In the Ring with Billy Moore
In the Ring with Billy Moore
It's about the Human connection
President and CEO of Any Body Can Youth Foundation gets in the ring with President Ed Hearn of Saint Augustine High School to discuss the politics of opening schools, our youth and how to improve our education system.
Anybody can use foundation teaches our youth to step off into life with their best foot forward without cowardice, but with courage and dignity. ABC was founded by legendary Light Heavyweight Champion Archie Moore in 1957. He had a heart and passion for helping the youth. He believed if we went into the business of prevention, we could save billions of dollars and millions of lives. He started ABC to teach us the basic ABCs of life. Are you concerned about the world today? Do you want to help train our youth to be that change needed in the world? Join us in the fight for equality in the fight for justice in the fight for our youth. If you would like to help, go to www dot HBCU foundation.org that's www dot ABC use foundation.org be well and be blessed.
Billy Moore :Hello, and welcome to in the ring with Billy Moore. This morning we will be discussing details about the opening and the closing of schools in the midst of this cold COVID virus. And with us we have the president of St. Augustine High School, a Catholic all boys school and heard is the president of the school and he's been there for all some odd 14 years. And we will be going into some pretty in depth details. So stay tuned. Because in the ring, anything goes
Ed Hearn :okay, well, I I'm in my I just begin my 49th year and Catholic education just began my 15th year as president of Santa Gustin. I've been in LA time I was at a school in Los Angeles for 19 years Loyola High School. Then I was in Bakersfield for five years as the president, Principal of Garces Memorial High School. Then I was in Phoenix, Arizona for 10 years as the principal of a large and in most recently, I've been here, I have three boys. I've been married about the same length of time, 49 years, TO Diana and my boys have have all matriculated through college and are productive. And I'm just so blessed that way. Let me just say that we're a urban school. We have. We've been here 98 years. We were founded by the Augustinian friars. Back in 1922. They came out from Villanova University, which was built over College in those days. So we have a very close affiliation With Villanova and as a consequence, I root for their basketball team all the time. We are a college preparatory school in the sense that our kids go to college after they graduate. We take a lot of pride in that we, we take a lot of kids, sometimes questionable that we gear up in we nurture and teach them enough that they get into college and, and in most cases thrive. We have a real strong athletic program. We have a strong Campus Ministry program. And now we our latest thing is we have a brand new theater on campus. And our goal is is to be like a tremendous theater group as well. So we've got a lot of things going for us and we're centrally located. We have kids from virtually every part of the county coming to our school, as well as from Tijuana. We have a large number of kids that do come from, from Mexico. So that's about the extent of it. We're about 65 people on our staff and faculty. And it's a really great community, to community based on unity, truth and love that sort of core values. Let's get on to the
Billy Moore :main question. Okay. Big question. You, you are sure you? Oh, I see why you've been doing the doing your homework or that peekaboo on that peekaboo style, because you're getting ready to take on the state of California.
Ed Hearn :Right.
Billy Moore :That's the reason why you're into that boxing peekaboo style. You're taking on the state of California. You're bad, you tough guy but We deal with a photographer taking on the state of California.
