Word: webster
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Fatigue and missed assignments aren't the worst of it, either, says Faye Walker, a teacher at Webster for 23 years. "Too many kids are missing that quality time," she says. "When the parent gets home, the child goes to work. When the child gets home, the parents are asleep. Kids can work and get good grades, but when do you see each other...
...arrives, he sees his mother in her Ford station wagon, pulling over on her way to work. She rolls down the window and waves a $5 bill--lunch money. Jonathan leans in and kisses her goodbye. Minutes later he boards the bus for the half-hour trek to Webster Groves...
Jonathan is what is known as a VTS kid, or voluntary transfer student. In the early 1970s, under a court-ordered desegregation plan, Webster opened its doors to youngsters from the inner city. Today black students account for about a quarter of the 1,300-plus student body, with 161 of them, or 12%, bused in from the city...
...inner city. Jonathan's neighborhood friends often taunt him for being too good to simply walk the six blocks to Roosevelt High. But "all they do there is fight every day," he says. "You've got to worry about the gangs and what color you're wearing." He appreciates Webster's relative safety and its pride in racial diversity. Indeed, long before the 1970s desegregation, Webster Groves boasted an integrated community. Most blacks reside in Rock Hill, a part of town settled by freed slaves, whose businesses, churches and schools spawned a thriving black middle class...
...none was black. Searching the list for the highest-ranking black student, she runs her finger down the second page to No. 59, Tanya Hoard, who graduated with a 3.67 average. Hassler, who is black, wishes there were more like Hoard and thinks both black and white teachers at Webster must work harder to address the academic needs of African-American students. "The stuff about racial differences is built into American culture and is not particular to one place. It starts well before the kids get to high school. If there is not a high expectation and a channeling...