EDITORIAL: UPDATED: On June 4th 2012, four adult friends of student "RS" got up to speak to the Lake Washington School Board and Superintendent about his mild mood disorder called Cyclothemia or "Bipolar III." One speaker was his mother. "RS" was a Senior at Lake Washington High, a 2-3 sport athlete and an honor roll student more than once. According to Mr. Keller, "He was on track to graduate until earlier this year when he came down with onset of manic depression. This child is a couple credits short of graduation."
All four of RS's supporters asked the Board and Superintendent to make an exception and allow RS to Walk with his classmates during graduation ceremonies. Mr. Phillips and Keller spoke up saying, "RS spent thirteen years in LWSD Kirkland schools growing up with his friends and their request was based on him staying with the group of kids he's been with his entire life. He was a model citizen for Kirkland," said Phillips. Phillips pleaded during his three minutes, "Right now RS feels ostracized and doesn't quite grasp why he can't graduate or complete things right now. Let him Walk with his friends to at least give him dignity. Hopefully, this summer he'll know his next assignment is to finish high school."
The school board was thoughtful and deliberative. Director Chris Carlson recommended the Administration look for "a compassionate clause as for any illness" in the laws governing this plea. Director Siri Bliesner recommended looking at the policy statement in the "504 medical component." In the end, the Kimball Administration made the decision not to let RS walk. (Dr. Kimball retires mid-July.) According to Keller, David Larson, School Support for Lake Washington High, concluded verbally that RS wasn't disabled, he was never hospitalized and his psychiatrist diagnosed him with only the mild mood swings of Bipolar III.
This RS story reminds me of my best friend in high school, "Robert." He was voted "All School Boy Athlete" by his peers and graduated on the Honor Roll. He and two girls got seriously drunk just before graduation and painted a neighbor's fence with slanderous graffiti and then on his high school gym. He was allowed to walk - with all humility - only to have Bipolar 1 episodes his senior year in college and a diagnosis in 1980 seven years later. Once struck with a chronic illness one is always recovering. The mortality rate from Bipolar I and II is 20% from suicide, he lost his brother to it, and bounced back from multiple job losses.
The bright spot for Robert and RS is how far medications have come -- from the lithium trials of the mid '60's - when "taken" with sobriety. RS has plans to go to Bellevue College next year for his certificate. I'm sure our LWSD community is 100% behind RS and wishes him a full recovery and a bright futrure in whatever career he chooses.
By Bob Yoder
Suggested reading: "The stigma can hurt, badly," By Jim Colvin, author of "H.E.R.E. and Getting There," a book about designing treatment systems to reduce stigma. "Wenatchee World," 7/8/2012.
Letter to Editor includes a response from the Kimball Administration and a new report from Yoder: http://redmondcity.blogspot.com/2012/07/letter-kimball-administration-callous.html
All four of RS's supporters asked the Board and Superintendent to make an exception and allow RS to Walk with his classmates during graduation ceremonies. Mr. Phillips and Keller spoke up saying, "RS spent thirteen years in LWSD Kirkland schools growing up with his friends and their request was based on him staying with the group of kids he's been with his entire life. He was a model citizen for Kirkland," said Phillips. Phillips pleaded during his three minutes, "Right now RS feels ostracized and doesn't quite grasp why he can't graduate or complete things right now. Let him Walk with his friends to at least give him dignity. Hopefully, this summer he'll know his next assignment is to finish high school."
The school board was thoughtful and deliberative. Director Chris Carlson recommended the Administration look for "a compassionate clause as for any illness" in the laws governing this plea. Director Siri Bliesner recommended looking at the policy statement in the "504 medical component." In the end, the Kimball Administration made the decision not to let RS walk. (Dr. Kimball retires mid-July.) According to Keller, David Larson, School Support for Lake Washington High, concluded verbally that RS wasn't disabled, he was never hospitalized and his psychiatrist diagnosed him with only the mild mood swings of Bipolar III.
This RS story reminds me of my best friend in high school, "Robert." He was voted "All School Boy Athlete" by his peers and graduated on the Honor Roll. He and two girls got seriously drunk just before graduation and painted a neighbor's fence with slanderous graffiti and then on his high school gym. He was allowed to walk - with all humility - only to have Bipolar 1 episodes his senior year in college and a diagnosis in 1980 seven years later. Once struck with a chronic illness one is always recovering. The mortality rate from Bipolar I and II is 20% from suicide, he lost his brother to it, and bounced back from multiple job losses.
