Michael Brown, the youth who was killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri, graduated from Normandy High School. You may recall reading here that the Normandy School District, which was 98% African-American, was merged by the state with the nearby Wellston School District, which was 100% African-American.
Michael’s graduation picture was taken in March 2014. Why so far ahead of the graduation date? The high school had only two graduation gowns, and they had to be shared by the entire class. Mark Sumner tells the story of Michael Brown’s high school on The Daily Kos, and it is heartbreaking.
“The grinding poverty in Mike’s world only allowed Normandy High School to acquire two graduation gowns to be shared by the entire class. The students passed a gown from one to the other. Each put the gown on, in turn, and sat before the camera to have their graduation photographs taken. Until it was Mike’s turn.
“What kind of American school would have to share robes across the entire senior class?
The kind that’s been the subject of a lot of attention from the state board of education.
“This district was created by merging two of the poorest, most heavily minority districts around St. Louis—Normandy and Wellston. The poverty rate for families sending their kids to Normandy Schools was 92 percent. At Wellston School District, the poverty rate was 98 percent. Every single student in the Wellston district was African American.
“Still, the state education board voted to merge the districts in 2010 (the first change to state school district boundaries in thirty-five years). Plagued by white flight, crashing property values that destroyed tax revenues, and a loss of state funds as the better-off residents of the area sent their children to private schools, the resulting district isn’t just short of gowns, it’s short of everything. Residents of the district voted again and again to raise their own property taxes, until their rates were actually the highest in the state, but a higher percentage of nothing was still nothing, and district revenues trended steadily down.”
And more:
“So who actually runs Michael Brown’s school district? Well, the president of the board of education is Peter F. Herschend of Branson, Missouri. Herschend isn’t a former teacher, or a former principal, and doesn’t have any training in the education field. He’s the owner of Herschend Family Entertainment, which runs Silver Dollar City and other amusement parks. He’s also one of the biggest contributors to the Republican Party in the state.
“So, when you’re wondering who runs Michael Brown’s school district—when you’re wondering who’s in control of an urban, minority district so poor that the students have only two graduation gowns to share—it’s a white Republican millionaire from out state.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Sadly, the powers that be have all of the power. Magically rules and policies change without any basis other than for the satisfaction of those who have the power.
That breaks my heart… rotating gowns and then shot in the street.
The playing field is so broken. The Rhee’s of the world are strangely silent about this civil rights issue.
Take a look at the videos of the people who were in the streets of Ferguson protesting, peacefully, those first few days. Most were AA; the ages ranged from young to middle aged, male and female.
Take a look at the weight of almost all of those people. Seriously. Please look at the videos. Fat bellies, even on teens. Fat. Even obese. Nice clothes, clothes no different than those people in middle class areas wear.
Poverty? You don’t know what poverty is. Poverty means hunger, not obesity. Poverty means tattered clothes that leave you cold.
What you are talking about is “non-working,” not “poverty.”
Don’t confuse the two.
This is a poverty of education and a poverty of money.
Poverty definitely causes obesity. Healthier, lower calorie foods are much more expensive and sometimes not available in impoverished areas. Burger joints and snack shops give people a way to get a bit of food now and it gets them addicted to low nutritional quality food. Just because a person is fat doesn’t mean they aren’t hungry. Don’t confuse the two.
“Working” and “poverty” are definitely not mutually exclusive. Wages are so low working in places that people barely have enough to support themselves nevermind anyone else. Poverty is a struggle that is very difficult to escape even when working. There is a vicious circle of poverty. The poorest people often end up paying the most for necessities because of the need to take out loans, poor financial education, lack of transportation, lack of technology access, etc. “non-working” is sometimes a choice and often not; it can be very difficult to find a job when your high school education has been so destroyed by the incompetence and uncaring of certain rich white men.
Brown v. Board of Ed is also dead as a doornail. This is full segragation. Poverty areas like this one are all over America…and the numbers of Michael Brown clones who suffer in the inner city environments is staggering.
One would think that middle America would be smart enough to recognize the inequality, and that teachers are not responsible for this outrage. If this school had no money for graduation robes, it is the strongest probabllity that it had no money for counselors and therapists to help special needs students who are impaired in making decisions because of being bipolar.
And perhaps this impoverished community had little money for training their police officers.
