School makes a bad decision

    Far too often I?ve seen people complain when a stand is made against something the protestor feels is unjust. The ones protesting rights violations, even using means guaranteed in the law, are called ?troublemakers? and ? my favorite ? ?kooks.? I wonder if this attitude is carried over from high school.

    Before I go any further, I have to say this isn?t an attitude I?ve seen in the Washington school district ? a fact I?m very proud of the district for. I?ve seen teachers and administrators encourage students to take a stand on issues that affect them and to work within the system to encourage positive change.  A group of students regularly meets to give feedback to the administration on how the school is run. The administration actually listens to what the students have to say. Kudos.

    Why am I bringing this up? Well, a few years ago I spent about three months working in Storm Lake, a small town in northwestern Iowa about halfway between Sioux City and Fort Dodge. Well, this town recently made statewide headlines when a student at the local high school ? believe it or not, Storm Lake High School (SLHS) ? refused to take a standardized test. Lori Phanachone, a senior and honor student at SLHS says she felt taking the English Language Development Assessment test was discriminatory. She was born in America, but her parents were from Laos. When asked by the school district what her first language is, she lists Laotian. From what I understand this is a required test given to English as a Second Language students.

    According to an editorial written by my former boss Dana Larson, editor of the Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune, a letter Phanachone had written to the newspaper was written in such perfect English he was impressed. Dana is someone I?ve always looked up to as far as writing skill is concerned. If he says she knows English, as far as I?m concerned she knows English.

    So, the Storm Lake School District administrators sat down with her and listened to her arguments against taking the test and tried to work out a compromise. Just kidding. Apparently when school district officials have it in their mind to waste taxpayer money, they?ll get it done. In the spirit of ?you will only do as you?re told? they have done everything they can to pressure her into taking the test. They have given Phanachone ? who, according to newspaper accounts, is ranked seventh in the class of 2009  ?  in-school suspensions. They have threatened to remove such things as being recognized as a National Honor Society member. They?ve even threatened to ban her from the school prom. She said in a recent article her grades were slipping as a result of the punishment. I?m forced to wonder if the district does such things to people who are caught bullying or with drugs on school property.

    I should mention that the test, which is designed to measure English language proficiency, isn?t a byproduct of the school system, rather it?s from the United States Department of Education

    I understand the school district not wanting to set the precedent of allowing students to refuse to take any test they choose. Still, the manner in which the district is handling the situation is reprehensible. In fact, Dana?s editorial says a reporter was barred from Storm Lake High School due to a media ?lockdown.? He took the politically correct way out ? I suspect because he has to work with the school district ? and glossed over it. Gee, it?s not like the school district is paid for with taxpayer money and the media is an arm that keeps the taxpayers informed on how their money is spent. I can?t speak for other reporters, but the first thing I think when I?m banned from a site is ?I wonder what they are trying to hide.?

    The Pilot-Tribune says Phanachone doesn?t blame the district for the problems with the test. In fact, she encouraged her fellow students not to engage in a protest against the district on her behalf. Still, I hope the good people of Storm Lake take the opportunity to give the school board a piece of their collective mind on the district operating in a tyrannical fashion.

    Storm Lake can take a lesson from the Washington school board, which has a motto saying ?may all our decisions be based on what?s best for boys and girls.? The Storm Lake district would have to talk for a long time to convince me this situation is what?s best for the students. Gee, I don?t see any mention of what?s best for the administration and the district image anywhere in that motto.