Post a commentSouth Philadelphia High: Some changes made, some problems endure
It's a warm Friday morning at South Philadelphia High, where the school's 50-50 Club, with its half-Asian, half-African American membership has gathered to talk.
All the black kids sit on one side of the room. All the Asians sit on the other.
An African American girl offers: "You know the stereotype all Asians look alike? Well, they don't. Since you get to hang around them and know them, they're actually cool."
The Asian students were asked what they had learned. One boy slowly raised his hand. "Making new friends," he said through a translator.
Sitting silently was ninth grader Zhi Hua Tian, 18. On Dec. 3, he was walking toward the lunchroom when another boy punched him in the face, breaking his nose.
Tian, who left school in an ambulance, was the most seriously injured of seven students taken to hospitals that day. His attacker was forced to transfer to an alternative school. Now, Tian said through a translator, "I'm always nervous and scared, especially in the stairways. Especially when I see a group of people."
Six months after the violence generated national headlines, some big changes are evident: The school has 126 additional security cameras. The principal has left. New programs seek to bridge divides.
Top Philadelphia school officials say Southern, as the school is known, is being transformed.
"I do think there is work to be done," said Ozzie Wright, a veteran educator now serving as interim principal. But, he added, "I think we're moving forward."
However, Asian students and advocates say that serious, systemic bias issues persist - and that district officials refuse to address them.
"We still need the school to correctly identify the nature of the problem," said Ellen Somekawa, director of Asian Americans United.
In interviews, six Asian students said they were still targets of harassment and even violence.
Hao Truong, 18, said that on May 3 he had his back to a group of black students in the cafeteria when applesauce splashed across his neck and upper back. The students laughed, he said.
Truong, a Vietnamese immigrant, complained to school authorities.
District spokesman Fernando Gallard said the student who threw the food maintained that he had hit Truong
All the black kids sit on one side of the room. All the Asians sit on the other.
An African American girl offers: "You know the stereotype all Asians look alike? Well, they don't. Since you get to hang around them and know them, they're actually cool."
The Asian students were asked what they had learned. One boy slowly raised his hand. "Making new friends," he said through a translator.
Sitting silently was ninth grader Zhi Hua Tian, 18. On Dec. 3, he was walking toward the lunchroom when another boy punched him in the face, breaking his nose.
Tian, who left school in an ambulance, was the most seriously injured of seven students taken to hospitals that day. His attacker was forced to transfer to an alternative school. Now, Tian said through a translator, "I'm always nervous and scared, especially in the stairways. Especially when I see a group of people."
Six months after the violence generated national headlines, some big changes are evident: The school has 126 additional security cameras. The principal has left. New programs seek to bridge divides.
Top Philadelphia school officials say Southern, as the school is known, is being transformed.
"I do think there is work to be done," said Ozzie Wright, a veteran educator now serving as interim principal. But, he added, "I think we're moving forward."
However, Asian students and advocates say that serious, systemic bias issues persist - and that district officials refuse to address them.
"We still need the school to correctly identify the nature of the problem," said Ellen Somekawa, director of Asian Americans United.
In interviews, six Asian students said they were still targets of harassment and even violence.
Hao Truong, 18, said that on May 3 he had his back to a group of black students in the cafeteria when applesauce splashed across his neck and upper back. The students laughed, he said.
Truong, a Vietnamese immigrant, complained to school authorities.
District spokesman Fernando Gallard said the student who threw the food maintained that he had hit Truong
Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/20100607_South_Philadelphia_High__Some_changes_made__some_problems_endure.html#ixzz0qGL9jqIU
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