In LA, this past Tuesday, we had an 8% turnout of voters in District 1 LAUSD BoE, the district which has a multitude of similar kids to this dead boy. However, it also is a huge district and has a plethora of socio economically middle and even upper middle class residents. Seems most residents and voters just did not care enough to make their voices heard at the polls.
The interesting thing is that the predominant voters of the 8% were those who voted by mail. Voting must be made easier and should be on weekends, and maybe even online.
Michael Brown (his family) has legal representation today with the attorney who represented Trayvon Martin’s parents. Can he make the nation aware of the disparity between the rich and the poor of color, when the Walton’s finance ‘stand your ground’ laws, and the education reform ‘pushers’ create the poverty by focusing only on their own free market advantages?
I read recently that the Waltons, the richest family in the world, has more money than the 40% of Americans at the bottom. Why do they need so much while so many have so little?
In the case of the Waltons and the 1%ers, it is not that they need more wealth. Rather, they seek to ensure everyone else has less wealth. Just like Romney’s 47% comment, the rich define themselves by disdain for those less fortunate. Wealth is inversely proportional to empathy and compassion.
Hit the nail on the head with this one-to ensure everyone has less.
Ellen Lubic: Did Waltons steal their money? They worked for it. The problem is that people in impoverished communities are made slaves of the government. Instead of working for living and make lives better for their kids, they took whatever is offered to them. Children will follow steps of their parents. This is the problem – not the money that some people have. And this is not your damn business to ask why other people “need so much”? No money in the world will solve this problem. The more you give, the more will be asked of you. Hard work and education – these two thing will bring change. But it will need time, not the fast solution to give money away. Don’t you understand that?
Wrong Inga…current Waltons did not work for their money. They inherited it from the first Walton to earn it, Sam. With the tax laws favoring inheritance, they assiduously lobby against what they call “the death tax” which they do not want to pay. They starve their workers and teach them how to apply for food stamps and public health care, so that they can be further enriched by not providing a fair wage nor any benefits. Their workers live at or below poverty level.
Your perspective is that of the Far Right 1% that wants all the lucre earned by the hard work of all the rest of America.
I wonder what hard work you have ever done to make you a critic of inner city citizens? I have worked with inner city children for over 40 years and have seen parents who have 2 or 3 jobs trying to survive and keep food on the table.
I have been a public policy educator and educational researcher for 45 years, and it is definitely my “damn business” to investigate and report on academic information, and as an American citizen/voter/taxpayer and believer in the First Amendment, I have every right to post my opinions. I am still shocked to read such bigoted crap as you comment, Inga. Show me facts and figures, data, to prove what you posted here with such derision about people of color.
Yes
Inga Zorin: Actually the Waltons steal money from you and me every day – you do realize that their policy of not paying a living wage ensures that many of their full-time workers still need to rely on State and Federal benefits – which OUR tax dollars pay for. Let me put that another way: even though Wal-Mart employees work a full work week, many STILL do not have enough money to live on. These people are not “slaves of the government” – they are slaves of Wal-Mart. And the Walton family is literally stealing YOUR tax dollars to subsidize their cheapness. Wake the hell up already and stop posting nonsense.
All of Ferguson is not an “impoverished community”. It is not a “ghetto”.
Normandy school district’s boundaries include some parts of Ferguson. In Missouri, school districts are separate entities from cities, towns and counties and not necessarily (usually not) contiguous with those boundaries even though they may share the town’s/county’s name.
I absolutely agree. Ferguson is my home town (I lived there during the 50’s and 60’s) It is not a ghetto and generally looks very good. There are huge homes there that are fantastic and the R-2 school district used to be the very best til white flight started. The Normandy district is an adjacent school district. Voters kept voting down schools and the district fell into a huge financial mess. Violence, theft and a wholesale disregard for private property contributed to the districts financial mess. Normandy allowed students to be bussed to some wonderful schools many miles away at the districts expense (this is starting to change and the parents are in an uproar). Those schools are not keen on the idea of the “Normandy invasion”. Home schooling and private schools are the solution for those who could afford it.
I tend not to believe the graduation gown story..perhaps they did not want to purchase or rent them ?? If parents would support schools and take an interest in children’s education what a better world we would have.
Moving elections to Saturdays instead of weekdays could have a profound, profound effect.
Except that great numbers of the working poor and middle class don’t have weekends off. Voting periods need to be extended, not shortened as they are in many places.
