Phila. principal defended; cartoon denounced

In strong terms, a broad coalition of supporters publicly championed controversial South Philadelphia High School principal LaGreta Brown yesterday. Brown also spoke out for the first time, defending her leadership.

Many of the 10 who spoke before the School Reform Commission also denounced an Inquirer editorial cartoon that portrayed Brown as asleep behind her desk while the school was in turmoil.

The work by Inquirer editorial cartoonist Tony Auth appeared Tuesday. The cartoon commented on a story Sunday that described the school's leadership as having been in disarray on Dec. 3, when Asian students were beaten in a series of racially motivated attacks.

The attacks drew attention from the city and state human relations commissions, and spurred a federal civil rights complaint.

J. Whyatt Mondesire, head of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP, called the cartoon "disgusting. It is a lie. It is offensive. The Inquirer should be ashamed of what it did to Mrs. Brown."

Michael Lerner, the head of the city's principals union, said the cartoon was "a cheap shot" at a "dedicated educator."

"In his drawing, the cartoonist, Tony Auth, has suggested the most simplistic explanation of an unbelievably complex situation, a problem that has existed at South Philadelphia High School for years," said Lerner, leader of the local chapter of the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators.

Auth said his cartoon responded to news coverage portraying "confusion and strained communications and inept behaviors that were going on that day on the part of school administrators."

Harold Jackson, editor of the editorial page, said "the cartoons are Tony's point of view - they don't necessarily represent the views of the Editorial Board." Auth is a member of the board.

Brian P. Tierney, publisher of The Inquirer, said Auth was doing his job in commenting on the day's events and drawing strong reactions, positive and negative.

Sometimes he has agreed with Auth's cartoons and sometimes he hasn't, Tierney said, "but I've always respected where Tony's coming from. He is one of the greatest cartoonists in America."

Tierney went on to say of the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, "In a battle of credibility between Jerry Mondesire and Tony Auth, I'm going to go with Tony Auth all the time."

Mondesire - who also publishes a weekly newspaper, the Philadelphia Sunday Sun, and is a former reporter and editor at The Inquirer - shot back in an interview. "Since they work for the same institution and one depends on the other for his livelihood, that response doesn't surprise me," he said.

At the meeting, Mondesire called on the commission to condemn the cartoon. SRC Chair Robert L. Archie Jr. said he would confer with the other commissioners, then "take a position in opposition to what appeared in the newspaper."

Asian students who were beaten in December said Brown ignored their earlier warnings that they were targeted. A report commissioned by the district and compiled by a retired federal judge did not criticize Brown, but detailed a day of chaos at the school, with administrators confused or unsure how to respond to attacks.

Archie said the report showed that Brown did not ignore the situation that day.

Brown, in her own defense, said she often arrives at school at 6:30 a.m. and does not leave until after 6:30 p.m. She said she spends her days in classrooms and hallways, is rarely at her desk, and was incensed by the cartoon.

"I've worked night and day . . . to provide leadership that requires all of us in our South Philadelphia High School family to move to a higher standard of excellence in education," Brown said. "We are assertively working with the faculty, staff, and students, their families, as well as community partners, to provide a safe and orderly climate."

Christina Cherry, a junior at the school and a member of its student ambassadors group, said she supported Brown.

"She told us, 'We are like family.' When we need her help, she talks," she said.

Ozzie Wright, a retired district principal recruited to South Philadelphia to help calm the school, said Brown was "doing the job necessary to move our students forward" and had overseen a move toward a safer school.

"There have been great changes in climate," Wright said.

Parent Tara Tillman said it was an honor to support Brown. Her son is doing better in school, Tillman said, and she thinks the school has improved. But she said she gained new respect for Brown after her son was shot last week, and Brown visited him in the hospital and at home.

"She actually knows my son," she said.