The Point of This Is WHAT?

This story shows how standardized testing RULES our education system now. This is simply appalling.
I don't know if petitions work, but if you want to sign one for the girl, here it is: http://laurencootes.petitionhost.com/

And here's the story from The Virginian-Pilot.

Government gnomes at work

What follows is a reprint of Sunday's column.

I'm posting it for those who don't have home delivery - shame on you - or who live out of town and have not yet subscribed to ePilot.

I do this not because I'M important but because the topic of Sunday's screed was.

If we all make a lot of noise about this abomination, there's a chance Richmond may come to its senses.

GIVE THE GIRL HER DIPLOMA, YOU INCONSIDERATE VA. BUREAUCRATS

SHARLEEN COOTES should not be on the phone with me. She should be in a hospital room on the eighth floor of Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, holding Lauren’s hand. Here’s an idea: Give Lauren her diploma and dare Wright to come down and take it away.

But it’s Friday morning and she’s reluctantly slipped away from her daughter’s bedside for a few minutes to help me understand the Kafka-esque ordeal wreaking havoc on her family, courtesy of Virginia’s Department of Education.

Due to a wrinkle in state education regulations – and factotums in Richmond too timid to challenge them – Lauren Cootes, honor student, may not graduate with the Cox High School Class of 2009 next Saturday night.

You want an eye-opening example of government at its worst? Read on.

In May 2008, Lauren, then 16, was diagnosed with leukemia. She began a brutal regimen of chemotherapy and radiation that caused her to miss her entire senior year of school.

She took four classes with a homebound tutor, who said she needed just two to graduate, so she could earn an advanced studies diploma.

One problem. She became so ill and was hospitalized so many times that she was unable to take the second half of her English SOLs – the reading comprehension section. Instead, a portfolio of Lauren’s work was submitted as a substitute.

“She’s passed every SOL she’s ever taken,” her mother told me.

Yet her portfolio was rejected.

What Lauren doesn’t know, as she struggles through a fog of painkillers, is that functionaries – heavy with Ph.D.s but light on common sense – have helplessly shrugged their puny shoulders about her predicament.

She doesn’t meet the requirements. Hence, no diploma.

Virginia Beach School Superintendent James G. Merrill fired off a letter to the state superintendent, Patricia Wright, last week pointing out that Lauren is “an outstanding student who has consistently made the honor roll. She has been accepted to Christopher Newport University. Obviously strong reading skills have contributed to this success.”

He urged Wright to unshackle herself from the unwavering regulations.

“Certainly, we all understand the importance of the standards inherent in graduation,” Merrill wrote. “There are times, however, when common sense, compassion and commitment to children must move us toward creative alternatives.”

Amen, brother.

As of Friday afternoon, state officials were clinging to their rules.

A spokesman for the department referred me to Standards of Accreditation 8 VAC 20-131-350, which states that “In no event shall waivers be granted to the requirements of Part III (8 VAC 20-131-30 et seq.) of these regulations.”

Seriously?

Here are a few things that 8 VAC 20-131-350 doesn’t know:

Lauren’s been in the hospital for more than two weeks with double pneumonia, a blood infection, a possible fungal infection and near total kidney failure. She just completed radiation of her head and is suffering shortterm memory loss.

You tell me, is this a good time for her to be worrying about the SOLs?

Fortunately, she isn’t. Her parents haven’t told her about the diploma deadlock.

On Thursday, I talked to the tutor who worked with Lauren all year.

“Anyone else would use this as an excuse not to do schoolwork,” Nancy Broskus said. “But Lauren has a tremendous work ethic. I actually tutored her when she was lying down on the couch, too sick to sit up.

“She has been robbed of her senior year because of illness,” Broskus added. “The only thing she’s got left is graduation.”

But what are the chances Lauren will be well enough Saturday night to be on stage at the Virginia Beach Convention Center?

“The doctor told me she’ll be there if he has to issue a pass and push her across the stage himself,” her mother said, reminding me that Saturday is more than just graduation day for Lauren. It’s her 18th birthday.

Lauren Cootes has earned her high school diploma.

No bureaucratic bootlicker should be able to keep it away from her.

Kerry Dougherty

Kerry Dougherty's column appears in the Hampton Roads section of The Virginian-Pilot every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Read it in print or in ePilot. You also can follow Kerry on Twitter: twitter.com/kerrydougherty