Plaintiffs In Bias Suit Offer Reading Plan

Plaintiffs In Bias Suit Offer Reading Plan

By Kathy Hulik

EDUCATION REPORTER

Plaintiffs in the economic bias suit against the Ann Arbor Public Schools have submitted their own reading program to U.S. Federal District Court Judge Charles Joiner in a bid to resolve the dispute.

The program is designed for children who live in the Green Road housing project and attend Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. They are charging the school with failure to meet the educational needs of poor children.

The plaintiffs earlier rejected a program submitted by the school district which outlined a reading plan for three of the 15 children named in the suit.

ACCORDING TO THE plaintiffs' plan, many interrelated parts are essential to a successful educational experience for poor children and the "behavior of the school is critical in determining the quality of that education."

The plan lists five objectives for the reading program. The first is student improvement, which includes better reading skills, better student attitudes toward reading, and an improved student self-image.

This aspect of the program would be monitored by persons mutually selected by the schools and the plaintiffs. The plan states that at least 80 percent of the Green Road children should be expected to read at grade level within two years of the program start.

Each student's reading would be completely re-evaluated and their performance would be measured monthly.

The plan's second objective concerns instructional strategies. It calls for a systematic reading approach with a structured basic program and individualized instruction. A youth-training-youth program and a black cultural approach are among several methods suggested.

ANOTHER PART of the instructional strategy is to eliminate language barriers. The plaintiffs have argued that the low-income black children speak a form of "black" English which is a barrier to their effective learning since most teaching is done in standard English.

The plan calls for a reading program using "black" English, practice in using a variety of language styles, and multi-cultural activities for all King School children in an attempt not to isolate the Green Road children.

Administrators and staff would have sharing sessions to get involved in program and and add their ideas.

The third objective is for teacher improvement through workshops designed specifically to address the reading needs of the Green Road children and the King staff. "Teachers must be trained to consider self-image, motivation and peer relationships of Green Road children... Without such emphasis on self-worth, the goals described herein cannot be accomplished," the plaintiffs maintain.

THE PLAN CALLS for school-wide involvement in the reading program through a variety of activities. 

An other objective is the use of supplementary resources such as paperback books, newspapers and movies. "We are suggesting a positive reward system rather than a negative punishment system," the plaintiffs state.

Finally, the plaintiffs call for school, community and Green Road parent involvement in the program. This would include an advisory committee with parents, board of education members and other organization representatives.

The plaintiffs rejected the school district reading plan, calling it a reiteration of academic material. Their plan, they said, represents a general reading program outline, designed to enable the school district and the King School staff to fill in further details for a specially intended, comprehensive reading program.

The school district will evaluate and respond to the plaintiff plan in the next few weeks. The district has a motion before Joiner to dismiss the suit. If no settlement can be reached through current negotiations, a ruling from Joiner will be necessary.