Maybe I missed something because I’m from the UK, but if segregated schools were outlawed in the US by Civil Rights laws, why are they allowed now?
I don’t like it, but most Americans live around others like themselves. There are many different Americas. I live in white affluent America, as do many Asians and Jews. There is a black America. There is a Latino America. Some parts of big cities resemble the 3rd world. Where I live is just as nice as any European country. There is vast disparity amongst Americans. Blacks and Latinos don’t like to live together either. This is the reason that public schools in America are being dismantled. Public schools (except in the leafy suburbs) are seen as places for minority children. The rich in the cities in America send their kids to private schools (including all politicians). The expensive suburbs are mostly white due to price of homes. This must seem complicated to Europeans. Poor whites and religious whackos homeschool or send their kids to religious superstitious schools like Catholic schools or to their public schools out in the sticks. These schools aren’t much better than inner-city schools. We all segregate by “choice.” People moved away from each other, if they could. Of course no one will say this to you, but watch their actions. Whites like to live near other whites, Jews like to live around other Jews, but they find themselves living in white America because of small numbers. The same goes for Latinos and blacks. Asians generally try to fit into white America. What other options do they have? People feel more comfortable around others like themselves. It’s not a nice part of human nature, but it’s the truth. I imagine the same thing goes on in England. The upperclass send their kids to boarding schools, don’t they. Ethnic British people are fleeing London for smaller towns. If not, just wait a few years. I hope this explained American segregation.
That is WAAAAY too simplistic an answer. The fact is that blacks have been trying to live with whites for about 160 years now. Every time they try, something happens – lynchings, “race riots”, crosses burning on lawns, bricks through windows, redlining, block busting, white flight, you name it. It’s utterly absurd to suggest that blacks prefer living in ghettos simply because they want to live with other blacks.
The company line that “market forces” and self-selection created concentrated, hypersegregated black ghettos is a myth. Long-term surveys have shown that the first preference for blacks would be to live in a neighborhood that is 50% black and 50% white, but the sizable majority of blacks would accept living in a neighborhood that is 80% non-black. Almost all surveyed whites, on the other hand, would not tolerate a neighborhood once it became more than 10% black, and a significant number of whites would not tolerate a neighborhood that had ANY blacks.
Hypersegregated ghettos were very intentionally created and maintained—even in the bluest of blue states—by a variety of Federal, state, and local laws; discriminatory hiring, lending, zoning, and real estate practices; and of course the types of bad behavior and intimidation (by private citizens and police forces) that Dienne listed in her response. With the exception of the laws that were reformed by civil rights legislation, every single one of these factors is still very much in play right now, today, August 15, 2014, and our neighborhoods and schools are as segregated as they’ve ever been.
Chapter 31 of “Reign” proposes to devise actionable strategies to end poverty and segregation. It seems far too many people don’t want to acknowledge the inextricable link between poverty and segregation (almost 40% of black children live in poverty; for whites, it’s 10%), or that any meaningful, effective solution can’t just involve other people or the town/school next door but not your own. Whether it’s paying more in taxes, reforming absurd zoning laws, or breaking down the link between school districts and lines on a map, it’ll have to involve everyone if it is to work.
Thank you, Tim, for your excellent comment
I’m calling B.S., Tim. If you have links to those surveys, I would really like to see them. I’m guessing they are from 50 years ago.
Second, what people say is one thing, and what they do is another. I personally know many blacks who could live anywhere in my town but choose to live in the majority-black part of town for reasons of cultural affinity, family ties, institutional ties, etc. I know because I asked them, and they told me.
But here’s the thing, social scientists have shown that even a slight preference for living among people of one’s own race leads to exaggerated levels of racial segregation that would surprise most people:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/04/seeing-around-corners/302471/
So all this conspiracy theory stuff about how The Man has intentionally perpetrated patterns of racial segregation is just bunk.
Jack, I would just note that you and Tim may be talking about different things. To me, the key point from the surveys he references is the degree to which they might explain white-flight. The anecdote you provide is about why people choose to live where they live, not why they might choose to leave where they live.
Jack, those numbers are taken from the Clark study in 1991 — http://smg.media.mit.edu/library/Clark.ResidentialSegregation.pdf
If that’s not recent enough for you, you can Google “neighborhood racial preference survey” to find others that are more recent, but say much the same thing.
The next time you run into one of your black friends, and it shouldn’t be long, because you have many of them, would you mind asking them if their response had anything to do with a fear for the potential maltreatment they might receive living in the all-white side of town?
