Posted on 04/22/2002 9:28:42 AM PDT by Temple Owl
Top students now classified 'top secret'
One school is starting to list honor roll students by first name and last initial only.
By CHARNA MAMLOK
Norwich Bulletin
Nine-year-old Ralph Mayo made the honor roll this past marking period.
But the Plainfield Memorial School third-grader won't have the honor of being publicly recognized and having his name printed in the newspaper along with other high-achieving students.
A new school policy prevents the elementary school from disclosing students' last names to the media and posting them on the school's Web site. In some cases, the school's honor roll identifies only the students' grade and room number.
Some said preventing students from being fully recognized for their academic achievement adds a new layer to the national debate on student confidentiality.
"That's kind of crazy. I'd rather see their whole name in the newspaper," said New London resident Michele Coons, Mayo's cousin. "Let the kids get their recognition, that's what I say."
Federal law mandates that student records be kept confidential, although schools may release information that generally would not be considered harmful or an invasion of a student's privacy, such as honor roll lists.
"It is an interesting case to have some concern about not releasing the names or identities of those scoring well. It's something we should all be proud of," said state Department of Education Spokesman Thomas Murphy, adding that educators are cautious of keeping student records confidential.
"Schools do have to be careful with identifying students and revealing student performance," he said, referring to the Connecticut Mastery Test scores.
Plainfield Memorial School Principal Sheryl Kempain said parents signed forms earlier this school year indicating how they wanted their child identified in print and on the school's Web site, which went online in December.
"The majority of the parents said, 'First name and last initial' and that's totally understandable, with everything that goes on in the Internet," Kempain said. "It's really just to protect our children."
Names on display
A display case in the school contains the first and last names of students who made the honor roll in the first marking period. When that display case is updated to recognize the second marking period honor roll students, the list will include students' first names and the initial of their last names, Kempain said.
"Before we had the Web site, there really wasn't this need for all the confidentiality," she said.
For years, eastern Connecticut schools have put policies in place to protect student identities if and when members of the media interview, photograph and/or videotape students. Usually, parents sign a form in the beginning of the year indicating whether they will allow their child's name to be released to the media.
Such is the case in Montville, where administrators instituted a policy last year.
"I think it's just being proactive," said Montville Superintendent of Schools David B. Erwin. "It's being careful of kids."
Similarly, Norwich parents can opt to not have their child's name or photograph released to the media.
Safety concerns
Last year, the Plainfield Board of Education revised its policy on students' names and photographs being used in the media, a move in deference to safety concerns associated with custody battles and other issues.
"When we made the policy, it involved newspaper articles or pictures and things like that. I haven't really thought about it affecting honor rolls," said school board Chairwoman Virginia Sampietro.
She said the board might revisit the policy to see if incomplete honor rolls or running only first names is part of the policy's intent.
"We'd have to look at how it's being carried out across the system," Sampietro said, adding that honor rolls are a vital part of student morale. "It's important for the child and the parent."
Plainfield resident Kathy O'Brien, whose grown children went to Plainfield Memorial School, said she doesn't see anything wrong with publishing the names of students who make the honor roll. She also said her children used to look forward to seeing their names appear in the newspaper and would cut out the articles for their scrapbooks.
But Plainfield parent Monique Sylvestre, who has a daughter who will enter preschool in the fall, agrees with the school's policy not to release students' last names.
"I think it seems sensible. My opinion would be to leave it up to the parent," she said. "You just can't be too careful nowadays. There's a lot of sick people out there. You just never know."
Staff writer Michael Lemanski contributed to this report.
It's kind of like giving baseball scores (2 - 1) without giving the names of the teams. This country is getting screwier every day.
It's for the childrun.
Yes
Mark W.
Actually, I can kinda see their point on this one.
Suppose the local pervert decides to go shopping. He fires up the old computer, gets into the school website, picks out some pretty little girl, looks up her name, and gets her address from the phone book.
A couple days' worth of observation and he's got the schedule down pat -- then he makes the grab.
It's still not really likely, but the scenario is so realistic that I can see why they'd want to be careful.
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