Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 41

Mike Lerseth (51 rif(ftUdanbahW www.newscho1ce.com SUNDAY junei27, 1999 By Jonathan Schovr STAFFWHfTBI service work' for the. county that is. picking up trash; In extreme cases," she notes, the family's government assistance 'could be cut Attendance on the climb Attendance ratal have bean -r- Philip Kelly has been absent 37 times In lesi than three months of r. the. dai ay of reckoning has improving in Oakland but mostly before the the truancy centers opened much more Intensive approach, seeing only a few dozen students, looking deeply Into the reasons those students are not In 7 A blt more than a year after the Drat center opened at Roosevelt Middle School, the district is.

reporting substantial results' for the students who nave undergone the truancy treatment Among the 1,118 students seen between October 1998 and May come. laiTyear. 100 r. School centers goto extremes to boost 7 school attendance 1999. attendance has Improved 30 percent to 40 percent says Michael Scott, the pro1 The scene leal except for the names played out a few months ago at a truancy, center at Lowell Middle School In West Oak-.

land. The center, one of two. In the district Is part of the Oakland public schools1 effort to combat one of the most serious enemies of education. Students who dont show up In school regularly are. predictably, far more likely to fall.

They also contribute more than their share to crime, both as perpetrators and victims, and cost the schools millions of dollars in perrstudent funds. addition to the two truancy centers, -the district now employs a "case manager at HlgT School who takes a. Phillip Is seated at round table with his his brother Tyrone (who. like him, attends Oakland Technical High, but not 7 very and counselor Benlta Shaw. Together, they read overan ance record polka-dotted, with disappearances.

as Shaw takes on the role of a tour guide In the land and hlsmother, die explalns.tnay be required to sign an attendance contract. 7 By law. if he breaks it. he.could end up in court, on In boot' camp1 or urday school, or even -doing community V-. -i V'- gram manager for the centers.

For the 33 students, stpn by McClymonds' case manager, Nadlrah Stills, the Improvement Is even greater: 48 percent An impact on overall attendance In the .75 w-w Please see Ihwncy, LOCALS Sourcx OtUand Unified School Pit SMi -v Oaklaiider moves lip 1-80 i. i By KetWeen Kkikwood STwwHna 7 OAKLAND i When Cedric Williams starts a new Job with the. dty bf Rlchmond's per: sonnel department next inontlu one of hla first ads may be to 777 help recruit a former colleague: uul Police In the Oakland (. vs. i 't J- V- i---.

v. igT- 7i V7? :7v7.7:7;- Ml A 'r, v'-1 'u 1 -V I ITw 1 Chief Joseph Samuels' Jr; 7. 7v WUliams. former Oakland personnd dlrectOT. was one of three departmentheadsaxedln March tqr Oakland City Robert Bobb.

and Mayor Jerry Jus found near berth ln as human, resourdes he said last Another fellow department head could soon follow the ml-gratkm up Interstate.80. Sam- uels, the mmt controversial of die March shake-ups, is also rt-V; poledly considering a Job. wtth: Richmond: k. Through a spokesperson, Samuels hedged last week, and said, he mulling over Richmond Job as weQ others. 7 keeping; hls -'I ByChaunoey STAFF WIKIBI '7; OAKLAND Outgoing Oakland Police Chin seph Samuels Jr.

supports' a recommendatlcat to have; 7 Bay Area police depart-V amenta coliect racial data. :7 motorists; 'stopped 7 officers. 7 Samuels says the ao proposed during 7 private meetfeg of smne 7 Area polk chiefs, would be a step. toward poor: rice A 1 lions, which he called "the 7i 7 problem feeing po.7:7'7v-: 7 lice everywhere." 7 77 have to do aon7 thing about this' perception 77 racial profiling)," Sam- 77. 7 '7 uels-.

told art 7 Oakland NAACP membership. 7 7 'i 'meeting 7 the 7 11cy7would be to. review: 7. the "best, procedures and y- aet he said, 7. -Many Bay Area police i 7 7 departments have 7-7 criticized, by the Amertcan7 Vv 7 Civil Liberties Union," 'y which billboards and set up a.

hot, line to said. Police Sgt. Arturo-. i is due to step- Bautista. Samuels Anon Pareoh (bottom right), 17, of El Sobranto pulls a ono footer" while Maurict MBysr, i2, of San Francisco catches soma air at the recently opened Cityvlew Skatepaifc in AUk made.