George’s office, Carl enters
George: May I help you?
Carl: I’m the exterminator.
George: Oh, yes of course, come in.
Carl: Why didn’t you want me to bring my equipment or wear my uniform?
George: Yes, well, if the other people in the office saw that I called an exterminator, they would just panic. Besides, this is sort of a friendly visit. Carl, right?
Carl: Do I know you?
George: Yeah, sure, we met at Jerry Seinfeld’s apartment. When you fumigated for fleas over there.
Carl: Seinfeld . . . Oh, yeah, funny white guy, right?
George: Jerry? Yes, I suppose he is white. You know, I never really thought about it. I don’t see people in terms of color.
Tim — Actually, that has come up before. Some have expressed some concern in that direction, but none said it was a major factor in their decisions. Rather, it came down to the other things I mentioned. Also, some reported being pressured by family not to move to “the white part of town,” since this was viewed as an implicit rejection of their “own people.”
I fully support Mike and Tim’s perspectives.
Some decades ago I was house hunting in Santa Barbara and found that older deeds read clearly, “no Negroes nor Jews allowed” and similar deed restrictions took place in La Jolla…both areas were well to do white enclaves.
For an educator to find a home in these areas was generally impossible, and I, as other colleagues, moved way out of town.
However, these bigoted deed restrictions only abated when the University of California built campuses in these communities.
Now, the advent of charter schools coupled with white flight has re segregated much of America. In LA, when you drive the freeways which identify off ramps with signs such as Koreatown, Viet Nam town, Chinatown, etc. it is clear that our melting pot city is rapidly becoming totally Balkanized.
I do find however, that communities are more often divided by economic class than by race. Realtors and sellers in Beverly HIlls and other privileged areas welcome all races with open arms if they have the cash and accoutrements of wealth.
Mike, this is unnecessary,
“Religious whackos”?! In the USA, we are allowed the freedom to worship as we choose. Catholic (parochial) schools aren’t superstitious and inadequate in general, nor are they run for profit, unlike charter schools.
Neighborhood schools are segregated because neighborhoods are segregated. Why they’re segregated is a long story.
Aren’t there segregated schools in the UK?
Did you get American Apartheid yet, Flerp? You should also order up Kenneth Jackson’s Crabgrass Frontier (that one’s available for the Kindle!).
No, but I recently re-activated my library card (I will NEVER return Little Dorrit! Do you hear me, NYPL?) so maybe I’ll check it out.
It is “de facto” segregation. It would be a desegregated school, but the only people living in its boundaries are black. I grew up in St Louis. A lot of the city/suburbs are self-segregated, especially by a very slow trend called “white flight.” Basically, when enough blacks move to a neighborhood many whites move elsewhere. During the decades-long transition, there are some wonderfully diverse neighborhoods, but they often don’t last. I was fortunate enough to grow up in one of those lovely mixing bowls.
PS – regarding the quote at the end of the piece: while Branson, Missouri is worlds away from Normandy HS, it is technically in the same state. Not defending the situation at all, but just wanted to note the mistake.
Exactly…it is de facto rather than de jure.
I noticed that, too and thought it a rather Freudian slip.
NO One is being denied admission to a public school. These are the neighborhood schools that happen to be in largely Black communities. These schools are no more to be regarded as segregated that those that happen to be in a largely White community. Students in the Normandy school district were being bused out for better quality schools.
The civil rights laws are not being violated.
Normandy is a horrible case, but naming Herschend misses most of the points. I have called for him to be dismissed or to retire, and I remember posting some of his donations…which I suspected being conflicts of interest. He is president of the state board which took over after allowing a terrible transfer law to cause Normandy to go bankrupt…..state commissioner Chris Nicastro is the real enemy……she is trying to string together a bunch of low performing districts to be run by the state sort of like the disaster in Michigan……..the board lied to them about how long they could remain accredited after the merger in 2010……now she is making up accreditaions which do not exist….to make sure the state remains in control. Normandy has had the equivalent of a state version of educational execution.
We have known these facts and some of us have been teaching & learning in the midst of them, for decades. Now we can breathe just a bit more freely because of the detail in this post and because journalists and citizens bravely stood in the middle of a Ferguson street and held their courageous hands up in the air on Wednesday evening. And through that night sky streaked the nerve gas cannisters, launched from Bush Iraqi War armored vehicles, directly into the core of hands-up humans. Last night MSNBC’s Chris Hayes walked the same Ferguson street and interviewed one liberated consciousness after another. It was powerful to see and hear Democracy taking root, taking heart and taking action. Wear a graduation gown in tribute and keep your Hands Up!
