NAACP ARDMORE CHAPTER
NAACP
The NAACP is dedicated to eliminating the severe racial inequities that continue
to plague our nation's education systems. Our ultimate goal is that every student
receives a quality public education that prepares him or her to be a productive
member of our society. We want and demand orderly schools but the price for
maintaining order and discipline should not be borne disproportionately by any
one group.
We continue to be troubled by information that is available through the
Oklahoma State Department of Education . We found information that indicates
Ardmore City Schools is failing in its responsibility to provide an adequate level of
instruction for all.
According to the Office of Accountability and Assessment there are multiple
schools that have been placed on the school improvement list because of multiple
years of poor academic performance . There is not one school in the district that
has earned a grade above a "C" in past four years. After at least two years of
earning an "F", Charles Evans Elementary has finally improved its grade to a "D".
Ardmore Middle School has received a "D" for the past two years and will again
earn a substandard grade of ''D" for the third year. Worst of all Ardmore High
School has plummeted from a "C-" to an "F". These schools are failing and there is
little evidence things are improving.
The Ardmore NAACP is here to demand better results for the children of
Ardmore . Just a few years ago the families and patrons of the district voted to
raise our taxes to make needed repairs to our schools and to build new buildings,
but brick and mortar are not enough. The evidence suggests these buildings are
filled with students who are not being adequately prepared to become productive
and successful members of the American democracy.
The test scores for African Americans and other minority students continue to fall
behind the scores of their classmates. There is great disparity in the average GPA
between minority students and white students and African American students'
ACT scores lag far behind all other students in the district.
President - Rev. Ricky McGee
P.O. Box 1245 Ardmore, OK 73402
l i Page
ardmorenaacp@gmail .com
NAACP ARDMORE CHAPTER
@) NAACP
We were given data by Mr. Bates that indicates minority students have less access
to high quality programs and they fare more poorly than their white peers in
these classes. The information Mr. Bates gave us indicates African American
students are suspended at a disproportionate rate throughout the district and we
believe the discipline policies of the district and individual schools should be
reviewed to determine their effectiveness and impact on minority and
economically disadvantaged students. We continue to see dozens of students
suspended from school without a positive impact on academic performance.
Multiple families whose students failed to satisfy all of the requirements for
graduation contacted us and reported an incredible lack of communication. They
did not receive meaningful information from the school or district regarding the
status of their children. This summer several would-be graduates were told to
report to the school for testing only to be turned away.
We have received reports of nearly two dozen students this year who did not
graduate because of not enough successful End of Instruction Tests and even
more from previous years. We are not asking for names, we are, however,
demanding information regarding the numbers of students and the plan for
assisting them.
We want to commend the bravery of multiple members of the school district who
have responded to our pleas for information . They have responded at great risk to
themselves. At least one employee of the district has become the target of
retaliation because of their desire to help these children and their families. This is
unacceptable and we will stand in support of this person and their Civil and
Constitutional rights.
We are inviting Mr. Bates, members of the school board and other members of
the school district to participate in a public forum sponsored by the NAACP to
discuss the School Report Cards and other school data. We also encourage every
parent and patron to examine the performance of each individual school and the
district to decide for yourself if the performance of these schools and the quality
of education students are receiving is satisfactory.
President - Rev. Ricky McGee
P.O . Box 1245 Ardmore, OK 73402
21 Page
[email protected]