Ed Hearn :Well, our board of directors executive board, we've been very concerned. since mid July, we have the governor's order came out that there would be no imperson school, and we would all be online. We did that for 10 weeks in the spring. We did very well as a school. But our teachers and our parents and our students will tell you, it doesn't even come close to what it is when they're on campus, learning on campus face to face, heart to heart with their teachers. And so we want our desire is to get them back on campus. Now. Of course, you've got one group of people saying, well, it's not safe you you shouldn't do that. You're going to spread the Coronavirus. Well Obviously, that's a point of view, we feel that we ran a very successful summer school, over 400 students. We had no outbreak of the coronavirus on our campus during those six weeks. So we persevered through that with the masks social distance, washing your hands frequently, and we're able to avoid it. And now, you could make the case well, that's 400 students, but you're gonna have 700 students, so you're almost going to have double the amount of students there. But we've figured out a way to socially distance all those kids using outside facilities and that sort of thing to keep everyone away from each other. So that we can, you know, it's a built, it's a middle ground. You know, you've got one side over here saying, everybody needs to be shut in, no risk. And then you have another group over here shouting let these guys Kids back in school. St. Augustine's is taking the middle road, which is a little online, a little in class, keep the masks on, keep your social distance. And we can get through this. We have we're going to have to some way figured out how we're going to live with this virus in our society. We can't stay shut in forever. You know, it's, we already know that, that these boys, there's a big article in the la times two days ago just about what it's going to mean to be online in Los Angeles for a lot of the kids and the abuse that will begin happening in family life because everyone's stressed, especially in low income families. And that's the basis of our our lawsuit to is we're we're basically charging the governor his office with racial discrimination Because his policies put low income minority kids online, many of these kids don't have Wi Fi at home. They don't have computers. They're both parents work. So their kid so they're unsupervised kids all day long. They come home, we know that poverty is a big stressor. Because there's not enough to go around. And so, things kind of come and done in these kinds of situations. And the LA Times is read this article was very concerning to me. When I read it, I thought, you know, it's gonna be happening all over. How long ago was that? When was that? Two days ago? Two days ago? Yeah. Okay. And, uh, and they talked about discrimination. No, we were talking about discrimination. That's what we're talking about. They're talking about these kids being at home alone. With their dads and moms not being they're not being supervised, they have too much time on their hands. And that spells trouble. Well, I know one of the things that
Billy Moore :Terence Shigg, our co parents brought that up. He's been practicing, he's been bringing it up over a period of time, that, you know, we're talking about doing this and doing that with the kids in the home, but the kids don't have what's needed to do this and do that and do this for us to reach them in the home. That's right.
Ed Hearn :So I absolutely agree with parents that that is absolutely the problem.
Billy Moore :I was talking to a lady the other day. And she said, Well, Billy, you know, we're, we're pretty wealthy. And I think those are her words and, and those are the people that we associate with and so we've came up with an idea to to help be able to help the kids But the bottom line is this is what the point I'm getting at is, as she said, people that can afford certain things on the north debate on the north of eight, they can't be paid. He, but so I said, well, so we said, well, what's going to happen? southway? Well, Billy, we're in the same situation that's been going on for a while. Those kids are going to be much further behind.
Ed Hearn :So the Gulf gets bigger, Billy. Yes, sir. So I think that um,
Billy Moore :maybe, I guess and what you're saying is, the answer is, is to get them back in schools.
Ed Hearn :If a school can safely do that, yeah. The school should be opened by the county health department to do its business. We we have so so let me kind of talk about just the disparity in the order. Okay, the governor's order. So let's say you can do these learning pods 12 kids or less, and you can hire a teacher. And that teacher can teach those 12 kids in this learning pod, in person face to face. Those 12 families, if they come from high capacity, income families, they can pay for that. What happens to the kids on the other side of the bell curve, whose family can't afford that they're left with online education? Yeah, which is inferior. We saw what happened in some of the public schools. In spring. It was almost Learning was almost non existent in some cases. It's It's It's an inferior model is the problem. And the only kid the kids that there are family, people with money there are people moving out of our county sending their kids to prep schools outside the county because they can be taught in person or Yeah, yeah, we There are families that move have moved out of the state. So their kids can be taught in person. Well, maybe you could add to this for me. Well, isn't
Billy Moore :the free world school district Okay, back in school?
Ed Hearn :I don't know specifically about Sweetwater I don't think so. No, I think they're online. They all have to everybody has to be online. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Doesn't matter if your public, private, religious, whatever your affiliation. If you're a high school. You're online right now. And we're Challenging that on the basis of its discrimination against low income minority families.