This *was* Michael Brown’s school. It still *is* many other young teenagers’ school.
Michael Brown’s death is as tragic as it gets. That is the story. The tone is changing and hopefully justice (at least the judicial kind – the social kind is a long way off) will prevail.
As for Normandy… there is a long, complicated saga behind the Normandy (now called) Collaborative – and possibly a success story in its future. More on that some other time.
To tell this story, you can’t bump into trees; you need to see the forest.
Call it what you want. Normandy is locked in poverty. But, it is not a New Orleans. It is not giving vouchers to kids to go to private schools. Their kids can still choose to attend other County (some the most affluent in the country) public schools.
Once considering a charter incubator for consultation for Kansas City, the Commissioner steered clear of that for Normandy. The State Board and Commissioner appointed a five-person oversight Board to Normandy comprised of educators and business leaders – residents of Normandy. There is a motivated superintendent who worked through a year of almost facing bankruptcy due to the transferring of students – he is a former public school teacher now administrator. The Governor vetoed a voucher bill handed to him by the legislature (another story).
Normandy is in the midst of battles bigger than them and some out of their control. Who knows how it will turn out. But a lot of people are trying to make it work – parents, teachers (see below), and others – and it has not gone down the path that so many others have to privatization, vouchers, and other machinations in place around the country today.
Still, sadly, Michael Brown won’t be attending a reunion but his memory is shining light and attention to many, many, many issues about which our nation must listen, learn, and address.
I had the pleasure of working with the current superintendent of Normandy, Dr. Ty McNichols, during my Saturday morning doctoral group. He is very intelligent and socially conscious. He’s probably the best for that position at this time.
Know him and one of the designated Board members as well. Agree with you completely.
Let’s pray the state of Missouri!
More than enough money for tanks and guns, but not for educating our youth. In my opinion, a very sad commentary.
The tanks and guns were given to the town by the DoD as part of the national effort to turn all of our police departments into militarized storm troopers.
At Ferguson press conference, a father asked the govenor why are they closing and boarding up schools, why are selling schools, what is happening to the public schools? I look forward to seeing a transcript…
Shameful!!
I have a hard time believing the school simply couldn’t afford more gowns than that. Dollars to doughnuts there was a lot of spending around there on other things, many of which were nice-to-haves, not necessities. The shortage of gowns was a choice, not something imposed.
I posted this story at the post dispatch….several responses angrily responded that they paid for their own gowns……that was the only thing they responded with anger to. I think some of the praise of Normandy is misplaced, but I certainly agree that Ty McNichols is a good superintendent…..they went from unaccredited to not accredited, and now accredited to the state board…..she invents whatever she needs…..Nicastro is a low life.
And the options?
Let the district go bankrupt, disband it and the neighborhoods, and send very student to other districts?
Allow vouchers that the legislature wants to send kids and tax funds (or credits) to private and parochial schools?
Allow the charter incubator to set up shop?
Do you want New Orleans or Normandy?
They accredited the schools but made them a collaborative so an appointed Board (of Ferguson residents / educators) could govern wisely; appointed an experienced superintendent to as the monitor and guide; kept the motivated superintendent in place; and are allowing teachers to innovate.
Given the options and the proverbial rock and a hard place, Dr. Nicastro preserved a local district, brought back funding, provided experienced governance and supervision, and kept a public school district and local control public and local.
ARTICLE excepts Teacher article from April
“Against all odds, Normandy is fighting for life after 17 years of epic mismanagement. Our locally produced plan is to shift to more authentic, engaging curriculum; to empower teachers as professionals; to heal our relationships with families; to strengthen our ties with a major research university down the road; and to deepen our collaboration with nonprofit community partners — including those in housing, health care, early childhood education, social and emotional support, and economic development. All around the district, transformation is underway.”
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/missouri-is-crazy-about-education/article_cffcc1e0-47e9-521e-bf73-7c21a9799a8e.html
Inda Schaenen works in the Normandy School District.
“From the start, Nicastro was vocal about the state’s failure in how it had been addressing high-poverty districts, ones that are filled predominantly with African-American students.”
