Other Phila. schools handle racial, ethnic tensions

Trouble was brewing at Fels High School last school year: Asian students were jumped and beaten. Disabled students were assaulted.

"It was scary," Eileen Coutts, then an assistant principal, said of the climate at Fels.

Worried that the unrest might escalate, Coutts invited members of community groups to the school. Administrators, parents, students, and activists came up with a list of interventions - class discussions, peer mediation, mentors, an "international welcome squad," cultural sensitivity training for staff, a buddy system for new students.

The school, despite lots of problems, has made progress. In the fall, overall crime, including assaults, was down 40 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Though December's racial and ethnic violence at South Philadelphia High has drawn considerable attention, it's hardly an isolated situation.

Stephen A. Glassman, chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Human Relations, which is investigating the South Philadelphia violence, said the commission had heard over the years about violence against immigrant students that "is systemic, it's long-standing, it's been going on for years if not decades. We understand that while this might be perpetrated against Asian Americans today, there has been a history with African immigrants, Caribbean immigrants, all kinds of immigrants."

While the district plans sensitivity training for employees and has a new office of diversity to work in all schools, solving racial problems has historically been left to individual schools.

And several - such as Fels in the Northeast, Furness High in South Philadelphia, and Bartram in Southwest Philadelphia - stand out for how they've brought in outside help, solved similar problems, and brought students together, community leaders say.

Though the schools are making strides, all three are among the district's 95 lowest-performing schools. Fels and Furness landed on the state's "persistently dangerous" list under the federal No Child Left Behind law because of violence over several years.

Furness, where nearly one-quarter of the students are English-language learners, also grappled with racial tensions and fights.

Principal Timothy McKenna said there had been a real improvement in the climate since he arrived in 2008. He attributed the changes to more community partnerships, a tighter discipline code, and more activities during the day and after school. Total violence was down 25 percent through December.

"I'm a big believer in hooks for kids. We have to find out what they're interested in and make it so they want to come to school," McKenna said. "Now I think the school really mingles well."

Twice a day, McKenna gets on the Furness loudspeaker and reminds pupils: "If you have an issue with another student, tell an adult." It's a small step, but it's helping to defuse conflict, he said.

Careful attention is paid to the needs of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students, McKenna said. The school keeps beginning students in classes with only other ESOL students, but integrates them into mainstream courses with English-speaking students when they are ready for the work.

After learning of racially motivated incidents at Fels and Furness, Allan Wong, a member of the Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs, followed up with both principals this school year and was happy with the progress.

"The situations have improved significantly," Wong said. "It's not to say that things are perfect, but they help integrate students, and I'm pleased about that."

Mia-lia Kiernan of the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia has been involved at Fels since Coutts first met with the community last spring.

"Acknowledging the problem makes all the difference," Kiernan said. "The violence comes from outside, but it is part of the school's responsibility to try to quell that."

On a recent day, Coutts, Kiernan, and bilingual counseling assistants Yolanda Torres and Sovanrith Ngor sat around a long table with a dozen students, members of the International Welcome Squad.

Its members plan activities, watch for trouble, and warn administrators when they see things brewing. And they work with new students - those who speak little English and others - to show them the ropes and make them feel accepted and safe.

Nearly every one of the diverse group of African American, Hispanic, and Asian students has been bullied or beaten, they said. They know what it feels like to be targeted because they're different.

Now many students go out of their way to be friendly, said Sereyvibol "Kevin" So, a Fels junior.

"We welcome students if they're from a different country or a different area," So said. "We talk about stereotypes, how people use racial profiling, racial insults."

Sophomore Shayla Torres is new to Fels. At first, she associated only with other Hispanic students. She was nervous, unsure whom to trust or where she fit in. Now on the Welcome Squad, she's determined to make sure new students don't feel the same way.

"With your buddy, you tell them, 'Oh, it's cool. We can all hang out,' " Torres said.

Senior Ninoshka Cotto helped design training for buddies. It's easy, she said: "Don't forget to smile. Be friendly. Make conversation. You're more than a tour guide. You're a friend."

The Welcome Squad experience has opened junior Chandaravuth Non's eyes. Last year, he was scared of school after being attacked while waiting for the bus.

This year, as part of the Welcome Squad, Non started hanging out with lots of students who don't look like him.

"We have to teach them how to make friends. The first time I met him," Non said, motioning to fellow junior Neal, who is African American, "I didn't know him, but he said, 'Hi,' and was friendly, and now we're friends."

Coutts even used the attacks at South Philadelphia as a teaching moment for her students. Social-studies teachers held discussions on the violence, and Coutts asked students to sign a pledge to respect others' cultures, races, and gender differences.

"We really needed that dialogue," Coutts said, "and it will continue."

Bartram principal Constance McAlister agreed. She arrived at the school in 2003, when, she said, "elephants roamed the building. I had never seen anything like it."

One of those elephants, she said, was the relationships between native-born students and "immigrants, those coming from West Africa and our Asian population from Vietnam and China." Most conflicts were between African American and African students because of "a lack of tolerance and understanding of differences.

McAlister had a mission: "Building relationships, helping kids understand they're more alike than different." She, too, brought in community groups and used the poetry, plays, and other art forms to teach kids about diversity.

A "Fight and Write" program made kids involved in conflict reflect on it. Peace circles were another innovation. For those, staff and community members gathered 100 students of all races together to talk about conflict, diversity, and common threads.

The work has made a difference. Through December, violence at Bartram was down 71 percent over a year earlier.

While academics still aren't where McAlister wants them to be, Bartram's climate is much calmer. This year, an African student, Makula Fofana, is senior class president.

"That never would have happened before," said McAlister, who handles racially or ethnically sensitive matters herself.

"As hard as it is and as hurtful as it can be sometimes," she said, "we as an administrative staff and as a school community refuse to ignore these problems."

Samuel S. Fels

High School

5500 Langdon St., Northeast Philadelphia

Enrollment: 1,611.

Students in the English

for Speakers of Other Languages program: 200.

Languages spoken include: Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Horace H. Furness

High School

1900 S. Third St.,

South Philadelphia

Enrollment: 650.

Students in the ESOL program: 150.

Languages spoken include: Cambodian, Chinese, Indonesian, Khmer, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

John Bartram

High School

2401 S. 67th St., Southwest Philadelphia

Enrollment: 1,363.

Students in the ESOL program: 160.

Languages spoken include: Basa, Chinese, Krio, Spanish, Mandingo,

and Vietnamese.

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