The principals name is Olivia MCarthy.
Here is a copy of the Letter to the Mother.
The site with the suspension letter is offline so I am reproducing the letter here. Central Park School 601 School Road Aberdeen, WA 98520 May 6, 2005 Dear Ms. Wolfe: After much thought and after carefully weighing several factors, I have reached the following decision: Tyler is suspended from attendance at Central park school for a period of five (5) days beginning Monday, May 9, 2005 through Friday, May 13, 2005. This decision has been reached for the following reasons: Tyler refused, on six separate occasions, to comply with a reasonable request made by his teachers, myself, and even you, his parent. In schools, when a teacher or other staff member gives a direction or a request to perform, a student is expected to do so. In other instances where students have simply refused, consequences have been imposed. The fact that Tyler chose to simply refuse to work on the WASL after many reasonable requests is none other than blatant defiance and insubordination. Therefore, a reasonable consequence is a short-term suspension. Unfortunately, the consequences of Tyler’s decision do not end with this disciplinary action. Not only will his achievement be misrepresented on the highest stakes measure of academic performance he has met to date, but the scores of his classmates will also be invalid. As he chose NOT to perform, he will get a zero on that section, which will be averaged with the scores of all of the other students in his class: in this case, 10 other children. Obviously, a 0, when averaged with only 10 other scores, can drastically impact the average. Thus, he has compromised the representation of what his peers know and are able to do. Their scores will be reported as a group, not as individuals. Additionally, this extends to the whole fourth grade, as our school score, the one that is reported to the state and the media, is an average of all fourth grade students. Thus, his choice impacts Tyler, his classmates, his grade mates, and his school. As we have worked so hard this year to improve our writing skills, this is a particularly egregious wound. You have the right to an informal conference with me concerning this suspension, pursuant to WAC 180-40-280. If you have questions, feel free to contact me at XXX-XXXX. Sincerely, Olivia McCarthy, Principal
petitfour, this post (172) says it all. You're obviously right, as are the others who are stating that it's about the $$$.
I wonder if the cracked down on other students who might have left a blank the the multiple choice section. After all, we can't have them making the rest of the class look bad.
Sheesh!
After much thought and after carefully weighing several factors, I have reached the following decision: Tyler is suspended from attendance at Central park school for a period of five (5) days beginning Monday, May 9, 2005 through Friday, May 13, 2005. This decision has been reached for the following reasons: Tyler refused, on six separate occasions, to comply with a reasonable request made by his teachers, myself, and even you, his parent. In schools, when a teacher or other staff member gives a direction or a request to perform, a student is expected to do so. In other instances where students have simply refused, consequences have been imposed. The fact that Tyler chose to simply refuse to work on the WASL after many reasonable requests is none other than blatant defiance and insubordination. Therefore, a reasonable consequence is a short-term suspension. Unfortunately, the consequences of Tyler’s decision do not end with this disciplinary action. Not only will his achievement be misrepresented on the highest stakes measure of academic performance he has met to date, but the scores of his classmates will also be invalid. As he chose NOT to perform, he will get a zero on that section, which will be averaged with the scores of all of the other students in his class: in this case, 10 other children. Obviously, a 0, when averaged with only 10 other scores, can drastically impact the average. Thus, he has compromised the representation of what his peers know and are able to do. Their scores will be reported as a group, not as individuals. Additionally, this extends to the whole fourth grade, as our school score, the one that is reported to the state and the media, is an average of all fourth grade students. Thus, his choice impacts Tyler, his classmates, his grade mates, and his school. As we have worked so hard this year to improve our writing skills, this is a particularly egregious wound. You have the right to an informal conference with me concerning this suspension, pursuant to WAC 180-40-280.
If you have questions, feel free to contact me at XXX-XXXX.
Sincerely,
Olivia McCarthy
Principal
The principal’s letter (above) amounts to 361 words and is rife with errors — including misspelled words, incorrect punctuation, fragmentary sentences, capitalization mistakes, syntactical errors, incorrect tone, and other mistakes. It is also padded with fancy words intended to create an impression in the mind of the recipient that the writer is a competent professional educator.
I have rewritten the letter (see below). My version contains only 141 words and conveys the same message without the padding or mistakes. Please correct me if I made any errors therein.
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Dear Ms. Wolfe:
Students attending Central Park School are expected to obey all instructions issued by teachers or other staff members. Your son Tyler’s refusal to complete the WASL as assigned is a clear case of insubordination. I have therefore decided that Tyler is to be suspended from attendance at Central Park School for a period of five (5) days, beginning Monday, May 9, 2005 through Friday, May 13, 2005. In addition, he will receive a grade of zero for that assignment.
Pursuant to WAC 180-40-280, you have the right to an informal conference with me concerning this suspension. If you have questions, feel free to contact me at XXX-XXXX.
Sincerely,
Olivia McCarthy
Principal