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/missouri-s-top-education-leader-shakes-up-the-system/article_cbd2ed50-97e7-55be-aa75-f750ea27cc06.html
“The five appointed board members come with expertise in finance, school administration, information technology and nonprofit work. Most live in the Normandy district. One served as the vice president of the elected school board, which was disbanded Monday at midnight. The new board members are: Reginald Dickson, Charles Pearson, Richard Ryffel, Andrea Terhune and Sheila Grimes Williams.”
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/normandy-schools-get-a-fresh-start/article_95477a57-0e11-5cc8-a7eb-a0ba98b67e72.html
“From 2000-2008, he was superintendent for the Special School District, which provides special education services to students in 265 public schools in 22 school districts in St. Louis County. Prior to his tenure, the district was unaccredited. Kachris led a major reorganization and helped bring the district back to accreditation. He has also worked as an adjunct professor at Missouri Baptist University and Webster University. Prior to coming to St. Louis, Dr. Kachris spent decades serving school districts in upstate New York.”
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/missouri-education-department-hires-transition-officer-for-normandy/article_b5dd70c9-dcdb-59a6-af9c-75db63290eef.html
Excellent overview…thanks Jere.
Are there high schools that supply graduation gowns for the students? When my kids graduated I paid $100 for their gowns. When their pictures were taken they just wore the gowns the photography company supplied. The school doesn’t own any gowns.
The gowns are symbolic of wealth and poverty. There are pictures on the web of five students
How is it even legal for someone who doesn’t live in the district to run the board of Education? Is the Mayor from St. Louis? Is the Governor of Missouri from Oregon?
When Districts were “relieved” of bussing because it “cost too much”, desegregation was bound for failure through the “neighborhood school” movement. When a city has all-black neighborhoods and the parents want their children to attend neighborhood schools, this is what occurs. When there is no ground-rooted desire to CHANGE the methods and means, when people stubbornly hold onto traditions that don’t work- bad goes to worse.
For example, I remember when dads would travel to find work to support the family,. With the high number of single moms in these areas, and no “for sure” jobs without a strong academic foundation, but the lowest-paying positions in the service industry, there will continue to be poverty in all-black neighborhoods.
Blacks could move away from the blight areas if they were determined to do so. They could rebuild the small towns that are in their death-throes with innovative manufacturing sold on the internet. They could promote high academic achievement via home-schooling with publicly-supported and accredited internet schools – which offer almost “tutor-like” environments. It’s a well-proven fact (by scientifically conducted research) that children who receive one-on-one, tailored assistance are better able to accomplish academic tasks more easily and more quickly.
There are plenty of possible solutions other than remaining where the situation is so distressed and dire. And it is NOT the US or State or even Local government’s job, it is individuals making NEW SOLUTIONS when the old ones fail that must occur. It’s choosing to build a new path.
Yes, these would need some financial capital, but If the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is truly dedicated to improving lives (rather than building markets for more software use through increasing the survival of children in Africa), maybe such a “charity begins at home” solution might be financially-backed by such a source.
See:
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/it-walks-uncertain-path-normandy-graduates-seniors
Although the school seems to have many problems, the two-gown story is apparently exaggerated. (See pictures of multiple students at graduation in gowns.) It is likely that the two gowns were part of senior pictures (thus the early date). It is quite common to have a few gowns (and tuxedos for the guys and wraps for the girls) as props for senior pictures. This isn’t meant to downplay the serious performance and attendance issues present in the school, but the story of the whole graduating class only getting two gowns seems to be false. However, it does grab our attention and give a sense of pathos to the whole situation.
The district’s website says “Normandy High School is the district’s only high school. More than 900 students are enrolled in grades nine through 12. The campus is comprised of four educational buildings, a state-of-the-art fitness center and Viking Hall. In previous years Viking Hall, a large gymnasium and auditorium, has been named by St. Louis Magazine as the best high school sports facility in Missouri. ”
So it seems that some money is being spent there, at least on facilities. I have taught in schools with much worse.
By the way, Branson is also in Missouri, not “out of state”.
