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SUBURBAN SCHOOLS: Diversity coordinators vent at raund-table discussion Page 1 of 4 TwinCities•corn Pasted on Man, Qct. 21, 2002 �� f' a� �� i r��. SUBURBAN SCHOOLS: Diversity coordinators �ent at round-table discussion The Pioneer Press convened a round-table discussion of subur6an school district diversity coordinators. Attending the discussion, in addition to local news editors and reporters, were Hami�ton Bell, Inver Grove Heights; Tania Chance, White Bear Lake; Dan Forrest, West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan; Lisa McCleod, South Washington County; Joy Mueller, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Qakclale; Tracey Pyscher, Mahtomedi; and Johanna Eager, Roseville. The following is an edited transcript of that discussion: Why do we need diversity coordinators in the suburbs? Tania Chance: To better prepare our students for a changing worEd. In less than eight years, our population will have no majority — we need to learn how to interact with one another. A Eot of the suburbs are predominantly white. Those students don't have opportunities to foster their interattion skills and learn abaut other cultures. They'll be at a disadvantage when our new world emerges. Hamilton Bell: If you're a person of color and you happen to work as a diversity coordinator down in the suburban setting, you are a role model, not only far the students of eolor. You're also a roie model for a lot of Caucasian students who never have seen anybotfy in a leadership rale outside of their race. Joy Muelfer: In the last 10 years, North St. Paui enrollment of students of color has increased 203 percent. Our teaching staff is prEdominantly white. We have five schools out of our 15 schools at over 20 percent of students of color. So we really need to have sorne great staff devefopment going on for our teachers to understand how to work with students and parents of �olor so that we can eventually bring that achievement gap together. Dan Forrest: Our picture is very much the same. Tert years ago, we were about 3 percent, naw we are very rapidly closing in at 25 percent (students of coior). Yet our staff remains well, it's as close to 100 percent as they �an get. There's usually a pretty big correlation between students of cotor and leve�s of poverty, transience, parents trying to find affordable housing anci it tends to be those kinds of issues that are reftected in the test scores, not color. I'm wondering if you're seeing the same kinds of characteristics of students of color in the suburbs as you see the growth or is it different demographics? Lisa MeLeod: I know that we have a lot of statistics that say that poverty and economics and things like tf�at play into achievement and so forth but definitely race and ethnicity, that plays a gigantic role in achievement. Because, statistically, iro suburban school districts 80 to 90 percent of the students pass . - � .. . _ . � . . , - - - � first time. And when tf�ose same students of color or "protected-class st�dents," as the state defines http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/living/education/4330425.htm?template=co... 10/2l /2002