10 O'Clock News | [School desegregation in Lynn]

Marcus Jones reports on school desegregation in Lynn, Massachusetts

[School desegregation in Lynn]
Original Airdate: 10/23/1987

Length: 00:06:18
Item Type: newstape - edited story master

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Full Description

1:00:03
Visual: Shots of downtown Lynn; of shoppers in downtown Lynn; of traffic in downtown Lynn.

Marcus Jones reports that Lynn has a population of 78,000; that housing patterns and an influx of immigrants have tipped the racial balance in public schools; that school desegregation has become an issue in the city.

V: Shots of Boston Harbor; of Harvard Square; of students in Lowell; of a condominium building; of children boarding a school bus. Footage of Kathleen Sherkanowski (Lynn parent) saying that she wants her son to attend his neighborhood school. Footage of Clarence Jones (President, Lynn chapter of the NAACP) saying that the courts will need to take over the school system if the city of Lynn does not desegregate its schools. Footage of Alexander Tennant (candidate for mayor of Lynn) saying that Lynn is "one step away from receivership." Footage of Jones interviewing Albert DiVirgilio (Mayor of Lynn). DiVirgilio says that he will not let the desegregation issue tear apart the community; that he will work closely with all members of the community.

Jones reports that DiVirgilio serves as Mayor of Lynn and as Chairman of the Lynn School Committee; that DiVirgilio taught in the Lynn School System for fourteen years. Jones notes that DiVirgilio was his student government advisor during Jones' own high school years.

V: Shots of African American students exiting a bus in front of South Boston High School.

Jones stands among a group of schoolchildren in the schoolyard of the Washington Community School. Jones notes that he was a student at the Washington Community School; that there were more white students than African American students when he attended the school. Jones adds that the student population at the Washington Community School in 1987 is 51% non-white; that the school has been classified as "racially isolated."

V: Shots of students in a classroom at the Washington Community School.

Jones reports that the Washington Community School has been racially imbalanced for almost ten years. Jones notes that James Leonard (Principal, Washington Community School) helped to coordinate Lynn's first attempt at school desegregation in the early 1980s. Jones adds that the Washington Community School was made into a magnet school in the early 1980s; that white students were to be bused voluntarily to the school.

V: Shots of Tony Marino (former Mayor of Lynn) addressing a crowd; of the exterior of the Washington Community School. Footage of Jones interviewing Leonard. Leonard says that it is important to improve the quality of education in Lynn Public Schools. Footage of Marcus Jones interviewing Clarence Jones. Clarence Jones says that many minority parents are sending their children to private schools. Clarence Jones says that the Washington Community School is underfunded; that the school is a "disaster."

Marcus Jones notes that Clarence Jones is his father.

V: Shot of children playing outside of a school in Lynn.

Jones notes that minority enrollment in Lynn Public Schools has doubled since 1981; that the population of Lynn Public Schools is currently 26% non-white. Jones notes that white enrollment has declined by 3,000 students.

V: Shots of minority students in a classroom; of the exterior of the Washington Community School; of the exterior of the Ingalls Elementary School; of the exterior of the Connery Elementary School; of the exterior of the Harrington Elementary School.

Jones notes that minority enrollment is over 50% in four elementary schools; that minority enrollment is 57% at the Harrington Elementary School.

V: Shots of the exterior of Cobbet Elementary School; of the exterior of Eastern Junior High School; of students outside of Lynn Classical High School.

Jones notes that Cobbet Elementary School, Eastern Junior High School and Lynn Classical High School have student populations which nearly qualify as racially imbalanced. Jones notes that a minority population above 36% classifies a school as racially imbalanced. Jones reports that eight of the city's schools are "majority isolated"; that the Sisson Elementary School had a 3% minority population last year; that the school has a minority population of 8% this year.

V: Shots of mostly white students in a classroom at the Sisson Elementary School; of the students listening to a record on a turntable. Footage of Robert Gerardi (Superintendent, Lynn Public Schools) saying that most Lynn parents do not have a problem with school desegregation; that the parents want to maintain neighborhood schools. Footage of Rose McCusker (Lynn parent) saying that she does not want her children bused from their neighborhood. Shots of a racially integrated classroom in Lynn.

Jones reports that the Lynn School Committee has issued its second desegregation plan in two years; that the State Board of Education has ordered the city of Lynn to implement its plan without delay.

V: Shots of a white teacher in a Lynn classroom; of students in a school hallway; of students exiting a schoolbus. Footage of Michael Alves (Massachusetts Board of Education) saying that school desegregation should be resolved on the local level; that Boston spent fifteen years dealing with federal court orders on school desegregation. Footage of Clarence Jones saying that quality education is more important than racial confrontation.

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