Ellen Lubic
August 16, 2014 at 2:48 pm
Excellent overview…thanks Jere.
one little problem with depending on the sanctimonious blame the teacher gang’s fluff at the post dispatch……..you can occasionally get blindsided by reality……http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/judge-rules-in-favor-of-normandy-families-who-want-to/article_7e8882af-c282-5b49-ac47-91ec70d1102b.html
Nicastro lost her right to invent whatever accreditation bs works for her agenda…..at least one judge ruled that way…..not sure if her new math on transfer tuition will be allowed to stand…..I do not like the transfer law…but…..I do like the dishonest state commissioner of education having somebody put the brakes on her…….inventiveness. A good start would be stopping the state from takeovers of schools where elected boards get in the way of big shots.
And what about the part where the state takeover cancelled all teachers contracts…they had to reapply for them……Rex Sinquefield must have beamed his approval with that.
Antonio French is an alderman journalist, who helped people stay up all night using community people to stop looters,,,,,it is quite a story……I challenged someone who was critical of his largely successful efforts, (including helpinga kid pour grape soda on a fire to put it out)….this is typical of the mentality we see a lot of in Missouri……he felt a need to change the subject…..”You know how you are always talking about Normandy HS? Everything you see that went wrong at Normandy started with the Black Panthers 44 years ago. Ron Johnson is inviting them in to destroy Ferguson.”
Thank you for bringing this to light, Diane.
I attended Normandy School District from 1st to 8th Grade during the late 80’s and early 90’s. Elementary School was filled with great teachers like sweet Mrs. Camp, smiley Mrs. Cunningham and tough Mr. McGowen who used to stand up on the desk to get our attention like Robin Williams’ character did in Dead Poets Society. But as soon as we went to fourth grade things began to change: more and more white students moved out of the district. By the time we went to Junior High nearly all of the white families and most of my African-American friends had left the district for good.
I remember Normandy as a district that wanted desperately to succeed but was not given the resources, tools, and funding to make that hope a reality. It ultimately lost its accreditation and, with it, the community.
As I watch Ferguson open the eyes of the nation, I realize I can only partially understand the frustration, anger, and angst in my old neighborhood. Why? Because I got out. Michael Brown, and countless others, did not.
“Democracy is noisy”, right! I hope that the anger and frustration that Ferguson feels will necessitate real change for St. Louis and the rest of the little, hidden neighborhoods around the nation where these tragedies go unnoticed and unreported by America and the world.
There are big problems in the St.Louis area, and especially in the areas to the north of St. Louis. I wish that the graduation photo and gown sharing didn’t get such emphasis, though. It’s common for graduation photos to be taken early – they need production time to get them into yearbooks. My (middle class to affluent) school takes graduation photos in September! And yes – kids share the photo robe. There is no reason to ask parents to purchase one months ahead of the date, and it’s just for a photo.
2 graduation gowns, hmmm…we had to purchase ours, and they were not cheap! Ferguson did not get such a bad deal.
The two graduation gowns were only used for senior graduation pictures. Every student had a gown at graduation, as hey did every year. http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/8f/68f29f39-6868-5edd-a09f-4d2a4983156d/537eaf83894f2.preview-620.jpg
I think that is the way most schools do it all over the country. the photographer sets up. They have a couple of gowns at the ready. The kids line up. Put one of the gowns on. Have the picture taken. Passes it on to the next. please chime in if your school did the same thing. I think this blogger is either misinformed, or trying to misinform you. plus they always take the pictures early in the year so they can put them in the yearbook. That doesn’t happen overnight.you’re really have to question what this blogger is actually trying to do here. Think about it.
Tim Watters,
At graduation, every student has a graduation robe. Usually.
It’s saying something about Michael that even with the odds stacked so heavily against him he was able to graduate HS and was enrolled to start college. Someone that could have gone on to much better things but tragically gunned down in the street.
Another myth. here’s a video of Michael Brown’s graduation and every person has a cap & gown. Please, please stop the myth-making for and against. It is not fair to people who believe & feel aggrieved, one way or the other.
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Another myth. Here’s a video of Michael Brown’s graduation and every person has a cap & gown. Check your facts. Please, please stop the myth-making for and against. It is not fair to people who believe & feel aggrieved, one way or the other.
not sure the earlier link I posted worked.
SEE IT: Video shows Michael Brown graduating high school just days before Ferguson shooting
The newly released video shows the 18-year-old graduating from Normandy High School in early August. The only other known alleged footage of Brown is a surveillance video released by cops, which purportedly shows the teen robbing a gas station immediately before being shot and killed by a police officer.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/watch-video-michael-brown-high-school-graduation-article-1.1913185#ixzz3B9KLg9LX