The park officially opened June 18, after hundreds of hours of volunteer labor, thousands of doilara from area donors and more than a year of organizing by local teen-agers. As planned, the concrete was dry In time to give participants In the Gamas, just across the Bay, a place to practice. down by July 2, when his Successor Rlduud Word, will be sworn In.7' 1 Williams worked; for Oakland for 27 years. In April 1972 as; a ailRlchmond persomiel dry-partment about 2,500 employees and will challenges, said Williams.1 who' announced the new job at a 1 farewell party last week. 1 enviBMuuM-swr photo a.

vary, upcoming day- said Williams, whose last field driving while black: lalnts from minority complaints was June l. It was that, and the bet that they sought me out It's a good i WjUlams Bementaiy fallout has 7 some educators fuming 7 7: motwlsta who feel they 7 have been, atojpped for no 7 1 reason. 7 Samuels said police Chiefs In Hayward. 7 ipeda, Berkeley and' Leandro, told him they' also' y'-7'. supRort collection of 7: six categories of data teachers and staff lining up with prlhictyal Superintendent Jack McLaughlin said 7 Barbara Lee, and others behind Valas, last week the moves were made to ensure ffakianH was $114,277 The was suspended April 28 without eplana- the school returns to normal ta the blL for the Kiutvalent lob at BothVaias add Fairchild are union rep- 'would have been no chance of that had the 053, ifs.

not known yet' resentattves; Springer Isn't, but she did transferred teachers remained at newsatary wfflbe. '7 others In 9 temporary I RlchmondOlyManagtrislah'' BERKELEY The ax came by way of straining order Against a couple whose He said this wed he believed Springers Tnrnrr not return calls for certified matt' tb ILSprin the third 'children attend the school 7 reassignment was the last one. However, hecomment on the Williams ap- John Muir Elementary School teacher ln Springs- said she feared for her safety dld say the district would continue to as- polntment While staffers In the week transferred to a different scluxd next the. mother verbally berated her In the: Kss- the mix over the Human Resources Department M. -7 staff.

lounge for disciplining her 5th grade summer. 4 'sakl ttiey knew that Wllllams vrith Tom FalrchUd7and Cindy son. Another teacher witnessed the lnd- Springer believes the move is retallatoiy. was being consklered for the Valas, whrf received their letters last week.denL She said the staff really gave Lee the benefit Job, It had not been announced. Springer, a first grade teacher.

Is hopping The district used a Clause in 'the ninn of the doubt when she came to the school current hunan marl and plans to fight the move through contract that allows the snpMinftmdwit to 7 from Columbus Elementary. She said she resources director, Marva die teachers union. mak tmnsfrm for -trmvwifiiahfe differ- and Lee got along fine; has been on leavefor -Theschool has been fraught with tuimoll three will teach at a ,.7 7 and dissension this with; some 7 school In the fell. 7: Please see IMr, LCXL-3 Please see Oafchml LOCAL-3 during polk-, encounters? sex, 7 age, location; why the stop 7 was made and how i were resolved. 7" .7 Samuels declined to say which of the chiefs had ad- vanced.

the recommends-! r. tlon or when: a decision would: he made-whether? Please see Profit LOCAL-3 Rebuilt bandstand honored with (what else?) music i FTER NEARLY 10; years, the earth-: qualto-rattled Edoff Memorial were issued to pay for lands south shore, opened to 1914) and In North Oakland's famous Idora Amusement Park. While traveling in Italy, Stelndorff took Band-stand In Lakeside Park has finally been repaired 7 and strengthened. Today at 12:30 there is a reded Icatlon concert featuring the Oakland Municipal Band (Itself a venerable Institution) and the Oakland Employee 7 photos of a bandstand he saw In Milan, and brought the pictures 7 7 back to show architects Walter Reed and William Corktt how he -wanted Oakland's bandstand to look. Their graceful design, using eight limestone columns topped with a pergola, was finished In 1918.

CMc leader and parks Com-. mlssloner James Edoffhad overseen many of the lakes Improvements and donated the Lake Merritt, and an ex- 7 tensive dredging, landscaping and beautification effort got underway. In 1912, the Munlc-ipal Band was organized under director Paul Stetadorff, a Ger- 77 man-born musician who gave up touring with Lillian Russell when he came through Oakland and. claim the files "fell In love." 7 For the next 20 years, Steln- dorff fostered musical efforts in' Oakland on several fronts. He conducted light opera at the municipal auditorium (on the lake's to provide a vacation program at two school grounds and Play- Chorcs.

The event also celebrates ground Division was established the 90th Anniversary of the Office as part of the Public Works De-of Parks and Recreation, now partment. In 19 10, the first mu- part of the dtys Life Enrichment nidpal playgrounds opened at Agency. Library History Room files rev reveal that in 1909 at the DeFremery, Bushrod and Bay-view (Raimondi). Under City Beautiful advocate Mayor Frank Mott, $1 million In bond fends Iir1964, a small crowd enoys concert at the Edoff Memorial first meeting of the Plavcround Bandstand In Lakeside Park. Commission, $600 was allocated Please see Alsiv LOCALS i A A.

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