Photo by Andrew Rogers

A Reagan High School student waits for a ride at the end of the day.

I was surprised when my Work-Study assignment from the University of Texas at Austin sent me to Reagan High School as a tutor. And like any new territory, I spent a good deal of time mapping my environment. I darted past stereotypes, bumped into unfamiliar truths, celebrated clear triumphs and exited a more contemplative person about the textured reality of Austin's education scene.

Reagan educates youngsters on the east side of I35, the defacto Austin color line, legacy of segregation. Now it charts not only color, but class. Like the neighborhood, the Reagan campus swings between the high point of its band — which acquired third place in the first week of the 2008 Marching Band Challenge sponsored by CBS 42 — and the discouraging outcomes of test scores where only 43% of students passed all TAKS, and 36% are college bound. Its history provides some explanation.

December 8 marks the 54th anniversary of end of legally protected school segregation. In 1954 the U.S Supreme Court ruled that separate was inherently unequal. That decision in Brown vs.The Board of Education opened both an era of hope and one of violent refusal and covert resistance. In fact, as educational scholar Jonathan Kozol noted in his September 2005 cover story for Harper's magazine, U.S. schools are "Still, separate, still unequal." They are, he contends, "America's educational apartheid."  

Kozol points out that in cities where integration in a public school would seem most natural, school officials and parents there make sure to "avoid the integration option." His article gave me some insight about the Reagan experience.  In Austin, Reagan High School gives a modern example of re-segregation. The school's student body consists of 98% non-white pupils. The larger population of minorities in East Austin schools reflects the area's residents- predominantly Mexican-Americans and African Americans. Most of the students come from low-income families; as a result the neighborhood schools are considered Title One facilities receiving special federal funding. Those are usually ranked Academically Unacceptable having failed to meet test scores requirued by No Child Left Behind. 

I learned that in West Austin, right across from I-35 divide, demographics change. This area, occupied by the upper middle class and affluent has a predominantly white population. At Anderson High School, one of six high schools serving this area, the student body consists of 29.8% non-white and 63.7% white. Here 81% of students passed all TAKS tests and 78% were college bound. West Austin schools do not need Title One assistance and are Academically Acceptable.  

Clearly economic class plays a key role.

Reagan High School has a different past. So I turned to Jordan Grams, who has been the librarian there for 26 years for some background. "It used to be the place where the upper middle class attended" Grams said. He remembers when the school was full of high achievers "many attended Ivy League Universities like Harvard after they graduated." Now students seldom consider attending a community college.

Photo by Andrew Rogers

Jordan Grams, Reagan High School librarian of 26 years, recalls the past and the changes made.

Grams explained that when the school first opened in 1964 for a short period of time they closed the original Anderson High School and brought a large number of its students, almost 100% of whom were African American, to attend Reagan. Integration generated conflict which probably led to the construction of L.B.J High school.  Then people who settled in University Hill got older and stopped having children; the demographics changed, the school became probably more black than any other race. More recently the economy surged again, Grams said, "We got an influx of people from south of the border changing campus demographics again. That turned us into the predominantly Latino population of today."

Many think that low funding per pupil generates conditions leading to the Academically Unacceptable rating. But the bottom budget line looks healthy.  Part of that, however, results because Title One schools get federal funds to meet some non-academic needs, like affordable or free lunches.  So the academic resources per pupil at Anderson are $5,523 compared to the resources per pupil at Reagan which are $6,336.

I learned that money alone does not determine outcome. What does make a difference is parent participation, said Brian Gregory, the bookkeeper at Reagan High School.  Consider the difference elsewhere.

"Anderson does not get federal grant dollars but the money that they do get usually comes from the community and parents, who have a lot more leverage regarding how they can spend money. Our money comes from federal grant dollars which means we are constricted by what the federal government says we can spend it on

In fact, many education specialists say that parent participation is crucial in the development of a student's intellectual strengths. Here another difference between the East and the West Austin communities becomes visible.

 "The only time we get a large turnout of parents at our PTA meetings is when we provide food" says Jordan Grams, "You should see Anderson's [High School] PTA meetings; you can't find parking four blocks from the school."

But the small turnout of parents at PTA meetings in East Austin schools and the practical attraction of a prepared meal can be attributed to certain low-income realities. Many parents work two jobs, come home tired from hard labor. Having a meal prepared at school would certainly be an incentive. As a contributing factor, children from these homes often have no one to help with home work or otherwise enrich the academic experience since economic survival takes precedence thus the gap between the student's daily life and that of their parents also affects the bond between home and campus.

Many of these students have to work after school to help the budget. Of course, some work because they want the latest electronic item or name brand clothes.

Estella Elam a retired Reagan school administrator told me that she wished students better understood the concept of deferred gratification.

"They [students] do not understand that having an education can get them all of those things in the future," she said, "They [students] want things now."

After school jobs leave little or no time for school related work. These activities can also keep students unfocused during class time.

Although because they are minors, I could not interview them for publication without time consumering parental permission process, I encountered these students in tutoring sessions. I also work with those students who try hard to do well and plan to attend college after they graduate, an average of 36% of students at Reagan High School are college bound.  But often the system gets in the way. Most of the students I work with face a problem that might not allow them to graduate on time. And delayed graduation can contribute to postponed or lost motivation.

These students, seniors this year, are intelligent, and determined. But right now they are struggling to pass the TAKS tests — failure means that they cannot graduate. Some failed TAKS math for the second time. Filled with frustration, they came to me for help on a practice test just given out by the counselor.  Repeated basic mistakes might have been avoided if a strong foundation in the subject or experienced parental assistance was a common routine.

Every time I work with them I try to break down math problems to their simplest form. Often relating them to real life situations, I'm hoping that my explanations can help them understand the concepts. I also try my best to keep them motivated toward college, and encouraging them not to give up on their dreams of becoming professionals. I enjoy working with the students at Reagan High School because at the end of the day I feel gratified knowing that in some way I contribute in the education of these students.