What Happened to Teachers during the Desegregation of Dayton City Schools (1968-1976)? / Joseph Watras.

This paper describes teacher attitudes and circumstances during and after Dayton City School's successful desegregation. Teachers were moved to integrated schools relatively early and easily. As a group, they did not become involved in the 1972-76 busing brouhaha that accompanied court-ordered desegregation. Fearing the destabilization of their students, teachers opposed programs that took children away from their buildings for the purpose of integrating science and humanities programs. Teachers criticized inservice programs designed to make them more sensitive to the needs of minority children; however, in principle, they supported desegregation. They also felt that they adequately met discipline problems that the social pressures of desegregation brought to the classroom. Most teachers felt that busing should include the outlying suburbs. The conclusion that Dayton's problems still exist despite a shrinking minority population has motivated administrators to talk about a system of magnet schools to make them more attractive to suburban students. The magnet schools will be set up to induce children in the suburbs to commute to the Dayton metropolitan area in the hope of encouraging further desegregation. It is not clear what pressures these new plans will bring to teachers. (JAM)

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