Andy Sharpe1737 Words, Not Including Works Cited

Andy Sharpe1737 Words, Not Including Works Cited

12-15-08

High School Journalism Workshop Final Paper

Deep in inner-city Philadelphia, the flame of journalism flickers, but is it impeded by the conflagration of racial segregation, low test scores, and violence?After interning with the journalism clubs at Parkway West High School and the Academy at Palumbo, it is clear there are assets to the schools, but there are also challenges. Parkway West and Palumbo are both considered above-average schools in Philadelphia’s public school system. This is because both have criteria-based admittance. Because of this screening process, test scores are much higher than other Philadelphia public schools and violence is not as much of a problem. This serves as a contradiction to the numerous news articles painting the School District of Philadelphia as a violent place with low test scores. With this in mind, they still contain one of the major problems that plague average inner-city schools, which isracial segregation among the student body. In this regard, these two high schools corroborate the grim picture that has been drawn of Philadelphia’s public schools. While Parkway West High School and The Academy at Palumbo are afflicted with racial segregation, they do not show the low test scores and level of violence that many journalists complain about.

The most noticeable woe at Parkway West is the racial segregation of students in comparison to the racial diversity of faculty. Upon walking into the high school for the first time, there were barely any Caucasian, Asian, Native American, Arabic, or Hispanic students to be found. Instead, the school was primarily composed of African American pupils. Of the rush of students flooding out at dismissal time, there were three non-African American students. Sure enough, the journalism club at Parkway West fit this bill, as the students were entirely African American. This dearth of racial integration is confirmed by the School District of Philadelphia, which says 98.8% of the students during the current school year are African American. Every other racial group is each represented by .6% of the students or less (“School Profile: Parkway West High School”). In contrast to the lack of racial diversity in the student body stood the teachers, who were fairly racially diverse. On the first day at Parkway, a Caucasian Gym instructor asked this writer if he needed any help, while a Science instructor who appeared to be Eastern European chatted with a Caucasian Math teacher. There may be racial diversity among faculty at the Parkway West High School, but the students have a highly discernible lack of racial diversity.

The Academy at Palumbo is a similar story to Parkway West in terms of race and students, although there is some more diversity. On the first day at Palumbo, the students were mostly African American, although there was Hispanic, Asian, and Caucasian representation. At Palumbo, Caucasians seemed the most underrepresented. This was true of the Publications Club, where there appeared to be no Caucasian members. This was comparable to the fifteen, or so, African Americans who showed up for at least one meeting. At the same time, there were two Hispanic members along with one Asian member. The Asian member seemed to be ostracized by the group, although that could also be explained by his role as a layout designer, not a writer. The Hispanic male also did not seem to be in the social loop, as he seemed more comfortable around the intern. On the reverse hand, the Hispanic female did seem comfortable with the majority African American members of the club. Gauging racial diversity at Palumbo is made more difficult by the fact that the school has never published racial statistics on its website. In a similar fashion to Parkway West, most of the students at Palumbo were African American, yet there were slightly more members of other races.

The racial illustrations at Parkway West and Palumbo are akin to the complaints of NAACP writer Leland Ware about racial segregation. Indeed, Ware provides statistics about racial diversity in major urban school districts. One of the school districts is Philadelphia, which Ware’s statistics show was 76.5% Black in 2000 (Ware 3). This figure is actually much less than the percentage of African American students at Parkway West, which is 98.8%. Thus, Ware would likely say this school is a tremendous example of “the unfulfilled promise” of Brown vs. Board of Education. Strangely, the percent of African American students at Parkway West is much higher than in any city on Ware’s list, as Chicago,at 87.7%, is thehighest. While there are no official racial statistics for Palumbo, the percentage of Black students seemed roughly equal to the district-wide percentage that Ware gives. The amount of student racial diversity at Parkway West and Palumbo serves fuel to Leland Ware’s argument.

Test scores at Parkway West look quite good in comparison with scores across the city. The most utilized test score is the PSSA score, which is tallied among high school juniors, as well as students in elementary and middle schools. Parkway West PSSA scores in math and reading are much higher than test scores at most Philadelphia public schools. This is especially resounding at the below basic level, which is the lowest tier. While 51.8% of Philadelphia juniors scored below basic in math, just 31.6% of Parkway West students scored this way. Likewise, 35.4% of Parkway West juniors scored proficient in math, which was higher than both the city and state averages, at 19.9% and 30.0% respectively (“School Profile: Parkway West High School”). Parkway West also performed well on the reading aspect of the PSSA’s. The 13.9% of students who scored below basic at Parkway West was much less than the 41.8% who struggled at this level citywide, and the 19.0% who achieved below basic statewide. Also, Parkway West eclipsed both city and state numbers for the proficient level of reading, coming in 16.5 points above the statewide percent (“School Profile: Parkway West High School”). Parkway West performed remarkably well on the PSSA’s in reading and math compared to other Philadelphia schools, and other Pennsylvania schools.

