Justice Department satisfied after probe of Lewiston schools

By Bonnie Washuk , Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
LEWISTON - After completing an uncommon five-year investigation into how the Lewiston School Department is teaching immigrant students, the U.S. Department of Justice is taking no action.

Federal civil rights attorneys issued an agreement outlining educational requirements the Lewiston School Department must meet, Superintendent Leon Levesque said Monday.

For a community that largely had no idea any federal review was going on, no action from the feds is good news, Levesque said. It means Lewiston schools are doing a good job teaching students who are learning English.

"It's nice to know we've gone through that and we've come out pretty good," he said. "Our intent is to do what is required by law. More than that, it's the right thing to do for kids."

How Lewiston is teaching immigrant students learning English, and helping all students practice respect and tolerance "is a quiet success story," Levesque said.

The wave of mostly Somali immigrants began in 2001. That year, there were 63 English Language Learners students. By 2004 that number jumped to 378, and by 2007 to 655.

When looking at how they arrived and how the school department responded, "we know that we've done the best we can," Levesque said. "That data shows it."

Efforts to talk with anyone at the Department of Justice on Monday were unsuccessful. One of the attorneys who worked with Lewiston, Franz Marshall, referred questions to public relations. However, no one at Justice's public relations unit answered the phone after 4 p.m.

Levesque said he doesn't know why federal justice civil rights lawyers came in 2002. They only said they were there to ensure immigrant students were receiving equal education opportunities as required by law. "They said, 'If we find anything, we'll let you know,'" Levesque said.

Federal attorneys spent several days visiting each Lewiston school in 2002, observing classrooms and interviewing parents. They returned for a second visit in May 2006. In-between, Lewiston had to provide much requested English Language Learners data, Levesque said, showing off thick binders.

What may have prompted Department of Justice attention was the strife the community was caught up in 2002 and 2003, Levesque said. The controversy included then-Mayor Larry Raymond's letter to Somalis asking that more not come to Lewiston because the city was maxed out. That was followed by a neo-Nazi organization staging a pro-white demonstration in Lewiston, and a countering anti-hate crime rally at Bates College defending diversity and tolerance.

"They monitor the news," Levesque said. "They see communities where things are happening."

Meanwhile, there were racial tensions and fights at Lewiston-Auburn high schools. "The community was in turmoil," said English Language Learners Director Susan Martin. "The chances of there being a problem here was high. They came looking for a problem and didn't find one."

There aren't many school systems that have gone through the kind of student population changes that Lewiston has in the past five years, Levesque said. "And it's not just academics. It's, 'Here's a new culture,' and how do you deal with myths?"

Immigrant students are emerging as civic leaders. "I go to the elementary schools and see kids mingle well on the playgrounds and in the cafeterias. ... If you go to our athletic events, they're there," Levesque said. And at the recent high school graduation many graduated "and are making it."

English Language Learners students

Prior to 2000: 20-25

Dec. 2000: 63

Dec. 2001: 184

Dec. 2002: 224

Dec. 2003: 274

Dec. 2004: 378

Dec. 2005: 484

Dec. 2006: 621

June 2007: 655

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