middle School reported in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on 3/30/90 . (copy attached) Human Relations Commission members met with appropriate school district and community personnel as follows: a) Carol Engel met with Michael Herbert, Maplewood Police Department. He agreed to attend the May 1, 1990 Human Relations Commission meeting. b) Dawn Vassar met with Fulton Klinkerfues, John Glenn Middle School Principal; Bud Lanning, Assistant Principal, and Juvenile Police Officer, Michael Herbert. Report is attached. c) Paul Sand met with Carver Fouks, North St. Paul Senior High School Principal. Report is attached. d) Michael Herbert and Chief Ken Collins of the Maplewood Police Department attended the May 1 Commission meeting. Notes in Commission Minutes of 5/1/90. SUMMARY Commissioner Engel reported that Officer Herbert is concerned about incidents involving students in our community and is interested in discussing solutions (long and short term) with the Commission. He agreed to attend the May 1 Commission meeting. Commissioner Vassar reported that representatives from John Glenn did not think the incident reported in the Pioneer Press was racially motivated, that it developed out of a personal conflict between two John Glenn students. Commissioner P. Sand met with Carver Fouks of North St. Paul Senior High School who gave background on the social changes in the school population and how they are affecting the behavior and discipline of students. He stressed that more minorities are moving into the community, more foster children are moving into the neighborhoods, and there are several children living in single-parent families. All of these situations add stress to the school environment because of the discipline and behavior problems. The report to the Commission on May 1 by Michael Herbert and Ken Collins suggested that there exist racial overtones to some of the conflicts they are seeing, and that these tend to be generated by a certain few individuals. A criminal element is another factor present in many of these conflicts. Comments by school administrators in the attached reports suggest an absence of a problem or that skirmishes among young people are being kept under control may reflect in part a concern to maintain their schools ' images in a favorable light. The Human Relations Commission is concerned that if racial problems do exist, that they be acknowledged as such so that the process of improving relations can begin. The signs are there that our community population as well as that of the state and nation is changing and we as leaders need to provide a smooth path -- this may mean being pro-active rather than reactive in dealing with human relations issues in Maplewood. The Commission' s 1990 priority is to begin work in the local school community to set the stage for long-term educational programs either with the schools or with the community. With the City Council ' s approval, the Human Relations Commission recommends that the school board address the issues of this report. kvs Attach. FRIDAY,MARCH 30, 1990 SAINT PAUL PIONEER Police defuse potential fisticuffs between black white teen-agers in Maplewood 5 hearing rumors that a large group About 40 white teen-agers and Police converged at John Glenn of area high school students were five black teen-agers showed up at Middle School in Maplewood on going to gather at the school in the the apartment complex between 2 Thursday afternoon to prevent an afternoon. p.m. and 2:30 p.m., before police in- expected fight between a large Klinkerfeus declined to comment tervened,the students said. group of black and white high school on whether the conflict was racially The feuding boys were allegedly students. motivated, but several middle escorted home by middle school of- No fight occurred and there were school students said it began several ficials earlier in the day in an effort no injuries. days ago with a feud between two to head off trouble, according to Police, called by school officials, middle school boys, one black and some students. Klinkerfeus declined peacefully dispersed the crowd and one white. to comment on the report and said took several students to police head- The antagonists set Thursday to no middle school student was in- quarters for questioning, said Sgt. fight outside an apartment complex volved in the gathering. Carol Nelson. She said she did not across the street from the school at know whether any of the juveniles Ramsey County Road B and Hazel- A rumor that some of the high were arrested. wood Street, and each threatened to school students were white supre- Principal F.B. Klinkerfeus said bring older high school friends and macist "skinheads" was not true, administrators called police after relatives,several students said. several students said. TO: Karla Sand, Chairperson Maplewood Human Relations Commission ' FROM: Dawn Vassar Commissioner RE: Report of the Interview with: a) John Glenn Principal Fulton Klinkerfues, b) Assistant Principal Bud Lanning, and c) Juvenile Police Officer Michael Herbert April 9, 1990, 10: 00 - 10:25 a.m. Two John Glenn students had a conflict because one said the other' s girlfriend didn't like him. The school became aware of the conflict and met with the two students on Wednesday, March 28 , 1990. A police officer was also present. The two students had contacted older students from the high school for help. High school students had been coming around John Glenn. Klinkerfues said that the school learned "through the grapevine" that something was brewing for Thursday, March 29 . North High School gets out earlier than John Glenn, and approximately 200 young people (of which about 10 were black) began congregating at John Glenn between 2 : 10 and 2 : 30 on Thursday. Police were present to assist