Thursday, January 2, 2014

Racism in our schools the untold story of Columbus public schools

I know that with just the first letters in the header of this post  I open a can of worms that I will catch hell for . People I have talked to have said its not my place to point this out that I have no right . Well I bet thats just why im doing it . To get the full story we got to go back in time to the early 70s . My parents divorced and fighting mom found a new man got hitched and shacked up it was good times . We started a new school that fall in the burbs of Columbus Forest Park was a upper middle class Hood and had its own built in schools smack dab in the middle . To say it was sheltered was an understatement it was as leave it to beaver as it gets first and second grade was a breeze . The year third grade started we noticed a bit of a change as summer wound down the big people got angry we where clueless till the talk . The talk was about how new kids would be coming to school and they were different and did not belong but they were coming . I cant remember if it was my parents or those of the kids down the street but the outrage of this was the end of the world and our young lives were at risk . Yes it was time to stir the pot of equality and integrate the schools it was time for us all to learn to live together and my school was on the list . So the first day of school and for the first time ever we got a ride to school that sucked I liked riding my bike to school but the big people was spooked . funny all the action was outside, inside school still sucked but hey we were now making the world a better place to live and ending the racial divide . The next year it was trouble our school was to be closed and we would be bused 10 miles across town into the ghetto . This was unacceptable mom and step dad sent my brother and sister to private catholic school I would need to wait till a slot opened up so off to the ghetto I go. Call it fate or just bad luck
but plenty changed for me I became a scrapper  and spent as much time suspended as I did in school for a couple years till I got in catholic schools . I soon blew that I had no care for school any more and was quickly sent back to public schools to prevent being flunked out . As it happens years later in drug rehab after being expelled for drugs  I would find out that I am dyslexic so the book learning thing well that explains that . I became self educated and graduated 3 months earlier then those I was confined in school with  but the one thing I did take away from public schools was fair play and racism is not to be tolerated period . Our nation started down the road of integration in the 50s it took them 20 plus years to pull it off . Neighborhoods like forest park now almost dont exist as people of all colors and nationalities live where ever they please . That is why two schools in Columbus Ohio Have got my eye on them as they yet again find their way on to the local news with no national coverage .The two schools are Columbus Public Afrocentric prep and I think the name says most of it . Yes these are public schools funded by tax dollars housed and equipped with city funds . Children who fit the requirements for admission can attend from kindergarten and graduate with a high school diploma and an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science transfer degree from Columbus State Community College another public funded school . The schools in question boast a 96% black student population with a 4% population listed as other or mixed . They serve Family style
sit down meals on site to all students and staff so
no count of free or reduced lunch is available for review . The schools guard there secrets well to avoid the public eye but some numbers that cant hide are posted in the links below .  Is this the message to be sent to our children ? How do we now justify separatism in publicly funded schools just decades after the civil rights movement ? Arguments against the school range from the race card to it being no more then a sports scholarship farm cleverly hidden in plain sight as a charter school but funded by the tax payers . This argument was almost confirmed a few years ago at the state basket ball championships where the Nubians were suspended from playing do to a transfer of the star player from another team . Local small business owners I have spoke to blame the death of the city center mall on foot traffic of youth bussed in from all over central Ohio not just the city skipping class and hanging out in the mall . "With the back packs and half of a uniform on it was not hard to figure out they belonged in school "said one shop owner at another shop i was told  "they had no fear they would grab something run out the door around the corner and hop on a bus and be gone before I could make it out the door " As the city of Columbus rebuilds its outdated freeways in the downtown the school has found its way back into the spotlight with its big move from the intercity . The schools will now be Located on the cities east side just south of the airport on James rd. Is it fair to say that no form of racism has its place in publicly funded schools ? Will we next be forced into schools that serve only Arabic, White students, or Latino ? Should not the pet project of of a race based fraternity and sorority be funded by those organizations to avoid public funds for other schools that could be based one sex , religion , race ,or culture ? If we all wish to have equality and remove hate from our lives we have to kill the seed . As harmless as this may seem it places a wedge in society with the new building and complex set between the airport and the DCSC military complex it will become a focal point .  To say that this does not upset me would be a lie but thats ok being a little upset  builds change  the concern is here and should be anger . Columbus is a great place to live I wish to see it stay that way and not become the next city on the check list of random acts of violence over a school that violates the core principals of our society they should be teaching inside its doors .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Africentric_High_School
http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/62022
http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/93700
 http://www.ccsoh.us/SchoolWebsites.aspx
http://www.columbus.k12.oh.us/applications/schoolwebsites/SchoolProfile.nsf/%28WebHome2%29/Columbus_Africentric_Early_College_%286-12%29?OpenDocument
 http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/03/23/africenter-school.html
http://daily-jeff.com/local%20sports/2005/04/17/africentric-stripped-of-state-championship
http://www.berecruited.com/high-schools/ohio/columbus/columbus-africentric-early-college/boys-basketball
http://www.berecruited.com/high-schools/ohio/columbus/columbus-africentric-early-college/football

