An insider’s look on Public Policies that affects our school
By Ashley Harris
Honestly, having to tell everyone outside of this community that I attend R. L. Osborne High is the only draining factor of attending this school.
OHS acquired an infamous countywide reputation due to circumstances that occurred in the late 90s to early 2000s when minorities became the majority population of students. People assume our school is infested with gangs, drugs, violence, diseases and overall failure. Of course, it is hard to feel successful after seeing the unapproved looks on “outsiders” faces, even after I tell them the numerous things I have achieved here.
Despite the discouraging onlookers and critics, at the end of the day, I view myself as blessed. There were 493 freshmen that started with me in August of 2005. Over the past four years, my class size has shrunk to 286 students, approximately a 58% decrease. Out of the 286 that still remain, only 70% of those students will actually graduate. Although many students aspire to attend college, it is estimated that only “40% out of the 70% of us will actually will attend based on the data given from students who have taken the SAT during the school year of 2007-2008.” states Gloria Atkinson, the graduation coach at Osborne. In many eyes these numbers are unsatisfactory. Yet, with all the odds that are stacked against my beloved school, the reality of these numbers fuels not extinguishes my drive for higher education and a better life after high school.
The leading factor that keeps our school under the oppression of constant scrutiny is the contradiction between the Adequate Yearly Progress standards from the No Child Left Behind Act and Cobb County’s School District "Equal Opportunity Rule.”
The NCLB Act provides parents more flexibility in choosing which schools their children can attend. However, compared to the North Cobb region, the South Cobb region does not have many schools to choose from, due to its unequal distribution of high schools. I find it ironic that the areas that are viewed as “inadequate” are predominate black and Hispanic communities, while the more clustered "high" ranked school are predominantly white.
OHS, the oldest high school in Cobb County demographics consist of a 48% black, 37% Hispanic, 8% percent white and 4% Asian student population . These numbers confirm our school’s diversity, but the economic conditions are what platform our school’s differences for scrutinizers and critics to stand on and shout “OHS is a ‘bad’ school.” 78 % of OHS students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch, whereas the average rate for the county high schools is 30 percent.
The AYP standards from the NCLB Act are the most flawed component of the Act. The county has set a requirement for the Asian population to be considered as a subgroup in the AYP progress, there must be a minimum of 20 Asians yet OHS only has a 4% student population. All of the Asians in my graduating class passed and exceeded the Georgia High School Graduation exams, but since there are only 18 Asians in my class, their test scores were not counted as a sub score since our class were 2 Asians shy of the standards.
I find it ridiculous that these high standards are held against our school when this Act is poorly funded. The AYP continues to threaten school just like ours, but what is the purpose of these threats when they are idle? Is it to maintain the continuum of failure for schools? Is this public policy meant to keep the status quo between the rich and the poor? Or is the policy a guild façade of improvement whose contradicting repercussion is overlooked because the government does not actually know how to close the educational gap between whites and minorities?
However, we as students, faculty members, and I must continue to overcome our community’s oppression and triumph over how we are perceived with academics, athletics, pure talents, and our positive attitudes. Instead of running away from Osborne to attend another school, I challenge the students here to open their eyes to what is going on and take action. Get your parents involved if you would like to see change, and act consistently. The students, parents, and teachers must come together as a community. Presence and activeness in PTSA and Board of Education meetings is the key to becoming aware of what is going on in the Osborne community. My way of overcoming the oppression is by being actively involved around school to help with the reputation. I am attending a higher learning institution to make sure that I continue to stay away from the oppression statistics that awaits me after I graduate. I am going to major in political science and enter into politics to improve Public Policy to make sure that schools will no longer have to suffer the harsh consequences of not passing standardized test. What is the hardest part about OHS for you?
