ABSTRACT
Gary's public schools have changed greatly since 1960, yet remain much the same. Similar shaping forces and influences have been in evidence: parents, teachers, community groups, business leaders, civil rights organizations, state educational and political authorities, federal bureaucrats, and educational professionals. All subsequent superintendents have been involuntarily replaced by the school board, following in the footsteps of Superintendents Jones and Lutz. Racial factors have continued to loom large, but for somewhat different reasons, as the complexion of the students, teachers, administrators, school board, and staff has become progressively darker. One noticeable change for some years was the presence of numerous federal grants, and other examples of federal intervention, which sparked a plethora of new programs. This money has declined during the 1980s. The schools continued to offer a broad array of services to the students, however, carrying on a tradition that had its roots in the early decades of the century. As for the students, they still occupy their seats, cheer on their sports teams, hassle the teachers, and most even manage to graduate from high school (about 75 percent), despite the daily presence of armed police in the larger schools. There has been growth and decline. But are the schools overall better or worse than they were thirty, fifty, or seventy years ago? I would not venture a guess.
