Interesting Article- On School Board Action

We have discussed communication and public relations in our class many times. I found this article and thought it was interesting. If good communication had been done would this have happened? When I say "good communication" I don't just mean by school personnel! This has caused a lot of controversy.

Father defends petition for grade
Man says English teacher's practices were inconsistent


Thursday, February 7, 2008
By DAVE HANEY
OF THE JOURNAL STAR PEORIA -

The petition to change a Richwoods High School student's English grade was the only way to correct what the student's father calls "inconsistent and inappropriate" grading practices.

The man says the high school principal sided with him as did the school's counselor that a grade change was in order, adding District 150 administrators violated their own grievance procedures. He also claims the superintendent made a decision based on incomplete and inaccurate information. Furthermore, his child's teacher, JoAnna Moe, voluntarily identified herself and spoke on the matter during a public meeting, enabling teachers and other students at Richwoods to finger whose grade was being modified.

"People don't know all the facts," the father said. His name is being withheld to protect his teenager's identity.

The District 150 School Board on Monday voted 5-2 in favor of changing his child's English grade last semester from a "C" to a "B." Similar to cases involving suspensions or expulsions, all student information was kept confidential.

The issue surrounds two failing assignments in an enriched English course handed out nearly four months ago. It focuses on the grading of 60 note cards that reference material used within a research paper, essentially a list of works cited, in which the student received 12 percent out of 100 percent on the first set of 35 cards and 8 percent on the second set, specifically for incorrectly placing a comma on each card.

"A ridiculous amount of points was taken off for a very trivial mistake," said the father, who in the same breath praises the English teacher for her intellectual and teaching ability but described the grading as "draconian punishment."

Fifty of the 79 students actually failed, according to a letter from Moe to district officials, which was provided by the father.

In a meeting with Moe in October, she told the man if she changed the teen's grade, she would have to change them all, adding the grading practices were nothing new and no one had disputed them before. Later, she notes students had opportunities to ask questions.

The grades, representing less than 10 percent of the total grade, stood.

The father then went to the school counselor and principal.

In a letter dated Nov. 19 to district officials from Richwoods Principal John Meisinger, he states, "I did advise (Moe) that I felt that a grade change would be appropriate and in the best interest of the student and her as a teacher. I expressed that it was 'my opinion' that the note cards, and the assignment, could have been graded differently."

Meisinger continues, later regarding changing the grade himself, "I told (the father) that I have known people who have lost their jobs because of such actions and that I was not willing to take a chance by doing so. I also disagree with changing a grade based on 'my opinion' when there is no official 'grading policy' in place at the district level for me to make reference to."

The father then filed a grievance with District 150 administrators.

He says administrators didn't follow their own grievance procedure. He said he was left out of investigatory meetings and conversations with district employees, which he believes - had all involved come together - could have solved the dilemma or at least brought out all the relevant issues to allow administrators the chance to make an "informed decision." The process took more than a month, he adds, not the 10 days as stated in the policy.

Denying the father's request, Assistant Superintendent Cheryl Sanfilip, and later Superintendent Ken Hinton, said Moe's grading practices were consistent in her classroom, the department and past practices, adding no current policy outlining grading practices supports claims for modifying the grade.

The father disagrees, pointing to the vote by board members.

Prior to the board's vote Monday, a number of Richwoods teachers spoke out protesting a grade change, including Moe, who stated modifying the grade "rewards students who choose not to put forth an effort."

With Moe identifying herself, the father says his teenager's privacy is gone, evident by students who have since made comments at school, despite his teen having nothing to do with the appeal.

Other teachers said the decision sets a bad precedent as well as taking the grade evaluating process out of their hands.

Dave Haney can be reached at 686-3181 or dhaney@pjstar.com.