CENTINELA VALLEY PROTEST: A SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUND

Ken Crowe, Hawthorne Principal

Ken Crowe, 37, became principal of Hawthorne High School in February, 1988. He was the school’s assistant principal from 1985 to 1988 and served as assistant principal at Lynwood High School from 1983 to 1985. His resignation, announced on March 1, was cited by students as one of the reasons they staged demonstrations at Leuzinger and Hawthorne high schools beginning on March 5.

Q: What do you think has caused the racial tension and student unrest in the district?

A: There’s a perception by certain (minority students and parents) in the community and the school that they have no voice, that their grievances will not be adjudicated with any type of sensitivity. The students by and large feel that I have been mistreated. Students of all ethnic groups report to me that teachers have used their classrooms not to deal with the curriculum, but to deal with their own opinions and perceptions of the election and what the board should now do to simplify their lives as teachers. There’s never any talk about what is best for children. I have not heard that in any discussion.

When I was appointed principal 2 1/2 years ago, the board was majority white, and they wanted to be advocates for children and they had confidence that I would take care of their children. I have worked in this school system 3 1/2 years prior to being appointed principal and many of the teachers, who are critics of mine now, were my most ardent supporters. They lobbied in behalf of me to become principal.

There’s a terrible mismatch in this school between the type of students who attend here and the type of teachers who must teach them, ethnically and in terms of cultural sensitivity. . . . You have a certain core of leadership teachers who came through teacher preparation courses in the ‘50s and ‘60s and who are simply not prepared, through no fault of their own, to deal with the urban child and all the myriad of problems that are associated with educating that child. That does not mean the teachers are not well-intentioned. It’s just in this environment these students need more.

One of my most difficult decisions was during my first semester. There were 34 teachers who were teaching in areas in which they didn’t have credentials. . . . One of my reforms was to put these teachers back into the area where they had credentials and that was mandated by a law, Senate Bill 435 as of Jan. 1, 1988. It said all teachers had to be teaching in an area where they had credential authorization. That was very difficult. There were nine teachers in mathematics who had no credentials in mathematics, just to give you an example of what the problem was. What that did in this small district was to create a situation where I was the bad guy with my instructional staff for doing right off the bat what was right for children. . . .

Another thing that created heartburn was that I asked teachers to submit to me and sent to all the parents at the beginning of each semester their classroom rules and grading policy. I felt it would increase the level of professionalism and that it would better inform parents and students of the expectation the teacher has of them to be successful. That was not greeted with a great deal of enthusiasm.

These were small but very significant reforms in the short time I had been principal to upgrade the professionalism in the school and try to raise the level of achievement. There was some resistance because I am a young black man with ideas of excellence for young children, and because those ideas meant I may ask staff and individuals to work harder. Then we had the racial cartoons and the incidents.

In the fall of ‘88, in a casual conversation with . . . Lauren Sanders (executive director of South Bay United Teachers), he made the observation that some of the teachers have problems with the fact that I was black and the superintendent is black. That would be tantamount to me saying I have problems with Dan Quayle and George Bush because they are white.

Q: To what extent are the white teachers racist?

A: I’m not saying that all the teachers here are racist. But the ones that are not, first of all they need to censure their leader (Nancy Nuesseler) who speaks for them. Otherwise, it leads one to believe that this (Nuesseler’s remark) was OK (with them). Al Campanis is no longer the spokesperson for the Dodgers, and he served with distinction for 40 years.

Q: How effectively has the school board responded to the situation?

A: What they should have . . . done was to come in and been in support initially of the administration, to take a wait-and-see attitude. You can’t come in, hold five meetings and then reassign a popular principal. I don’t believe this whole situation would have occurred if they hadn’t reassigned me. They have not met with me.

One of the board members has said the district should go in a new direction, but it has never been articulated what the new direction is. . . . But if they come in and say we want a new direction, and they start picking off minority individuals with whom students can identify, then there is a perception on the students’s part and others as well that there may be some underlying racist motives behind the actions.

Q: And the administration?

A: I think the administration has done well. We’ve kept the level of violence down in the schools. The schools’ instruction program is on target.

Q: Critics say the administration did not try to forestall the recent protests when it was clear that the tension between administrators and teachers might provoke students.

A: After the election, (white) teachers were telling students that the black administrators would be removed. Then, when I was reassigned, it became apparent that these were no longer rumors. I think the board should have dealt with those early on by making clear what their intentions were. If there are rumors that a board elected (with the help of) the teachers is going to get rid of the black administration, then it is not up to the administration to get rid of those rumors. I think it is the board’s responsibility to exercise leadership in that area, because they are the only group that can do hiring and firing, not the administrators. . . .

How could we predict (the protests)? We come to work one day and there are flyers saying this or that. . . . When it was about to occur, we knew about it at that time, and we did all we could to prevent it.

Q: Some charge that you and Nash incited students to protest.

A: I’m not going to respond to that.

Q: Some charge that your resignation announcement was handled in a way that encouraged students to stage their walkout.

A: I don’t agree with that. I was caught totally off-guard by the board decision to reassign me. I felt all along I wasn’t supported by the board and, basically, my resignation said that. It is very difficult as an administrator working without the support of the board. I really don’t think this board has been fair at all. The suggestion that I had some type of involvement is ludicrous, and I challenge anyone to prove it.

Q: What do you think should be done to solve the district’s problems?

A: My resignation should be rescinded, obviously. The board should state the direction that they want the district to go. If they don’t want us to implement the educational reforms and the accountability that goes with it, they should just say that. . . . (The board should) make a clear statement about the direction, the types of things they want to see in the district and not be involved in personnel, just the policy they want to see in the schools. Let the personnel implement the policy, but don’t come in and start removing personnel without stating clearly your goals and objectives and where you want the district to go.

Q: Has any good come from the controversy?

A: I really think that a broader community has been able to focus in on what is occurring in what could be described as a small provincial school system. I think some of the problems that are occurring in this school district, the variables are known now, certainly up and down the state. And many people throughout the state are waiting to see if this board will act with a sense of fair play and a high degree of ethics.