Everyone Is Searching For Solutions To Chase’s Problems

Chase Middle School didn’t expect all of this. When teachers, students and administrators moved one mile east and 37 blocks south from the old Libby Junior High last fall, few anticipated the new school would become so divided over issues of race, culture and basic civility.

Wasn’t this the school named for the late Jim Chase, Spokane’s beloved black mayor?

Didn’t most of these families come from the last true neighborhood junior high in Spokane where people cared about the institution and its tradition of respect?

Yet in the late winter of its first year, Chase Middle School finds itself in a very tough place.

A majority of Chase teachers supports a complaint asserting the school has a hostile work environment.

Women teachers, in particular, say Chase counselor Lionel HardingThomas intimidates them, encourages racial divisiveness, and keeps his door closed to students.

Harding-Thomas counters that the school and its faculty are racist and won’t listen to him.

Over the years, the counselor has carried his complaints with him from school to school and, at a rally a few days ago, he was joined by 160 other black and white parents and students who said much the same.

There is more.

A search of a few school lockers last fall created hard feelings and suggested Chase administrators weren’t maintaining consistent disciplinary guidelines.

Then, a female student assaulted three classmates with scissors and hit the vice principal in the face, raising fears among administrators the school was dangerous.

Whispers about homosexual staff have concerned some parents and faculty.

On top of all of this, the fire alarms keep going off for no reason.

Less than a year old, Chase Middle School is struggling to find its identity.

“Maybe when we moved from Libby to Chase we thought we could take the soul of Libby and bring it along to the new school,” said Larry Parsons, a School District 81 area director.”But that doesn’t work. A new identity for Chase has to be established.”

When asked what one thing they think would most help Chase Middle School succeed, the families, teachers, and administrators said this:

Helen Bannerman, teacher who filed the complaint about the hostile work environment: Get back to the central issue, which is how we deal with colleagues.f

“This isn’t about race,” said the English and social studies teacher who has three African-American children. “This is about learning how to talk to people without getting in their face.”

Dr. Lionel Harding-Thomas, counselor charged with creating a hostile work environment: Have the courage to sit down and talk to one another.

“No one ever came to me to talk directly about any of these complaints,” he said. “If people at the school are not willing to deal with the pain of people being honest, to hear the truth, to be open to other people’s ideas, we aren’t going to get anywhere.”

Mike Murphy, leader of a Chase parents group: Treat kids equally and enforce some simple discipline rules.

“We’re calling on the black families at Chase one-on-one and inviting them to come to meetings and discuss equal treatment of kids and discipline,” he said. “We want to support faculty and staff to ensure equality for all students.”

Carrie Ann Evans, parent who filed complaint after the lockers of several black students, including her son, were searched: Make sure the school district is holding its people accountable.

“We’re willing to try to work things out but we need to seem something really being done by the administration,” she said.

Rodger Lake, principal at Chase Middle School: Bring in mediators to help staff understand race and gender issues.

“We have to learn how to mediate issues as adults,” he said. “Already we contacted The Center on National Origin, Race, and Sex Equity to help us figure out what kind of training we need as a staff and what we can do to help us get along.”

Cynthia Lambarth, District 81 associate superintendent: Develop communication skills that allow honest discussion.

“A lot of this comes down to interpersonal relationships,” she said. “Of course this will be shaded by issues of race and gender, but we have to focus on good communication right now.”

These stakeholders had other good suggestions:

* Develop a newsletter so Chase families can stay in touch with one another.

* Work with the teachers union to improve the job evaluation process;

* Strengthen safety and security for everyone in the school.

The storms at Chase Middle School already have sprouted seeds for growth.

A recollection of words from retired Libby Middle School Principal Carl Halverson might provide additional light.

When he left Libby 20 years ago, Halverson said: “You must have respect for people and insist upon reasonable discipline to make a school work. If you have these things, great people will come from this place.”

His advice still applies to the uncertain, but promising future of Chase Middle School.

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