Billy Moore :And they're left they're left with online learning, which is not very good. And you have a 50% from what I understand is that 50% or close to 50%, or a little more of your student body, from low income families. 53% of our boys receive financial assistance. We have one fifth of our student body live in boundaries of Title One schools, which means, you know, for you know, reduced price for lunch, all those kinds of things, they get a lot of benefits. If they went to the public school, but they, they come to sts and we cover a large part of their tuition, so they can come. Yeah, you put in and I commend you for that. You Thank you for reaching out and trying to get kids in there for higher ed, higher education. Okay, well, how do you add what what what do you think? How does this look to challenge? You guys? Well done. Okay, so
Ed Hearn :we want to challenge yesterday in court. emotion. Yeah, one of the motions we won, and that was to speed this up so we could reduce the damages to our students. Our case is going to be held in Superior Court in San Diego next Friday. I'm not sure I think it's 1030 in the morning, okay. We're going to get a hearing, win or lose the next step if like, if we lost we could take it to the California appellate court and have the appeals court, look at the ruling. And then if we were unsatisfied there, we could go to the California Supreme Court and ask for them to overstate So, this whole process if we took it all the way would be about a month.
Billy Moore :Let's say the powers that be with education are sharp colors with education. Right? Is there any poll or any thoughts or ideas? What do they say? Or do we have any of those that are saying but we need to open up the schools with social distancing?
Ed Hearn :The I think, in the well, there's two groups of there's two camps. Basically, there's the kind of the private schools, Catholic schools, I think, all of us because we're smaller. We can actually deal with the problem a little easier. In a large public school, think about 3000 students being on your campus and trying to keep all of that intact, it would be pretty hard. We're you know, STS is so 100 boys, and I think I just think one size fits all doesn't fit anybody really? Well, you know, okay. You know, we know what's good for a large public school, I don't think is necessarily so good for a small private school and I don't think it's good public policy. I think schools that can open should open. That makes it that makes it as long as you say they have to be safe, though. And and when I say safe, that doesn't mean that there will never be a covid case. There might be, there might be a couple, but we know that, you know, kids especially tolerate this disease much better than people your age and my age, Billy. We don't do as well. But those kids do really well. really well. Yes, a way which mean which mean my age and your age. Well I'm just saying, Billy, I'm probably a lot of
Billy Moore :it. Because it's because the kids around the gym here the kids tell me say, well, coach, no, you're one of us. But my wife, my wife tells me all the time. Don't let those kids get you a job.
Ed Hearn :Well, this sketch of being awful kinda you, Billy.
Billy Moore :Right? Yeah. All right. No, but the thing is that here at ABC, and not only at ABC, but all have had a chance. I've had the great privilege of visiting and being in the classroom, and seats. And what we do is teach our youngsters how to step off in life with their best foot forward, without cowardice, but with courage and dignity, and these kids are the one that's going to happen. To turn this country around, the kids are our future. And it's going to take a lot of us, a lot of us older people to help the youngsters fight the fight to help them fight to fight. And, and as you said, what will work for this school will not work for this school? You can.
Ed Hearn :That's what I That's what I think. Yes. Well,
Billy Moore :I think that we've got a fight on our hands.
Ed Hearn :We do and I want to commend you, Billy, and the work you do and the work your dad started many, many years ago, that is so meaningful to so many people. And I'm just reminded that, you know, we do what we can do. Yeah. And, you know, a young man or a young woman is kind of put on the right course one at a time. It's it's not a bunch of them, we just have to one at a time. And we know that when a young man or a young woman goes through a high school and it's in a college preparatory program goes on to college. And it's the first time this ever happens in their family, their whole future has been changed from then on their family is going to be different. And, and that's the success. And it's such long term success, but that's how we have to play the long game. You know, and get these kids ready for this world because it's got so many problems to deal with. But we have to equip them with the tools to deal with the problems.
Billy Moore :You said something and because really just kind of went to pain and pain of pain or tension here to what's going on with all of this stuff and One of the things that we do have kids in our society in our society, that we're going to have to figure out a way to have some in the same room with social distancing in the same room connection.
Ed Hearn :Yes,
Billy Moore :in order to reach some, right? It's a I'm not. I'm just not one that all of this, the computer stuff and all of that kind of stuff. I'm I mean, there are some people, a lot of you that can do this with your eyes closed. But we do have youngsters out here, that I feel that we need to have that same connection in the same room in order to reach them. And it kind of sounds to me like that's kind of what you're saying.
