By Teresa Cordova
Bernalillo County Commissioner
If I thought that an elected official used political influence to arbitrarily have a grade changed so that his/her son could graduate, then I, too, would be very upset and disappointed. That isn't what happened— not even close. As someone said to me, "You are not unethical people and anybody who knows you, knows that you are not like that."
As an elected official, I advocate on a daily basis for my constituents. As a mother, it is my prerogative to advocate for my son when I see that there are issues of fairness and accountability that are affecting him and possibly nearly 50 other students this year alone. No matter who a child is, or who his parents are, that child is entitled to a school working on his/her behalf.
As a parent, I pursued these issues through channels that are open to any and all other parents. First, I went to the teacher twice where I detected a number of issues that needed to be addressed by the student, the teacher and the school. I then went to the principal, who indicated that it was not his role to give direction to teachers. He advised me to contact the cluster leader. I did. What happened after that was based on the cluster leader's assessment of the situation and an impartial evaluation of the student's work.
At no point in time did I ask for a grade change! Given what I believed was a certain abdication of responsibilities on the part of the teacher and the school, I asked that the student's work be evaluated by a disinterested third party. Using a rubric for 12th grade English standards, this impartial teacher determined that the competency was strong.
This was not a case of passing a student without merit. He did the work and deserved the passing grade.
The details of his grades, performance, and evaluation are subject to state privacy laws that protect the student. Personnel at the school who are discussing any details are violating state law.
It is even worse to the extent that they are distorting the information.
Just because I love being a public servant does not mean that I have given up my rights and responsibilities as a parent. I am a parent first. I am not the first parent who has stood up for his/her kid and I certainly hope that I am not the last. The process I pursued is available to other parents.
In fact, it is my deepest wish that I have opened up the door for more parents to exercise their rights and to protect their children's rights as students. It is also my hope that I have highlighted issues of (poor) graduation rates at Rio Grande High School.
I am a great county commissioner and work hard and effectively for my district. This is not about being a county commissioner. This is about being a mother.
I ask that my constituents continue to recognize the good work that I am doing, to have faith that I have done nothing unethical, and support me and all other parents in helping their children become responsible, successful and happy adults.
My son is a great young man and I am very proud of him.
Please help me in celebrating another South Valley student's graduation from high school.
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