By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
February 8, 2012

Forget the educational jargon. Forget the politicians, the school board and the district administration.

What does Kansas City Public Schools really need? First, it needs to listen to its students.

For 17 years straight the school district operated with provisional state accreditation, struggling to raise state test scores to acceptable levels. This year, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education finally grew weary of second chances and stripped the district of its state accreditation on Jan. 1, 2012.

While community leaders and politicians continue to discuss the future of KCPS, the students are asking the same questions and losing motivation.

“They (students) feel like just because the school district is down, they can do whatever they want. They think since we’re unaccredited that all the schools in the district aren’t even worth anything anymore. When you go out and have your diploma, it’s not going to be worth anything,” said Hieu Nguyen, freshman at Northeast High School.

Three of his siblings graduated from NEHS and Nguyen wanted to be the fourth. But with the loss of accreditation, he’s not sure if he wants to stay.

“I don’t want to graduate from high school and try to get a job and they see my diploma’s not worth anything,” he said.

NEHS junior Erica Gallegos reflected a similar sentiment.

“That scared me,” she said of the loss of accreditation. “I’ve already worked so hard. For it to come all the way to this point, for people to say your diploma’s not even going to matter, that scares me because I want to make something out of my life.”

As the loss of accreditation continues to bruise morale, students at NEHS are still left with the same hurdles: discipline, safety and effective teachers.

When Northeast News asked one group of NEHS students if they felt safe at school, all of them laughed.

“Just say it,” one girl told the group. “No.”

“There’s a lot of violence and drama,” NEHS senior Jackie Medina said. “The teachers look the other way. When they decide to do something about it, it’s too late. The damage is already done.”

Medina also added that the security guards don’t “hustle” to the scene of a fight, opting instead to “take their time.”

Other students said that most of the time the security guards are effective.

“Even if it’s not a fight, if they see a crowd of people, they’ll start looking to see if they’re going to fight or not,” Gallegos said of the security guards.

While Gallegos said she feels safe at school most of the time, her friend, senior Vasti Sanchez gave a definitive, “No.”

Not every door at NEHS is secure and she’s personally seen students sneak in through side doors, she said.

She worries students will bring in weapons and added, “We have had students come in and jump people at our school before.”

“I think at any school there’s going to be some type of violence,” Gallegos said. “I don’t think it’s ever going to stop.”

Learning hurdles

As students described the challenges to learning at NEHS it ranged from inept teachers to apathetic students to inadequate discipline.

“I’ve been here all four years and honestly our curriculum is so poor. The teachers will make so many mistakes and we’ll have to correct them,” senior Brooke King said. “Some of our teachers give the answers – they’ll literally coach you through your test. Some teachers dumb it down too much.”

More teachers need to look at the individual needs of students and ensure students don’t fall behind in class, Nguyen said.

“Make sure each student is learning,” he said.

“I’ve had teachers in the past where they’ve been like, ‘Well it doesn’t matter as long as I’m here I’m still going to get paid. It’s up to you guys if you want to learn.’ And they’ll (teachers) just sit back and do whatever they want on the computer,” Gallegos said. “Eventually the teachers get fed up. I’ve seen teachers where they try and try everyday to get the students to try, but they just eventually get tired of it.”

All concluded that teachers need to engage the students more and incorporate more hands-on learning and teaching method variety in the classrooms. Teachers also need to know more than the student’s name, Nguyen said. Teachers need to “bond” with the students, know a little about each student’s life, know which students are excelling and which students are struggling, he said.

Most teachers care about teaching, but it’s the students that make it challenging, they said.

A number of students view school as a place to socialize, not learn, Nguyen said.

“There’s students here that learn and come to school with books and pencils, but then there’s students that just come to chill or walk the hallways,” Sanchez said. “It’s like a mall, but with no stores. There’s just kids walking up and down every time (while class is going on).”

For students without structure at home, it’s a struggle to follow the rules at school, said freshman Deonte Allen.

During class, students deal with disruptions on a daily basis, which includes talking while the teacher’s talking, smacking gum, throwing objects, eating, name calling, texting, playing MP3 players and rapping in the back of class.

“Most teachers don’t have a handle on discipline,” Nguyen said.

“Some teachers are not in the mood anymore to deal with our crap, so they just give up,” Sanchez said.

Sending a student to the office isn’t necessarily the answer, either, Gallegos said.

“Most of the time when you send them to the office, they’re not going to go to the office,” Gallegos said. “I’ve seen it happen. They don’t even go. They’ll just wander down the halls.”

Consequences in general must be tougher, the students said.

The positives

As the students talked candidly about what needs to change at NEHS, they also talked about what’s going well.

King said she has strong relationships with her teachers and that she and other students aren’t afraid to approach them with problems.

For Nguyen, the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) has given him confidence and helped him figure out what to do with his life. (He wants to be a doctor). Nguyen’s math teacher has formed relationships with the students and motivates them to solve the math problems.

Both Gallegos and Sanchez spoke of the history of Northeast High School that dates back to the early 1900s. When it comes to sports, they’re a family that supports each other, the two said.

Senior Tiawandra Patterson said one of her favorite teachers is one she never had – Mr. Shaw, who’s funny and “if you have a problem you can go talk to him.”

And her math teacher Mr. Lewis? “He’s almost the best teacher I’ve had,” she said. “If you don’t understand, he’ll stop and go back over it and explain it again. He’ll work with you until you understand it.”

Then, there’s Allen’s biology teacher who’s “always calm” and rewards her students for doing well on a test. If at least four students in her class receive an “A” on the test, she’ll bring pop or snacks for everyone, he said.

Despite the positives, the loss of accreditation continues to affect students and some think it’s only a matter of time before their school is shuttered.

“We’re all just lost,” Gallegos said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen.”