$1 Million Tabbed For Veterans

Absences, Baggy Pants Draw District's Attention

By MELANIE HUGHES; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Thursday, August 08, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





Sidney and Munier Snyder don't look like their parents. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 They don't resemble local police and firefighters they see on the street or
the teachers in their classroom. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The two 6-year-old boys, who are black, are adopted. Their parents, Ruth
and Fred Snyder of West Pittston, are white and live in a predominantly white
community. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 So it follows that the boys attend schools where there are no minority
teachers or role models. But should it? Does it matter? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It does, according to some educators and child development experts who say
schools without diverse professional staffs can be damaging to children. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Of all the institutions that exist, education is where diversity has the
most relevance," said Richard Anliot, of Education and Community Services for
the state Human Relations Commission in Harrisburg . &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Minority students suffer in isolated white districts because they are sent
a message that they don't belong, that it's not their school. It's the most
relevant criteria there is for hiring, even in districts without minority
students." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Anliot said negative attitudes can develop and grow in white students when
they are not given an opportunity to interact positively with adult authority
figures of other races. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But the stark reality for the Snyder boys, and nearly 1,400 minority
students who will attend Luzerne County public schools this year , is that
almost every classroom will be void of minority teachers and the kind of
mentors and role models minority students might be seeking. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In 48 schools throughout the districts of Crestwood, Dallas, Greater
Nanticoke Area, Lake-Lehman, Northwest Area, Pittston Area, Wyoming Area and
Wyoming Valley West, there are no minority teachers, administrators or staff,
according to 1995-96 employment figures from the state Department of
Education. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Only three of the county's 11 districts have minority teachers -- three in
Wilkes-Barre Area, one in Hazleton Area and one in Hanover Area, according to
1995-96 state Department of Education figures. They make up .002 percent of
the county's 2,339 teachers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "There are no teachers or policemen or any role models for my children to
see," said Ruth Snyder. "I think it's important for their self-esteem to have
minority role models. My child can't say `I want to be like him' because
there's nobody like him." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The mostly black or Hispanic students will share classrooms with about
40,000 white students who also will be affected by the lack of interaction
with minority teachers, experts say. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's pitiful," said Diane Polanchek, an education professor at Wilkes
University. "We're missing out on so much in the Wyoming Valley. I know
minority students suffer from not having role models. And non-minority
students are missing out too because they're getting a false sense of the
world." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hazleton Area Superintendent Geraldine Shepperson, whose district has about
170 minority students, doesn't see the significance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I don't see where it makes any difference," she said. "Ethnic background
and race should not matter in teaching. " &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But it matters a lot to Aura Rodriguez, whose 9-year-old son goes to
Heights-Terrace Elementary School in Hazleton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The thing that concerns me is when teachers don't realize the differences
in students," said Rodriguez. "You see teachers being more drastic with
students from different cultures and backgrounds when they don't understand
them." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It matters even more to Sandra Davis, a black parent with two children in
the Wilkes-Barre Area district. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Davis' daughter, Tiffany Farmer, was traumatized during an incident last
year involving a racial dispute with a GAR Memorial High School teacher. The
teacher, who called the 15-year-old student a racial slur, was forced to take
sensitivity training. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Farmer had a higher price to pay, Davis said. Her daughter's
self-esteem and grades dropped. She lost time from school and had to repeat
the seventh grade. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Yes, they're impacted," Davis said. "My children's concerns and feelings
are constantly overlooked by the teachers, administrators and the school
board. How Tiffany felt, her self-esteem didn't matter. I don't think that
would have happened if there were more minority teachers and administrators
there." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 No requirement to recruit minorities &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Public schools are subject to federal law prohibiting discrimination. But
school board members say they don't discriminate, and point to the small
number of applications, if any, they receive from minority candidates. Nothing
in the state's school code requires districts to hire minority teachers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Recruitment is the route districts need to take if they are looking to
change the standard, said Anliot and other advocates for diversity. The state
Department of Education successfully pushed recruitment practices in districts
where male teachers were needed in recent years, and recommends the same be
done in districts in need of minorities. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But school board members in many Luzerne County districts are resistant to
searching outside the local pool or have never thought about it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Crestwood School Board President Louise Fino said recruiting minorities is
not discussed in her district, which has about 75 minority students. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Honestly, it's not something we're looking at," said Fino, a third-year
board member. "We haven't had to deal with it that much. There are so many
other issues before the board that I don't anticipate it coming up now." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dallas School Board member Reese Finn said he does not believe the district
should hire outside the traditional pool. The district, which has about 40
minority students, selects largely from its substitute teachers' list. No
minorities exist within that pool, he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It seems consistent with the rest of the country to remove racial
consideration from hiring, period," Finn said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes-Barre Area Superintendent Jeff Namey, whose district has about 660
minority students, said he's in favor of expanding the district's search for
teachers. But he acknowledges that not every board member is in agreement. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We considered going outside the area, and that might occur. But some board
members believe we should take care of the people in our own community," Namey
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Crestwood board member Sam Costellino worked on a committee to formulate
teacher hiring guidelines. His recommendation to search for teachers
out-of-state was met with resistance, he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We're restricting ourselves and our children to new ideas," said
Costellino. "Crestwood and Dallas are two of the best districts in the county.
We ought to be leading the way on this and not allow our area to remain 10
years behind the times." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If enough parents and educators continue to talk about the impact it has on
children, things will change, said Stan Hamilton, a community activist whose
two sons graduated from Wilkes-Barre schools. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We need to talk about the devastation and destruction, the havoc that's
wreaked on little black children and their family life," Hamilton said.
"That's the impact. It borders on child abuse. And it does a disservice to
whites because it produces the kind of narrow-minded racist views we see every
day in this Valley." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIME LEADER/CLARK VAN ORDEN &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Snyder family say they see the need for diversity in public schools.
From left, Marie stands next to her birth mother, Ruth, and her two adopted
brothers, Sidney, 6 and Munier, 6. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER/CLARK VAN ORDEN &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sidney and Munier Snyder play in the tree house their father built for them
in the backyard of their home in West Pittston. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 newstalk question: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Should diversity be a part of school districts' decisions to hire teachers? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Students Missing Lesson In Diversity 
Children From All Backgrounds Suffer From 
Lack Of Minority Authority 
Figures In Luzerne County 
Schools, Diversity Backers Say

Students Missing Lesson In Diversity Children From All Backgrounds Suffer From Lack Of Minority Authority Figures In Luzerne County Schools, Diversity Backers Say