Conference
Ironi pqge Al
Campbell, the keynote speaker
at the event and North Carolina
native, roused the audience as he
* hailed affirmative actions pro
grams and asked for more sup
port for black officials from the
African American community.
"Just as we have fought the
old battles there are still new
ones to be fought," said Camp
bell, who in 1960 was the first
Arfrican American graduate of
Rialeigh's Enloe High School.
"Sometimes we, as elected offi
cmls fail, but sometimes it's not
for lack of leadership, but fel
lowship that keeps us from mov
irtg forward."
-It's not an overstatement to
say that the African American
community is relying on you," he
said. "We're all dependent upon
the policy makers in this room."
Campbell noted that since
state's had instituted bans on
affirmative action, minority
enrollment at colleges across the
U.S. had plummeted.
"Ground zero is the fight for
affirmative action," he said. "It
is a battle of biblical proportion.
Affirmative action is the way
America can live up to its ideals.
I will end the fight for affirma
tion action as soon as they end
racism and discrimination."
Womble says the conference
gave black legislators a chance
to develop strategies for passing
legislation aimed at helping
African Americans.
"We, as legislators, want to
hear from our own African
American constituents, rather
than us saying what is impor
tant," he said. "The information
needs to be coming from the
bottom up."
The Rev. Carlton Eversley,
pastor of Dellabrook Presbyter
ian Church, was the keynote
speaker for a breakfast held dur
ing the conference. He said
African Americans should back
black legislators.
"We complain, but we don't
give up our followership, sup
port and accountability," he
said.
Schexnider
from page AI
According to a story run by
The Virginian-Pilot newspaper,
oh June 21, 1997, Cone resigned
her position as Vice-President
of Finance at Norfolk State last
June, just weeks before Marie V.
McDemmond came on board as
the schools president. McDem
1 mond replaced Dr. Harrison
Wilson, who served the institu
tion for 22 years.
McDemmond hinted before
litking office that she was con
cerned that the university might
be running in the red. However,
after audits were complete,
Norfolk State learned that it
was running at a S6.S million
deficit.
That deficit was cut to $4
million because McDemmond
took measures, which included
massive layoffs, to remove near
ly one-third of the school's
deficit.
The Virginian-Pilot also
reported on January 6, 1998
that, "The deficit, which
McDemmond attributed to
'mismanagement' by the previ
ous administration, will lead to
layoffs of up to 100 employees
- including faculty members,
administrators and non teach
ing staff - this year."
Because of the budget cuts
undertaken by McDemmond,
the university, last week
announced that 116 employees,
including 13 faculty members
would be laid off in June.
Some faculty members at
WSSU say they hope that situa
tion doesn't happen at WSSU.
"There have been some situa
tions that we feel are unclear,"
one source said. "This whole
thing doesn't look good for us.
We just hope that the direction
we take here is not the same."
?
Fields
' ir?m page A1
already on the bubble, he said.
? Factors like mobility, which
treasures the number of students
- who leave a school in a year aren't
taken into consideration. The rat
ing used for schools also don't
take into consideration percentage
of students who are underprivi
leged which researchers say is
major performance indicator.
A recent study which analyzed
last year's testing results showed
- that in school, like Latham, were
90 - 99 percent of students qualify
for, free lunch ABC test scores
Iwfere 45.4 percent. In schools
where less than 10 percent of the
population qualified for free lunch
; overall scores jumped to 85.4 per
; cent, which means the vast major
ity of students are performing at
or above grade level.
"I don't have a problem with
being accountable for anything I
do," he said. "But I do know there
are some things that have been left
; out of the model that they say are
going to be fixed. There is no stan
. dard error of measure that takes
into account schools like this. It's
not there."
Fields is also worried teachers
will be less likely to want to teach
at schools like Latham because
they may worry about job security.
"Teachers are human," he said.
"Why would you want to come
work as hard as they work at a
school like Latham when other
schools are getting better scores
and perks."
While the OCR ruling says it
found no evidence the program
will hurt blacks disproportionate
ly,' Fields says many principals in
schools that will be deemed loW
performing under ABC standards
are minority, a sentiment echoed
s
by Winston-Salem/Forsyth Coun
ty Board of Education member
and long-time educator Geneva
Brown.
"I think school systems tend to
put minority principals or minori
ties, period, in inner-city schools,"
she said. "And they take their best
and put them in suburban outly
ing areas. There's a feeling in this
country that Larry or even me,
when I was a principal, could han
dle those children. That's really
not true. The handling of children
comes with the basic knowledge
people have of what children's
needs and wants are."
Fields says high mobility
wreaks havoc with his scores
because it means schools are made
accountable for the scores of stu
dents that have not spent much
time in their classrooms. In order
for math and reading scores to
count, students have to have been
at the school for at least 106 days.
The writing test has no such
prerequisite, which Fields says
hurts his overall scores.
"A kid can walk into this
school tomorrow and take the
writing test and not have spent one
day in this school and we have
accept that score," he said. "That
gives people in this community
and state a poor reference. People
assume that if a child doesn't
make a certain score on the writ
ing test they have been with us all
year. And that's simply not the
case."
According to Fields of Lath
am's 450 students, only 53 have
been at the school through five
grades.
State Board of Education offi
cials recognize the shortcomings
of the system and will meet later
this week to discuss ways to more
accurately gauge the progress of
schools, said Winston
Salem/Forsyth County Superin
tendent Don Martin.
Martin says he agrees with
Fields that the state's standards
need modification.
"Larry and I are on the same
wavelength about it," Martin said.
"The issue we have with it is the
formula they use to compute it.
The formula, I think, has some
problems."
Martin points out that the cur
rent ABCs formula lacks a "stan
dard error of measure" which
would take into account mitigat
ing circumstances in individual
schools.
"The state department (of edu
cation) has agreed to investigate,"
he said. "The state will calculate a
standard error that will help some
of those schools with lower
scores."
Martin says thfc local school
system will join several other
counties in a study to come up
with a more balanced model.
"ABC does have its drawbacks,
but it has done one thing, it has
forced teachers and schools to
emphasize the basics," Martin
said. "It has given schools focus."
Until the new standards are in
place, Fields says he will continue
to monitor the state's progress in
coming up with a more represen
tative model. This year, his
school's scores are up and accord
ing to Martin, the district as a
whole has stronger scores in read
ing and math than last year.
"I want the mobility rate to be
factored in," Fields said. "1 want
the growth standard error of mea
sure to be ^factored in to reflect
true growth in a particular school
like this. Because of the economic,
because of the social issues,
because of the disadvantage. 1
want it all to be factored in."
Sit-in
from page 41 ?
backs.
"They can give money," he
said. "Everyone cannot give
$10,000, (but) you can help by giv
ing one-dollar ahd five-dollar
bills Every little bit counts (The
museum) is something we all
should take ownership in. It's
something they ought to be proud
about."
The Associated Press
contributed to this story.
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