Ed Hearn :Right? I think it's, you know, we know from research that When a young man when a young man is in relationship with his mentor, as as with you, or Terence, or one of the people that work there, or with their teacher, it gets done really well. Yeah. It's the human connection that makes the difference. You know? We can we can repeat that again, human, it's the human can connection. That makes the difference.
Billy Moore :All right. All right.
Ed Hearn :Well, we're at about 90% of our boys go to four year schools upon graduation, and the rest, about 8% go to junior college. Many times that's due to finances. It's so much easier and cheaper to go to junior college, and then about 2% will go to the armed services. We do have a number of kids We'll, we'll choose that. And primarily it's because they'll get educational, free educational. Well, they'll just have their educational be paid for by the military, essentially. And that's why they sign up for that. We've had a couple of state championship teams. We had a basketball team in 2013, when the state championship, we had a golf team a number of years ago, I think 2011 No, no, probably much earlier 2005 that won the state golf champ championship, and we had a soccer team win the Southern California championship, which there's no state championship for that. So they went as high as they could go. And our rugby team last year was runner up in the state. We have a number of we have two kids going to the military academies. We have one going to Annapolis when going to West Point. And that's pretty much every year we get one or two Go into the academy scissor to tremendous education. And we have a number of kids go into really top tier schools, for their education after they leave sts and go on to get masters and PhDs. It's all about relationships. We, if you look at, if you look at any of the research right now, if you have a teacher, and a learner, and they don't have a relationship, the learner may learn, may or may not learn. If you have a relationship between the two of them. Now you have a student performing for the teacher, and you have a friendship between the two people, and you have a person that's rooting for the student to succeed. There's a reason why the home team generally wins. It's because people are applauding for the hometown team to win. When you're on the road, it's harder to win because the hometown crowd is rooting against you. So kids need, they need support. They need all of us around them, lifting them up. Many of them have such terrible home life, and they come to school, it's their only piece they have in their day. And we have to be in many cases, their mom and dad to get them through. And that's why I believe wholeheartedly in smaller schools. Because you can actually know the kids that go to your school, you know, their names, you know, their their stories, and if you go to their games and you go to their activities, they begin to understand that you really care for them. And that is what really makes the biggest difference in learning is them knowing You care about them more than they care about themselves.
Billy Moore :What we need to do is a what state of California needs to do or the country needs to do is create a position for you to roam around the country helping learning institutions become better because you said some you just got through saying some things that really made a big, big difference. And I forgotten all about you told me about being up at Garfield High School up in Bakersfield, right? And to be a winner of in Bakersfield you you're tough guy. Just Just that's what we need to do is set up And set up a way for you could go that you go from a learning institution to a learning institution. You made a big difference.
Ed Hearn :But, you know, I've been around long enough to see when it works and when it doesn't work. You know, that's that's the difference. I just been around a long time. And I'm passionate about boys and girls being given the skills to succeed. And I that's why I like your group. And that's why I'm on your board.
Billy Moore :All right. Well, I think that I've enjoyed you. And now you know, you've
Ed Hearn :joined you do Billy? Yeah, you know, you've
Billy Moore :we've got to do this. Again, it looks like you. You've been in the ring. And you know when and when you're in these four corners. It can get a little dangerous. But yeah, come on, you have come out unscathed. Again, so
Ed Hearn :look at I'm beautiful, Billy.
Billy Moore :So it looks like you're gonna have to move on to the next round.
Ed Hearn :Yep.
Billy Moore :And you're gonna have to come back together after this court case.
Ed Hearn :Okay. Yeah, I'll fill you all in.
Billy Moore :All right, it really makes it.
Ed Hearn :Thank you, Billy. God bless you.
Billy Moore :God bless. God bless. Thank you. Thank you for being in the ring.
Ed Hearn :I'm glad I was in the ring. All right. All right.
Billy Moore :All right. Let's do it. Let's you Transcribed by https://otter.ai