Boston Globe Carefully Identifies "The Deserving" and Payzant Threatens, "The Board Will Be Hearing From Me"
Ohanian Note: Payzant sounds like a terrific, inspiring leader, doesn't he? And notice the careful selection of quotes: Kids who graduated in caps and gowns worked hard and deserved it. Other kids should be so deserving.
It's a graduation season with caps, gowns, balloons, and for some, regrets.
One by one, the city's high schools are sending off their senior classes. But the tone this year is different, as some students are barred from commencement exercises because they have not passed the MCAS test.
That means some friends don't celebrate together, some parents feel angry, and Boston school officials are repeatedly left to defend a policy that is among the strictest in the state.
East Boston High senior Domingas Lima won't be with the rest of her classmates today, crossing the stage in front cheering family and friends. Instead, the 18-year-old will be spending the time alone, she said, trying not to dwell on how this could have happened to her.
''It's killing me every time I think about it,'' she said. ''I was so sure I was going to pass the test.''
Some other school districts are handing out state-endorsed certificates of attainment to seniors who completed all course requirements but did not pass the test.
In a memo sent to principals and headmasters, Boston School Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant said his policy is not a punitive one. He said it would send the wrong message to include these seniors in the ceremony, because that may suggest to them they don't have more work to do to earn their diploma.
However, one school, Greater Egleston High in Jamaica Plain, appears to have found a way around the ban. The pilot school plans to hold an event today at which students who passed MCAS will receive diplomas and those who did not will receive ''certificates of completion.'' The difference? School officials are not calling it ''graduation.''
''We are not holding graduation,'' assistant principal Mark A. Barfield insisted yesterday. ''We are holding a commencement.'' Barfield added that during the ceremony, which will have only 12 seniors, the word ''graduation'' will never be used.
The move infuriated Payzant.
''This is violation of the policy and it is inappropriate,'' said Payzant. ''The memo I sent to all headmasters and principals was very clear on what the district policy is'' regarding seniors who have not passed the test. ''That means no walking across the stage, no caps and gowns.''
''I will not intervene tomorrow, but the headmaster and the board will be hearing from me.''
Still, Payzant has shown some flexibility. With his blessing, Shina Hines, a special education student at Boston Community Leadership Academy, delivered a speech at her graduation Tuesday. As the senior class secretary, Hines, 18, was responisble for organizing graduation events, watching over graduation practices, all the while knowing she - because she failed the test - wasn't allowed to don a cap and gown.
''It was really hard for me to be there, when I was supposed to be there in a cap and gown, but everyone in the crowd was so nice to me,'' she said. ''At first I felt really disappointed. But all the time while I was speaking, I was just glad it's all over.''
Of the roughly 3,500-member senior class, all but about 630 passed both the English and math portions of the test. The class of 2003 is the first required to pass the statewide 10th grade MCAS to receive diplomas.
For the 99 Dorchester High School graduates yesterday, walking across a stage and shaking hands with headmaster Robert Belle, Payzant, and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino was sweet.
''For so long, I didn't think this was possible. Even in the summer, I thought that this was unreachable,'' senior class president Taylor T. Millen said to the cheering audience. ''So many people at Dorchester High believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself.''
For valedictorian Balynnda Harrison, this was the moment she'd been waiting for.
''When we first came to Dorchester High, some of us were scared to start high school,'' she said in her address. ''Some of us heard about the reputation of Dorchester High and were just plain scared. I know I was. As we graduate today, we earned the right to feel proud of our achievements.''
Belle said yesterday that the MCAS really shook the class of 2003. ''Three or four years ago,'' he said, ''there were only four kids here who passed the MCAS. That is not the case anymore.''
And parents, packed into the school's auditorium, carrying videocameras and flowers, were bubbling with pride.
''My daughter worked very hard for this, from elementary school through high school,'' said Mauricia Alexander, who burst from her seat as her child's name, Lawanda Alexander, was called.
''I stood on her case because it's not the teachers' job, it's my job to make sure she's on track,'' Alexander said. ''I am so proud of her.''
Jermaine Kelly, 17, couldn't help but notice that some of his friends were not celebrating with him yesterday, because of MCAS. ''It feels awful,'' he said, wearing his black cap and gown. ''I think everyone should walk across the stage. It's just not fair.''
— Megan Tench
Parting Company Seniors graduate without those who failed MCAS
Boston Globe
June 13, 2003
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/164/metro/Parting_company+.shtml
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