 Edit on 1/29/2014
    My how the plot thickens as we await indictments to be handed down all across the school board .
We learned yesterday of the findings we all knew where coming of ghost students, missing money in the millions, answers given to students to ensure they pass required tests, and absences erased from record to scam the Federal Government out of tax dollars to fund a district littered with corruption .
 What we did not know was just how far and deep this plot had stretched .  Under open enrollment the district has allowed students to travel from one side of the city to the other for school . This was packaged to be for better opportunities with better staff . It quickly became obvious that this was nothing more then a thug transplant program . Schools with the best teachers and programs where only available for enrollment threw a lottery system . Even for kids living just over the fence from the school . Other schools that filled with the troubled student population soon had problems with attendance, test scores, suspension, and the drop out rate . This placed those school administrators in a tight spot under the guidelines of no child left behind now targeted them for termination  .
  These administrators all educated and should have known better, plotted with school board members to commit fraud and theft to preserve their own jobs. Now all suspended and possibly facing criminal charges, and left with no proof in this word of mouth plot . They all stick to the same story "we where instructed to do it that way" come on ? Your own Union tells you if its not in writing its not ok . As principals they all are required to know the exact word of law on all standards for education at the grade levels they oversee . Do you expect any of us to believe that you thought lying about tests and attendance is acceptable ? How about theft when did that become proper practice ? Is this the great education you have given to the youth of central Ohio ?
  Even the ring leader in all the school board scandal of the past few decades, has finally at the advise of some high priced lawyers learned to shut her mouth for a few day till the smoke clears and charges are filed . As I began peeking into some of the activities of racism in the schools and the school board I noticed she was forced to retire . I knew we would be seeing her face in the news soon enough but had no idea it would reach this deep or far . Our Mayor Michael Coleman a couple years back in a state of the city address stated that his office directly works with the school board, and Superintendent Gene Harrison all matters concerning the schools and their relation to the city . I wander if he is thinking about how bad that's going to bite him in the back side on this ? Do you think Mrs. Harrison will still receive invites to all his city events ? I think it might be a little tough keeping up appearances from inside a jail cell but you never know . I guess only time will tell and who knows bribes could already be paid . Remember Columbus is a good olboys town when it comes to politics so friends protect friends . If any of these low life's do one day behind bars or pay back a single penny I will be impressed . Its far more likely that a scape goat will have the entire mess pinned neatly upon his back side .
    Almost on Que and in less then 48 hours the leaks begin to flow . The original investigation centered around unfair, and discrimination, over race  practice in the schools as well as administration so its only fitting the fall guy be white . From this districts Afrocentric schools to this I cant make this kind of stuff up if I try . Steve Tankovich the "master mind" is more like mini me . This guy now retired, was the trained lap dog for former Superintendent Gene Harrison . I am  mind blown over the way this city refuses to so much as raise an eyebrow at this woman . Her time at the head of the school board table has been scared with scandals and racism . I quit counting all the missing money after the the great Kilroy disappearance .
A claim of Ignorance at this level is as pathetic as claims of no knowledge of Benghazi from the White House . This is the true legacy we are leaving our kids . Not a great education,or a city managing its assets . But a lesson in how to pass the buck and blame while claiming ignorance .
http://www.abc6onyourside.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wsyx_columbus-schools-scandal-former-employee-called-mastermind-28901.shtml?wap=0
 http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2014/01/28/columbus-school-data-scrubbing-investigation-results-released.html
http://abc6onyourside.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wsyx_audit-finds-widespread-data-manipulation-occurred-columbus-city-schools-28869.shtml

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