Her mother, Janie Dickerson, sees the difference, too. High turnover at Gladstone, she said, produces a largely new crop of instructors each year, making bonds with parents and students difficult to forge. Debra Archie-Wilkerson, who just completed her first year as Gladstone principal, acknowledges that the school struggles to attract teachers and to find money for extras. Hallways double as offices, and the stage also serves as a classroom. The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the desegregation order in Columbus.
Students report for the first day of school under a new assignment plan for racial balance.
Columbus schools are released from federal-court control. Busing for integration continues. Superintendent Ronald E. Etheridge proposes a plan to create six communities of schools and thereby reduce busing but maintain a racial balance in schools within each zone. Etheridge's plan draws fire for allegedly fostering segregation. The Supreme Court rules that districts can return to neighborhood schools when they show that the vestiges of racial discrimination have been eliminated as much as is practical.