Though the numbers show Garfield as a model of ethnic diversity, it’s no secret that the halls and classrooms and test scores of Garfield tell a different story.

“It’s like there was a silicone spread on their skin,” said Language Arts teacher Adam Gish, describing race relations at Washington Middle School, which feeds directly into GHS. “They would bump into each other in the halls, but they wouldn’t fight, because they lived in completely different worlds.”

The social rift is mirrored by statistics. African American students are substantially underrepresented in honors and AP courses, have breathtakingly low test scores relative to Garfield’s Asian and white populations — with as many as 65.5% more white students passing that black students in each area – and earn an average GPA a full 0.9 (equivalent to almost two letter grades) lower than their white and Asian classmates. Also, 65% of African American students have at least one ‘D’ or ‘N’ on their transcript.

Less obvious to the casual observer, however, are the battles fought and the sweat shed after school hours as teachers, parents, administration, and community members struggle to find a way to allow African American students to achieve.

Though the achievement gap has always held a high spot on the administration’s priority list, the issue has come to the forefront in recent weeks, as Principal Susan Dersé has come under attack from the Garfield Community Coalition, a group of concerned Central Area citizens formed when the Garfield Achievement Program was cut last year. The program was run by Morella Francois, a former principal of Meany Middle School, whose principal-level salary (approximately $100,000) and the cost of a secretary were covered by the district. When district funding for the program, including Francois’s significant salary, was withdrawn in last year’s budget crunch, the school was forced to close the office and assign Francois’s duties, including tutoring and student intervention, to other areas of the school.

Many staff members, however, doubt how much was actually getting done in the GAP office. History teacher Dan Cerquitella explained that documentation of the program’s activities, such as how many kids went through the program, what were the initial problems, and how much they improved, was never provided to the school. “We don’t know whether it was helpful or not,” he said, “but the fact that nobody could show us hard documentation tells us something of what was going on.”

While Francois was employed at Garfield, she assembled a list of 12 allegations about how the administration did not serve the needs of African American students and presented it to the Seattle branch of the NAACP for investigation. The association did so, requesting documents including graduation statistics and the master schedule, to determine the extent of the problem. The inquest concluded that though there was an achievement gap, the school was working hard to solve the problem. Had they found otherwise, the NAACP would have taken legal action, Dersé says. Instead, six recommendations were presented to district Chief Academic Officer June Rimmer, who passed them on to Principal Dersé to deal with.

Nevertheless, tensions rose to the surface in a community meeting the week of September 9th called by Dersé to respond to the recommendations. The meeting descended into anarchy at one point as staff, community and coalition members struggled to find common ground. However, it wasn’t Dersé’s prepared statement explaining the gains made in African American education that seemed to arouse protest. Rather, Coalition members were upset over the hard line Dersé took early in the school year over the actions of several of the activists.

According to Dersé, Coalition leader Elma Horton had called at the beginning of the school year to arrange ways in which she and some friends could help in the school the next day.

Instead of following through with the plan, the group entered the counseling office and classrooms unannounced, sometimes taking pictures, for the purpose of “monitoring” the proceedings.

“What could have been defined as helping by some people’s standards wasn’t actually helpful,” said math teacher Ginny Burton, whose classroom was one of those entered. Burton explained that Washington Administrative Code does not allow unannounced visitors into schools, but that if an exception is made for one group, it has to be made for all. “So if the Klan wants to come in, you have to let them,” she said. “You have to be consistent.”

The Coalition, however, disputes this idea. “I know that we have certain rights,” said community member Don Alexander. “Telling me that [the Coalition] can’t come at any time into our school…there are no ways I can think of that this would be acceptable to those who remember slavery in this country.”

Horton, the group’s main spokesperson and the mother of three GHS alumni, also defended her actions. “I have been a teacher for a long time, and I know how to visit a school properly…we were only trying to help the children.”

Also at issue in a later meeting was the group’s decision to hand out flyers on school property during Freshman Orientation with the heading “Save Our Children.” The flyer alleged that, among other things, African American students are being denied books and core classes required to graduate and that special funds going to programs such as Math Challenge, Special Education, and the African American Scholars program were being misused.

