Minorities hold few positions among school administrators

An Urban League official says prejudice has shut the door on talented blacks.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Come this summer, when two others are scheduled to take office, Pennsylvania will have just 10 black superintendents -- representing just 2 percent of the state's 501 top school administrators, a newspaper reported.
"We've been here doing the jobs in backup roles for a lot of years," said Joe Tindal, superintendent of the Wilkinsburg School District. "A lot of areas aren't ready for a person of color in a prominent position in education."
Nationwide, about 5 percent of 14,000 superintendents are minorities, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported. After this summer, Pennsylvania will have just 11 minority superintendents while minorities make up nearly a quarter of Pennsylvania's students and more than a third of the nation's students.
Range of reasons
School officials cite a range of reasons -- politics, fear of change, an educational system still dominated by whites -- for the disparity. Whites account for more than 90 percent of Pennsylvania's teachers and principals.
"There are very few opportunities presented," said Gail Edwards, chief administrative officer for the Urban League Charter School in Pittsburgh. "There's a prejudice always against us when we come through the door. The world has missed very talented [black] women and men."
"African-American students need to see positive role models," said Cleveland Steward Jr., who's being promoted to the top post in the Gateway district this summer. "What they should see is somebody who worked within the system, prepared themselves appropriately and when given a task, finished that task to the best of his or her ability."
Committee formed
The American Association of School Administrators in Washington, D.C., has formed an advisory committee to find ways to attract more minorities to education.
"When you look at the kids that are in these school districts, you want a better representation from men and women and all races," said spokeswoman Barbara Knisely.
"The disparity is quite obvious," said Audrey Utley, a black woman who is superintendent at Middletown Area School District in Dauphin County. "There is something that needs to be done. But what, I don't know."
She agrees more minorities need to be attracted to education as a career.
"We can't increase the number of superintendents until we get the numbers coming up through the ranks," said Utley. "We have to get more people to consider the profession."
Civil rights groups say it's important to have minorities in top positions, not only to close the disparity, but also to help minority students succeed.
"If we are going to maintain the African-American students in school and reduce the dropout rate and increase their roles in society, a role model is one of the keys to success," said Lavera Brown, executive director of the Pittsburgh branch of the NAACP.
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