Our Public Education Crisis: A White Parent’s Perspective
By Barclay Key
August 11, 2015
From the chaos of initial desegregation efforts to the white flight of the past few decades, Little Rock’s hopes for strong public schools have consistently been sacrificed on the altar of white supremacy. As a historian, I knew the general contours of this story before my family and I moved here in 2012. The story differs only in its details as one travels the country.
With two school-aged children, we immediately took an interest in the Little Rock School District (LRSD), determined to do our part to help. New hopes for our public schools arose in 2013. My board member stood for reelection, and I decided to get involved. The incumbent was unacceptable. He never replied to any of my e-mails and exhibited little engagement. One opponent had previously served on the board and, to my mind at least, we needed a fresh start. A third candidate, Tara Shephard, agreed to meet with me one Sunday afternoon. She was a parent and committed educator. She worked with “at-risk girls,” a phrase that one quickly learns not to use around Ms. Shephard. She prefers “at-promise.” In addition to her strong commitment to equal educational opportunities, what I liked most about Ms. Shephard was her willingness to answer “I don’t know but will find out.” She got my support. I placed a sign in my yard, donated money to her campaign, and organized door-knocking in my neighborhood. The incumbent finished third, and Ms. Shephard won the runoff. A new board member was also elected in another zone, C. E. McAdoo, a longtime pastor with an excellent reputation.
There is a steep learning curve for new board members, and it is an important task that literally pays nothing in Arkansas. The educational jargon and acronyms are mind-numbing. Budgets are complicated. And, of course, gossip knows no end in local politics. But these two board members were outstanding.
At the same time, board members can only do so much, so in February 2014 Jim Ross and I decided that we should seek out more ways to help. Jim and I are colleagues in the UALR Department of History. He was once employed by the LRSD and has three school-aged children. One Sunday afternoon, we assembled a few people who were interested in helping our public schools and at that meeting, we determined that we would approach teachers at Henderson Middle School about how we might help. None of our middle schools have strong academic reputations. (Few middle schools anywhere do!) But HMS was conveniently located for anyone who might want to volunteer, and Ms. Shephard had connected me to one teacher. I met with her and soon began coordinating a few volunteers in sixth grade classes for the rest of the semester. We didn’t do much, but another adult presence always helps. We connected with a few students and started a book club during the next school year. I hope to return again in a few weeks.
By the summer of 2014, however, Jim decided that substantive, sustainable change would require a more assertive school board. Two seats would be contested in 2014, including the one for his zone, so he decided to run. I served as his campaign manager. We spent countless hours studying maps, organizing volunteers, and walking door-to-door in the sweltering Arkansas summer. In addition to the long hours, I will always remember the people we encountered. Several explained how integration was a mistake or how they wished none of their money went to public schools. Others were more supportive, succumbing to that sliver of hope that new ideas provided. Most were apathetic. Apathy remains our biggest enemy. Another memory I will have is the stark differences between rich and poor in this city. We knocked on the doors of opulent mansions and dilapidated duplexes.
Jim defeated the incumbent by a two to one margin and Joy Springer, a longtime observer for the federal court of the LRSD’s desegregation efforts, defeated the incumbent in the other race even more soundly. In a span of thirteen months, voters elected four new board members and defeated three incumbents. (One incumbent did not stand for reelection.) The seven-member board now had four black representatives and a strong white ally in Jim. Democracy was working for people who were committed to improving our schools, and the newest members took their seats in October.
The superintendent, Dexter Suggs, was adversarial with the board, especially its newest members. When he arrived in the summer of 2013, he cozied up to Little Rock’s white elites, the same people who helped perpetuate residential segregation and pockets of extreme poverty in our city. But now Mr. Suggs was confronted by four new board members whose priorities differed markedly from those elites.
As soon as the newest members were seated they learned that a state takeover was a real possibility, although no one knew exactly what a Badass Teachers Association: