kepdawg
05-02-2008, 04:03 PM
Allen parents file racial discrimination claims over cheerleader tryouts 3:50 PM CT
03:53 PM CDT on Friday, May 2, 2008
By KARIN SHAW ANDERSON / The Dallas Morning News
ksanderson@dallasnews.com
Four black girls tried out for cheerleading at Allen High School this spring. None of them made it.
Now, parents have filed grievances with the district on behalf of three of the girls, arguing that they suffered racial discrimination. The girls don't want spots on the squads; they want the district to open up the closed-door tryouts to the public.
The dustup is one of many emotional disputes tied to high school cheerleading that have popped up in Dallas area high schools in recent years. To quash questions over selection bias, most schools use outside judges to evaluate each girl privately.
But in the Allen case, parents say the private selection fuels their concerns that biases go unchecked.
"There is something wrong with this process that looks like racism," said Andrea Broyard Johnson, whose daughter was cut. "Sometimes when it looks like a duck, you have to call it a duck."
Allen schools spokesman Tim Carroll declined to comment on the pending allegations. He said the district goes to great lengths to make the selection fair and has no plans to open up the tryout process to parents or the public.
"That's never going to happen," Mr. Carroll said. "It would get very complicated if you let everyone in the room."
The four girls were among 57 who tried out for 36 spots on next year's junior varsity and varsity squads at Allen High back in March. All of them were cheerleaders in Allen schools this year.
The girls were the only minorities who tried out. Thirty percent of the school's population is minority, state records show.
The district paid Spirit Event Coordinators, a national company, $300 for three judges to conduct the tryouts. Mr. Carroll said the district asked for a minority judge, but one was not available.
Each girl was assigned a number and tried out one at a time. Only the girl, the judges and the school principal or his designee were allowed in the room. The girls have seen their score sheets, but aren't allowed to see results for their competitors.
The three girls said they were used to having a black judge on the panel in years past. They said the judges appeared disinterested, distracted, and unfriendly.
Breanna Lofton, who was on this year's junior varsity squad, said she felt like the judges wanted her to leave.
"I felt like they didn't even want to pay attention to me at all," she said.
Blisse Lofton said the judges were eating, shuffling papers and looking at each other's score sheets instead of watching her cheer. All of them gave her low marks in tumbling, her score sheet shows. Two wrote that she had performed a cartwheel.
"I didn't do a cartwheel," she said.
An official from Spirit Event Coordinators declined to comment on the allegations and referred a request for the judges' resumes to the school district. The school district's attorneys referred a request filed under the state's open record laws to the Attorney General's office.
The company evaluates cheerleading and dance tryouts in 16 states. They find qualified judges from college teams and cheerleading organizations, according to Spirit's website.
The girls' parents have met with Allen High Principal Steve Payne and plan to take their case to the district's administration and, if necessary, the school board. Still, the girls said they wouldn't consider trying out in the coming years.
"I just don't want to go through this much pain again," Brianna Broyard said.
LINK (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/050308dnmetallencheer.c062e9a0.html)
03:53 PM CDT on Friday, May 2, 2008
By KARIN SHAW ANDERSON / The Dallas Morning News
ksanderson@dallasnews.com
Four black girls tried out for cheerleading at Allen High School this spring. None of them made it.
Now, parents have filed grievances with the district on behalf of three of the girls, arguing that they suffered racial discrimination. The girls don't want spots on the squads; they want the district to open up the closed-door tryouts to the public.
The dustup is one of many emotional disputes tied to high school cheerleading that have popped up in Dallas area high schools in recent years. To quash questions over selection bias, most schools use outside judges to evaluate each girl privately.
But in the Allen case, parents say the private selection fuels their concerns that biases go unchecked.
"There is something wrong with this process that looks like racism," said Andrea Broyard Johnson, whose daughter was cut. "Sometimes when it looks like a duck, you have to call it a duck."
Allen schools spokesman Tim Carroll declined to comment on the pending allegations. He said the district goes to great lengths to make the selection fair and has no plans to open up the tryout process to parents or the public.
"That's never going to happen," Mr. Carroll said. "It would get very complicated if you let everyone in the room."
The four girls were among 57 who tried out for 36 spots on next year's junior varsity and varsity squads at Allen High back in March. All of them were cheerleaders in Allen schools this year.
The girls were the only minorities who tried out. Thirty percent of the school's population is minority, state records show.
The district paid Spirit Event Coordinators, a national company, $300 for three judges to conduct the tryouts. Mr. Carroll said the district asked for a minority judge, but one was not available.
Each girl was assigned a number and tried out one at a time. Only the girl, the judges and the school principal or his designee were allowed in the room. The girls have seen their score sheets, but aren't allowed to see results for their competitors.
The three girls said they were used to having a black judge on the panel in years past. They said the judges appeared disinterested, distracted, and unfriendly.
Breanna Lofton, who was on this year's junior varsity squad, said she felt like the judges wanted her to leave.
"I felt like they didn't even want to pay attention to me at all," she said.
Blisse Lofton said the judges were eating, shuffling papers and looking at each other's score sheets instead of watching her cheer. All of them gave her low marks in tumbling, her score sheet shows. Two wrote that she had performed a cartwheel.
"I didn't do a cartwheel," she said.
An official from Spirit Event Coordinators declined to comment on the allegations and referred a request for the judges' resumes to the school district. The school district's attorneys referred a request filed under the state's open record laws to the Attorney General's office.
The company evaluates cheerleading and dance tryouts in 16 states. They find qualified judges from college teams and cheerleading organizations, according to Spirit's website.
The girls' parents have met with Allen High Principal Steve Payne and plan to take their case to the district's administration and, if necessary, the school board. Still, the girls said they wouldn't consider trying out in the coming years.
"I just don't want to go through this much pain again," Brianna Broyard said.
LINK (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/050308dnmetallencheer.c062e9a0.html)