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Class of '51 deserved better

Imagine the tales that 25 graduates of the 1951 class of Gibbs High School could tell the students of today - the harsh lessons of segregation, the hand-me-down textbooks, the history of a school that opened in 1928 as the 34th Street Colored School. Now imagine a modern-day Gibbs principal who didn't return phone calls or answer letters, at least at first, and then decided a reunion visit during school hours would be too disruptive.

Call this an opportunity lost. Listen to Johnnie Welch, a retired elementary school principal who tried to set up the visit: "I think it's ridiculous, really. Gibbs High School is a community school. Regardless of who the administrator is, it belongs to the community."

Welch is right, and the principal in charge, Herman "Doc" Allen, would do well to reflect on his own instincts in this misadventure. The Class of '51 reunion attendees, who came from distant points on the map, just wanted to see the new $46.6-million Gibbs facility. Yet they kept getting no response. And when they did, what they heard was a bureaucratic song: fears of liability, safety and disruption, especially at a time when state lawmakers are working hard to keep campuses free from dangerous intruders. Said Allen: "We have to protect the safety of our children and our staff."

Protect students from two dozen alumni, all aged in their 70s?

The reunion has passed, and Allen is apologetic. He says he never intended to prevent the visit, only to schedule it when school was not in session. Maybe this was all just a case of miscommunication, but a teachable moment was lost.

[Last modified October 7, 2005, 01:49:15]