New DPS chaplains try to calm schools
Ohanian Comment: What other cosmic patriots will receive this kind of authority from the Detroit Public Schools? The Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Knights of Pythias, the Loyal Order of Moose, the Illuminati, Mystic Order of American Rosicrucians, Rotarians, AMWAYers, NRAers, Klu Kluxers, Supreme Worthy Whimwhammers?
Just asking.
by Jennifer Mrozowski
DETROIT -- On a recent summer day, the Rev. John Jordan walked through the halls of Northwestern High School, hands raised, quietly praying for students.
It's a ritual he has been performing since last fall, when the district started a volunteer chaplain corps in an effort to curb crime, foster relationships between students and staff and aid in-house police officers who monitor one of the most violent, crime-ridden school districts in Michigan.
But his job goes far beyond blessing doors with anointing oil, which he does during the school year. Jordan, like the other nine chaplains, is part minister, part counselor, part disciplinarian, part parent.
The chaplains make themselves available for anyone who needs to talk. Sometimes the people who seek their help are staff, other times they are police officers. Often, they are students.
"There are some children, I believe, who have never heard the words 'I love you' from home," Jordan said. "That makes them so hostile and so quick to strike out."
The volunteer chaplain corps is part of a multipronged approach by the district's police department to improve safety in the 106,485-student district.
The approach includes running ministations in five high schools as a way to increase police visibility in schools after the school board shuttered 33 schools.
At the time, some parents expressed concern about possible gang problems that could result from merging students from rival schools.
It's too early to tell conclusively, officials say, but early data shows the chaplain corps is working.
A 'ministry of presence'
Detroit Public Schools turned its Department of Public Safety into a certified independent law enforcement agency in 2004, but even that was not enough, said Detroit Public Schools Police Chief Charles Mitchell.
"Traditional security and police work is just not going to solve this problem," Mitchell said.
Mitchell and several pastors discussed the idea, and they were ready to help, Jordan said. Mitchell calls it a "ministry of presence." The pastors, who began volunteering at the beginning of last school year, work in shifts at the schools on a rotating basis. Hundreds of students, staff and teachers have since come to the chaplains, who work in five schools, to discuss their problems and fears. The chaplains serve in Henry Ford, Cooley, Central, Cody and Northwestern high schools.
The chaplain program, as well as the police department's other efforts, have helped reduce crime in the schools, Mitchell said. From July 2006 to March 2007, there were 1,587 assaults against students and 298 assaults against staff. From July 2007 to March 2008, assaults against students fell to 1,203, while assaults against staff fell to 203. Crime fell in other areas as well, such as carrying concealed weapons and violations of the knife ordinance.
Many crime numbers fell at a greater rate than the drop in student enrollment.
But greater than the statistics are the small successes.
When a boy was acting out repeatedly at Northwestern last year, no one could get through to him -- not teachers, administrators, staff or school police officers.
Jordan stepped in and learned the student was incredibly angry and hurt, because he saw his brother murdered.
"I looked at him and said, 'You loved your brother, didn't you?' " Jordan recalled. "He said, 'He took care of me.' "
The pastor, who would not reveal the boy's identity for confidentiality reasons, found out the boy's mother was accused of killing his brother and his father was nowhere to be found.
Jordan asked if he could put his arms around the boy.
"When we got through praying for him, he cried," said Jordan. "He said he loved each one of us. That's what ministry will do."
Students confide in pastors
Apollos Robbins, 17, who will be a senior at Northwestern in the fall, said he has seen the pastors walking the halls and welcomes them at his school.
"It's an excellent idea," he said. "It brings excitement to have more people who want us to do better."
Robbins said he thinks the chaplains help improve the atmosphere in the school by offering their words of encouragement to students.
"Being reverends, they put people's minds on good things," he said, adding that talking to the pastors could boost students' confidence, too.
The chaplains try to quell situations before problems escalate, said the Rev. Jeffrey Harris of Restoration Ministries of the Apostolic Faith on Detroit's east side. They try to follow Mitchell's motto that they should work toward "prevention before apprehension," he said.
"The main goal is to be of assistance to the officers in the performance of their duties, as well as to be an ear or shoulder, so to speak, where someone can confide," Harris said.
The Rev. Willie Walker of Love Joy Church of God in Christ said he was called upon to give that assistance with another boy who was striking out at Central. In talking with the boy, Walker learned the student had seen his mother pour gasoline on herself and set herself on fire on their porch. She died.
The boy wouldn't talk to anyone, but he opened up to Walker. And in doing so, he cried. Thereafter, the boy began to act out less, and he continued to confide in Walker.
"It's something about the way we approach the youth," Jordan said. "We have our name tags, and they look and see we are ministers. It's a different atmosphere. I haven't talked to a minister yet (through) the whole school system that the youth struck out against them."
"It's the level of respect they have for us as spiritual leaders," Walker said.
Officer Regina Hardy, a public safety clerk at Northwestern, said she not only referred students to the chaplains, but also sought assistance from Jordan when she grew discouraged after witnessing some of the extreme challenges facing the students.
"He said, 'We may not be able to turn them all around, but we thank God for the ones we can turn around,' " Hardy said. "He encouraged me to remain hopeful for their futures ... and it kept me going."
The level of the commitment of the ministers and their impact is undeniable, Mitchell said.
"It will make a difference," he said.
— Jennifer Mrozowski
The Detroit News
2008-07-28
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080728/SCHOOLS/807280384
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