Student Protests as Only 75 Classmates Get to Hear Bush Speak at J.E.B. Stuart
By Nicholas Benton
A J.E.B. Stuart High School student was "informally suspended" yesterday for circulating a flier protesting the exclusion of over 1,400 of his classmates from a speech delivered by President George Bush in the school's gym.
The gym was packed yesterday morning with mostly adult political supporters of the president, who had received tickets to attend the speech, and local politicians. Many were adorned with "GOP" or "Bush" lapel buttons and cuff links. Only 75 students from the school were invited, carefully pre-selected based on recommendations by the school's teachers. The president, ironically, spoke on the subject of his "No Child Left Behind" educational initiative.
To Stuart High student Arash Almasi, he and his 1,400 excluded classmates were left behind yesterday, and he said so in his flier. What riled him was that the entire student body had originally been told it would be invited to see the president.
When Almasi learned of his suspension Tuesday night, news of the development was reported on National Public Radio. He was told he would not be allowed on school grounds yesterday, and that if his call for a 10 a.m. walkout from Bush's speech materialized more a more serious suspension would ensue.
Prior to Bush's speech yesterday, Fairfax County School Board member Kaye Kory spoke sympathetically about Almasi's protest. "He wanted this experience for all the kids," she told the News-Press as the event was about to begin. "As it is, only 75 of the highest achievers have been invited here." Kory's daughter, Caroline, is a senior at the school and was among those invited.
Perhaps unaware of the makeup of the crowd, President Bush opened his remarks by saying, "I want to thank all the students here today."
He went on to heap praise on recent years' achievements at Stuart High under the direction of Principal Mel Riddile. Among the school's teachers he also singled out by name were Sandy Sweitzer, the reading coach, and Stuart Singer a 32-year veteran math teacher. Stuart has gained national notoriety for its effectiveness in dealing with the fact it is perhaps the most racially and ethnically diverse school in the U.S. Bush acknowledged the school's efforts in rebounding from the lowest test scores in the county in 1997, and its focus on college preparatory Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs.
Also present for the speech were Virginia's two U.S. Senators, George Allen and John Warner, its Attorney General and prospective GOP gubernatorial candidate James Kilgore and 11th District Congressman Tom Davis, all Republicans. Democrats representing the area covered by Stuart High School, State Del. Bob Hull and Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross, were also there, as was Rod Paige, outgoing U.S. Secretary of Education and Dr. Jack Dale, superintendent of the Fairfax County school system.
Bush's speech was riddled with comments on the importance of testing and measuring results. The federal government's role, he said, is as a funding source for education and "as an instigator for accountability systems." While its role is to require accountability, he said the measurement instruments are left to locales to develop.
In that context, Bush announced $1.5 billion in new federal educational initiatives that he will take to Congress. They include programs that would extend "early intervention" testing to the eighth grade and reading and math testing in the ninth through 11th grades.
In a related development, Del. Hull announced yesterday that he's submitted a House Joint Resolution in Richmond commending J.E.B. Stuart High for its "significant achievements." It notes the "dramatic improvement in the academic improvement of its students," 73% of whom are members of a minority group, 70% being born outside the U.S., 13% with disabilities and 54% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches. It notes that despite these demographics, the school enjoys a 96% attendance rate and 90% graduation rate with 90% of its graduates going onto post-secondary education.
I believe that all important matters have to be settled here, not in the clouds somewhere after we kick off.
--Billy Joel, American musician
