"Fail list" controversey at Marshfield Middle School

[The Straight Story]

"Fail list" controversey at Marshfield Middle School



MARSHFIELD, Wis (WSAU) Parents are complaining about a list of failing students posted on a school wall by Marshfield Middle School principal Dave Schoepke.

School policy says students who are failing a class aren’t allowed to attend certain school activities, like field trips and dances. Schoepke said he posted the list to let certain students know that they wouldn’t be able to attend an upcoming school dance unless their grades improved. The list showed the students’ names, class, and the grade ‘F’.

Several students and parents say the failing list publicly embarrasses students and violates education privacy rules. Marshfield school officials say they will meet with the principal to keep the incident from happening again. It’s unclear if any other action will be taken.

http://www.wsau.com/news/articles/2010/mar/14/fail-list-controversey-marshfield-middle-school/

[LiberalFighter]

1. Principle needs to be fired. He knew the privacy laws or should.

[ddeclue]

8. PrinciPAL not PrinciPLE..

signed the spelling police..

[Fire1]

10. And Deputy. n/t

[cherokeeprogressive]

11. LOL no problem with the subject line? n/t

[LiberalFighter]

18. I should had known better.

But the principal is the principle party that needs to be fired.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. Be interesting to know what laws cover this and if posting such information was indeed a violation

of law or school district policy

[Catshrink]

3. I think it is a FERPA violation

and a bone-headed idea. They should have used a student ID number rather than name to do this. I wonder why it was necessary at all -- the kids could have been privately notified. It sounds like it was an exercise in shaming as motivation.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. Any specific citation?

[Gaedel]

6. It has been quite a few years

When I was in college, all grades were posted on the department bulletin boards as well as the grade components (i.e. grades on daily papers, projects, reports, quizzes, and exams). Everyone knew exactly how everyone else was doing.

[Odin2005]

4. That is just cruel.

It's pretty much a boon for bullies.

[Posteritatis]

5. And half of them are probably on the list themselves

Not that they're known for their powerful irony sensors...

[ddeclue]

7. SO? Welcome to the grownup world kids... study harder and don't fail.

[donco6]

9. This is not allowed.

That's a privacy issue.

[etherealtruth]

12. Honest question

Let me preface the question with this statement: I disagree with this practice for a multitude of reasons.

My middle child is an all "A" student .... my little over achiever has her name published after each card marking(in the school newsletter) indicating that she received all "A"s (understanding that this is a very positive thing, deserving of recognition) on its face this isn't this the same thing? A student's grades are being made public.

Clearly the motivation is different .... one is punitive and serves to embarrass and the other is intended to recognize and reward. Other than the motivation behind the release of info, the practices are the same.

[donco6]

16. Yes, it is. That's not allowed either.

Grades are to be kept private except from those who have to make decisions about the child's education.

You can have recognition ceremonies to award children who are doing well on . . . whatever. But you can't reveal specific grades - good or bad.

[thefaithful]

13. That's not good for a child's psyche

These matters should be kept private. Other students might mock those with low grades.

[ddeclue]

15. welcome to the real world. study harder get better grades..what's next? let's not announce scores

from high school football games because we might hurt the losing team's feelings?

In the real world, these kids are going to have to get used to competing and losing.

[donco6]

17. It's not up to us. Its a federal law:

Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

School officials with legitimate educational interest;

Other schools to which a student is transferring;

Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;

Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;

Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;

Accrediting organizations;

To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;

Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and

State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.


http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html