Pre-test pep talks that singled out black and Latino students at California High School have angered some parents

Eric Louie:

The talks were not given to students of any other ethnic backgrounds and prompted a visit to the school from San Ramon Mayor H. Abram Wilson who was alerted by calls from parents.

"I feel that the entire school should have been encouraged to do well on the test," with no groups singled out, said Wilson, who is black. "The city is a very unique city. We look at everyone being the same, period."

Principal Mark Corti said the idea was born last month when a Latina teacher asked if she could meet with Latino students and encourage them to do well on the state-mandated standardized tests.

Corti asked two black teachers if they wanted to do the same, and they did. Corti said 65 black and 165 Latino students took part.

On April 19, the day before testing, ninth to 11th grade Latino and black students were given letters in class and asked to meet in separate locations during regular school hours. Corti said students were picked based on the race they marked in school records.

Corti, who sat through half of each meeting, said California High's black and Latino student scores have risen in recent years. The meetings, he said, were meant to encourage keeping it up, "much like a coach would talk to your team before a game. It was all motivational."

But it is now an action Corti regrets.

"No matter what the intent was, this is a very sensitive issue," he said. Corti has since made contact with the parents of each child invited to those meetings to apologize and invite them to talk with him about their concerns. He would not say how many took him up on the offer.

Cal High has about 2,500 students, most of whom are white. The second biggest group is Asian.

Corti said there was no mention at the meetings that blacks and Latinos generally score lower than other ethnic groups, and that pressures for each group to perform did not factor in to calling the meetings.

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