SRC hears of more woes of non-English-speaking pupils
"It's not only South Philadelphia High where immigrant students face problems, parents and an activist told the School Reform Commission yesterday.
Even younger students in the neighborhood are routinely the victims of racism and bullying because they don't speak English, the parents said. Parents who don't speak English are ignored, and the educational services for their children are inadequate, they added."
Even younger students in the neighborhood are routinely the victims of racism and bullying because they don't speak English, the parents said. Parents who don't speak English are ignored, and the educational services for their children are inadequate, they added."
Asian students back at school, seeking peace
Throughout Tuesday night's meeting with Asian students, immersed in a tense boycott of South Philadelphia High School after racial attacks, district Superintendent Arlene Ackerman told the youths they must come back to class.
At different points, participants said yesterday, she took different tacks:
She urged them to come back. She ordered them to come back. She warned them they had better come back.
Finally, as the meeting wound toward an end, two hours after it started, she appealed to them to come back.
An Asian student stood up: Yes, they would return to school.
It was a quiet conclusion to a bristly meeting at the Chinese Christian Church in Chinatown, one that put an end to the contentious eight-day boycott. The walkout followed the Dec. 3 attack on about 30 Asian students by a group of mostly African American classmates, which made national headlines and got the school and district leadership skewered for their failure to address long-standing allegations of racial violence.
In an interview yesterday, Ackerman characterized the end of the Tuesday night summit differently, saying
At different points, participants said yesterday, she took different tacks:
She urged them to come back. She ordered them to come back. She warned them they had better come back.
Finally, as the meeting wound toward an end, two hours after it started, she appealed to them to come back.
An Asian student stood up: Yes, they would return to school.
It was a quiet conclusion to a bristly meeting at the Chinese Christian Church in Chinatown, one that put an end to the contentious eight-day boycott. The walkout followed the Dec. 3 attack on about 30 Asian students by a group of mostly African American classmates, which made national headlines and got the school and district leadership skewered for their failure to address long-standing allegations of racial violence.
In an interview yesterday, Ackerman characterized the end of the Tuesday night summit differently, saying