This last charge elicited frustration among staff members invested in these programs. “For her to say at that meeting that there was a misappropriation of funds for the Scholars? You’ve got to be kidding me,” said biology teacher and African American Scholars Program coordinator Rebecca Shope. “If I don’t dot my I’s and cross my T’s, there are three people who watch over that grant…someone will call me and say, ‘actually, you can’t use this fund for that purpose.’”

Ginny Burton started and still runs Math Challenge, a program that has allowed 400 African American kids over the last 12 summers to take up to a year’s worth of math in nine weeks. “The money always went to African American children,” she said. “To put something in a pamphlet that says you were misusing funds when you can’t point to why — that really bothers me.”

Principal Dersé emphasized that while parents were welcome to come and help or observe in classrooms at times when they would not distract students, they must arrange it in advance and sign in at the main office. This, however, was not satisfactory to many members of the Coalition.

“I sense top-down administration,” said Robert Gerry, Sr., a 1952 Garfield graduate and longtime employee of the school district. “If we’re to succeed in anything, we need to be inclusive…when I see walls going up, [the school system] is going to collapse.”

There was even mention of the principal’s removal. “If you’re a misfit, it’s okay to move. There’s a place for you somewhere,” said Elma Horton. Gerry concurred, warning: “No principal, no teacher, no coach, nobody who works with kids is indispensable.”

Dan Cerquitella, however, expressed frustration that the Coalition seemed not to acknowledge advances being made in African American Scholars and other programs. “They told me that they didn’t care about the students in honors classes, that they cared about the ones that were failing and on the D and N list,” he said after the meeting. “I couldn’t believe this. Those kids matter too, but every child matters, and they simply ignored the kids that were in honors classes that might not have been before. I think this shows something about their real agenda and what this is really all about.”

Others at the meeting could not help but notice a racial undercurrent in the comments being made. “I’d like to think that everyone was there for the kids,” said Rebecca Shope, “but I can’t help thinking that race was more important to some people.”

Dersé, however, dismisses the importance of race. “I’m doing my best to make this a school that educates every student in every classroom on every day,” she said. “And that’s more important than the fact that I’m white.”

Despite the antagonistic tone of the meeting, Dersé says she is optimistic and determined to work with the community to forge bridges for the achievement gap. “We’re trying to get the coalition to the table with us along with other groups with a stake in childrens’ education to figure out together what is the best way to help students.” Dersé cited the formation of the Garfield Community Alliance, a committee composed of the representatives from several different Garfield-based groups, which meets once a month to discuss issues within the school. One such group, Parents for African American Student Excellence (PAASE, pronounced “pace”), has been meeting biweekly since the spring of 2000 with the goals of involving minority parents in the education of their children and motivating students to achieve up to their potential. Last year, the organization hosted the 3rd annual Ku’Onesha Awards to honor black student achievement, and distributed over $4,000 in scholarships to African American students.

Within the school, staff are working hard to narrow the achievement gap, focusing on improving instructional practice. Each administrator, Dersé says, has made a commitment to spend at least two hours in classrooms every day observing teachers and making suggestions.

“I’m really excited that [Ms. Dersé] is helping teachers improve their instructional skills,” said Vera Williams, the Transformation Office parent liason. “There are all these different learning styles, so we need to address that in order for teachers to teach in a way that every student understands — to teach for understanding.”

Fifteen teachers received training over the summer in Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), a program emphasizing teaching methods designed to boost minority student performance. All teachers attend Courageous Conversations sessions, which focus on understanding the dynamics behind African American underachievement.

The achievement gap debate will fade from its current place in the limelight, but it will never stray far from the minds of Garfield staff. Cerquitella reflected back on the meeting that exposed sharp differences in the Garfield community.

“I did a lot of soul searching after that conversation,” he said, “but I came out of it truly believing that what we were doing was right and that we should continue to do what we’re doing.”