Parkway West’s PSSA scores in reading and math are defiant in light of the numerous articles citing failures among scores in Philadelphia. In fact, three articles from the Philadelphia Inquirer allude to test scores in Philadelphia that come in well below test scores in the rest of Pennsylvania. The Inquirer’s Kristen Graham points out that “weak spots remain. Across the state, and around the region, high school scores and scores in underfunded districts continue to lag” (“Phila. region improving its report card”). When Graham mentions “underfunded districts,” Philadelphia must be the main one she has in mind. This is especially true when she says “around the region.” In another article, Graham is quick to point out that “less than half the district’s students scored at proficient or advanced on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment [PSSA]” (“Phila. school test scores up for sixth straight year”). With all this criticism in mind, Parkway West does not “lag” on PSSA scores in reading or math. Parkway West also boasts a proficient or advanced score from more than half of its students, not “less than half.” There is a sizeable discrepancy between the PSSA scores that the PhiladelphiaInquirer complains about and the test scores at Parkway West.

Violence is not a major problem at Parkway West or The Academy at Palumbo. At Parkway West, the School Police were dispatched once for a fight. However, when inquiring about violence at the school, a student who had also attended the Upper Merion School District, a middle-class suburban district, said that she would see the same amount of fights at Upper Merion. A perusal of the crime statistics at Parkway West backs up this girl’s view, as there was only one violent crime reported in the 2007-2008 school year, which was an assault on a student (“School Profile: Parkway West High School”). From the experience at Palumbo, the same relatively non-violent story seems to be told. Generally, the students at Palumbo felt very safe. This was demonstrated by the glut of stories in the school newspaper about crime. The advisor to the Publications Club, Kiana Thompson, seemed to feel quite protected, while the school police officer did not have very much to do. From the experiences at Parkway West and Palumbo, violence happened very seldom.

As with test scores, the details on violence at Parkway West and Palumbo do not mirror the dangerous picture the Philadelphia Inquirer sketches of city public schools. One Inquirer article begins with the ominous phrase; “A surging number of Philadelphia public schools have been labeled ‘persistently dangerous’- so unsafe that parents have a right to send their children elsewhere” (“Phila. Sees surge in persistently dangerous schools”). From the experiences at Parkway West and Palumbo, there is no way they can be on the “persistently dangerous” list. Graham tries to draw a graphic picture by emphasizing how “unsafe” these schools are, and by saying the number is “surging.” In another article, Graham says, “the Philadelphia district also had a 6 percent jump in serious incidents for the latest school year” (“Violence, serious incidents jump in Pa schools”). This portrays Philadelphia public schools as becoming more dangerous, which does not seem to be the case with Parkway West or Palumbo. Unlike the story told in articles on school violence in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Parkway West and The Academy at Palumbo are not “persistently dangerous,” nor are they dangerous at all.

The experiences and statistics at Parkway West High School and The Academy at Palumbo confirm racial segregation, but do not confirm low test scores and violence. Leland Ware complains about racial segregation in the aftermath of Brown vs. Board of Education and pulls percents of African Americans in big-city public schools to bolster his position. Not only do Parkway West and Palumbo corroborate his argument, but Parkway West has a way higher percent of black students than any of Ware’s featured districts. On the other hand, the two high schools have good test scores and low levels of violence. This does not conform to Kristen Graham’s articles for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where she reports on low test scores and “persistently dangerous” schools. The level of violence witnessed and tallied at these two schools would not even qualify them as dangerous. Regrettably, the flame of journalism is trumped by racial segregation, but it burns brightly against low test scores and violence.

Works Cited

Graham, Kristen, Hardy, Dan, and Purcell, Dylan. “Phila. region improving its report card.” 7 Sep. 2008. Philadelphia Inquirer

Graham, Kristen, and Hardy, Dan. “Violence, serious incidents jump in Pa. schools.” 7 Sep. 2008. Philadelphia Inquirer

Graham, Kristen. “Philadelphia sees surge in ‘persistently dangerous schools’. “ 7 Sep. 2008. Philadelphia Inquirer

Graham, Kristen. “Phila. test scores up for sixth straight year.” 7 Sep. 2008. Philadelphia Inquirer

“School profile, Parkway West High School: Demographics, attendance, suspensions, and incidents” 2008-2009 School District of Philadelphia

“School profile, Parkway West High School: PSSA scores” 2008-2009 School District of Philadelphia

Ware, Leland. “The Unfulfilled Promise.” May/June 2004. The Crisis