The bright spot for Robert and RS is how far medications have come -- from the lithium trials of the mid '60's - when "taken" with sobriety. RS has plans to go to Bellevue College next year for his certificate. I'm sure our LWSD community is 100% behind RS and wishes him a full recovery and a bright futrure in whatever career he chooses.
By Bob Yoder
Suggested reading: "The stigma can hurt, badly," By Jim Colvin, author of "H.E.R.E. and Getting There," a book about designing treatment systems to reduce stigma. "Wenatchee World," 7/8/2012.
Letter to Editor includes a response from the Kimball Administration and a new report from Yoder: http://redmondcity.blogspot.com/2012/07/letter-kimball-administration-callous.html
The high school graduation ceremony is an academic and social event for students, friends, and family members to celebrate the completion of more than 12 years of education. For most teenagers, the high school graduation ceremony is a special, exciting milestone in their lives that is held only once for each graduating high school class in May or June. Student “R.S.” wanted to be included in this once-in-a-lifetime celebration - he didn’t request that he receive his diploma without completing all of the requirements. The two credits that he was short could have been made up during summer school, but there is no way to recreate the graduation ceremony and celebration with members of his class. This was obviously very important to him and to his family and the callousness of the Lake Washington School District in denying him the opportunity to participate in the graduation ceremony with his class is disturbing and unforgivable. He could have walked and received an empty diploma envelope, as was the practice at my high school and at my college for students who were within 2 credits of graduation.
ReplyDeleteThere is a deeper hypocrisy that needs to be pointed out here. Way back in March 2011, when I found out that the STEM School would not have a gym or PE facilities, I asked how students would receive PE credit, a state requirement for graduation, and was told that the new STEM school would not offer PE classes so there was no need for a gym. Instead, for PE credit, students would do 300 hours of physical activity on their own and have their parents or coach sign a PE form, as was currently being done at International Community School (ICS). I contacted the OSPI to find out if new high schools could be built without PE facilities and also if ICS could validly use their 300-hour PE form to fulfill graduation requirements. I was informed that the ICS practice of using a PE form was not acceptable because it didn’t fit the requirement that students be taught the core concepts and principles of PE and it didn’t meet the Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EARLs)*. In May 2011, (a whole year ago) the Lake Washington School District was made aware that ICS wasn’t meeting the State’s PE requirement and the school board and superintendent discussed the issue at a number of school board meetings, but they chose to ignore the problem and they didn’t require ICS to upgrade its PE coursework. Students graduating from ICS in 2012 were all allowed to falsify their PE credits – a requirement for graduation – and so, technically, they were all deficient 1.5 PE credits essential for graduation. But wait, all of the ICS students were allowed to participate in their graduation ceremony and all received diplomas, even though they were all 1.5 credits short. When the school district decided that student “R.S.” wasn’t allowed to participate in graduation activities, it was because he had not completed ALL of the graduation requirements. Well, if the district insists that ALL graduation requirements must be met in order to participate in graduation ceremonies and to receive a diploma, then all the ICS graduates should be required to prove that they completed their PE requirement, otherwise their diplomas should be rescinded until the credits are made up and submitted to the district. This school district has standards to uphold and it applies to ALL students, right?
*See RCW 28A.150.210, 28A.230.050, 28A.230.095
According to Keller, foreign exchange students are allowed to walk and participate in graduation ceremonies. But not RS.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Pierce in a 6/12/12 email to the school board w/ copies to Kimball: david the LWHS administrator "will be communicating back to the parent that while the student is not eligible to participate in commencement actiities, he can still attend the graduation ceremony and sit in the general audience...In addition, he can return to LWHS as a 5th year senior next year and participate in the ceremony with the Class of 2013 if he chooses."
Ms. Keller said RS would be attending Bellevue College to pick up his two credits and move forward onto college level studies.
Dr. Pierce concluded, "I appreciate
the feedback and ideas you (school board) have all shared regarding our policy and next year will give the policy serious review."