school administrators in steering John Glenn students home in a different direction once school let out. No John Glenn students, including the two who initially had the conflict, were among those who converged on the school. Among those who converged were some drop-outs and some "self-professed racists" from North High, according to officer Herbert. The St. Paul Pioneer Press had reporter (s) present at the incident. This reporter tried to ask John Glenn students about what they thought motivated the incident. (The paper explained to the police that it had received numerous phone calls from young voices tipping it off that this was a story to cover. ) The initial two students told adults later that they regretted calling for the high school students. Klinkerfues feels that John Glenn was victimized by this incident. Lanning said that it could have occurred at any location and was no longer related to the initial conflict between the two students, as the older students took over for their own reasons. Young people of high school age have continued to drive around the area of John Glenn since the incident which was reported in the paper. One of these individuals is recognized as a self- professed racist. Others are not high school students, but drop- outs. Incidents of conflict are continuing at North High School. However, when North High took action recently against about five students representing both sides, things calmed down at the school, causing Herbert to suggest that only a core group is attempting to stir trouble. (No one wanted to support the comment that students described as self-professed racists were "skinheads. ") Klinkerfues said that black students have attended John Glenn since 1962 . Overall attitude of the interviewees appears to be that, though certain individuals may have wanted to make this and other events racial, the majority of individuals involved were not so inclined. RECOMMENDATION Commission would do well to interview individuals at North High where disturbance appears to continue. Meeting with Carver Fouks, Principal of North St. Paul Senior High School - April 19, 1990 Purpose of the meeting was to be briefed on the recent incident involving black and white students at John Glenn Middle School. Information concerning the incident was requested by the Maplewood City Council. Carver gave background information on the incident. Over the past years, there has been an increase of minority students (mostly African Americans) that have come to attend the high school. These students, not all, but a majority have passed through the court system (Totem Town) and have been placed in foster homes located in the school district. Most students bring with them disciplinary problems, high absenteeism, and low grades. Many view the school as a time to socialize and not to study. When arriving at the school, the minority students tend to segregate themselves from white students. Friction between whites and blacks often is over a male black student dating a white female student. Fights have broken out over such relationships. Fights also have been within the minority groups. Keep in mind that many white transient students also have behavioral problems. As for the report of ' skinheads' in the school - is erroneous. Although there are three or four who reportedly (ego trip) say they are skinheads, when confronted by officials they say they are only joking. The skinheads are not a threat and the few that say they are skinheads are only attempting to get peer recognition. Students simply ignore them. Fights that do occur are not tolerated by school officials and suspensions are always administerd. Because of state regulations and mandatory attendance laws, the students are re-admitted until another incident occurs. As for racial slurs in the hallways and classrooms, this is simply not a problem. Teachers and school administrators are told that upon hearing a slur, discipilnary action must be taken, generally resulting in a suspension. Students know action will be swift, hence refrain from engaging in racial slurs. Last year found one student (who had been identified as a ringleader and who was an 18 year old sophomore) to be at the root of many incidents involving whites against blacks. He was expelled on numerous occasions, but such suspensions did not change his behavior. There are approximately 30 foster care shelters in the district. The trend is toward more shelters. As for the John Glenn incident, North St. Paul students, both black and white, learning about a possible fight went to the area of John Glenn. Both blacks and whites rode together. They went Carver Fouks April 19, 1990 there to see what was going on, not to become involved. I left the meeting with the impression that school officials are in control of the situation and disciplinary action is being taken. However, I discussed with Carver that with the increased trend of more minorities into the system, there will need to be intensive sensitivity training for stuents, teachers, and administration. That multi-cultural and multi-racial training must be an on- going educational process, not only in social studies classrooms which may touch only the surface of human relations problems but more inter-department education that will have a long-term impact on students and educators alike. The Maplewood Human Relations Commission with its expertise and networks can play an important, positive role in assisting the school district achieve unity within cultural and racial diverse groups within the school environment and the community. The warning signs are there. The problems are not so bad that they can't be overcome. As community leaders we need to be more pro- active rather than re-active when addressing human relations problems. Paul 0. Sand Commissioner 4/90