Teh One Who Knocks
10-17-2013, 12:05 PM
By Rene Stutzman, Orlando Sentinel
SANFORD — Jonathan Hefley was an eighth-grade math whiz, so when he started ninth grade, he wound up in an honors Algebra 2 class designed to prepare kids for math contests.
But in that Seminole High School class, Jonathan has foundered and is getting a D. After weeks of complaints from his parents about his teacher and the course work, the principal decided to move him to a slightly easier class.
Now his parents have sued. Their son doesn't want to be pulled away from his "mathlete" buddies, the lawsuit says.
On Wednesday, Jonathan's mom and dad — Heathrow lawyers Aimee and William Hefley — are expected to ask a judge to prohibit the Seminole County School Board and Seminole High Principal Connie Collins from making the change.
Moving the boy, according the suit, "will emotionally scar" him, remove him "from his trusted companions" and "irreparably damage … [his] psyche and reputation."
The Hefleys would not discuss the dispute with the Orlando Sentinel. Neither would school officials, so it's not clear whether the student has already been forced to switch classes.
But in an email to Jonathan's parents that's attached to the lawsuit, school officials say the move is best for Jonathan. It'll take pressure off him, give him a fresh start with a new teacher, and he'll wind up with the same academic credit because he'll still be taking an Algebra 2 honors course.
Before deciding on the change, the school lined up daily tutoring sessions. It also offered to let Jonathan retake two key tests and throw out all of his pop-quiz scores if he moves to the other class, according to email between school officials and his parents.
At the heart of the dispute are a series of contests sponsored by a national honor society for math students, Mu Alpha Theta.
Four years ago, Jonathan's current teacher, Trung Vong, coached a Seminole High student who won a national Mu Alpha Theta competition.
"Mr. Vong is teaching with the goal to win trophies," the suit alleges.
But Collins, the principal, wrote, "It seems that you want Mr. Vong to put 90 percent of the class on an academic standstill while Jonathan catches up." Changing him to a different class, she wrote, would "help [Jonathan] find some relief from the stress that must be his as a result of this constant pressure."
Until Jonathan was placed in Vong's class, the boy "loved math and enjoyed participating in Mu Alpha Theta," according to the suit.
Last year, Jonathan was a "mathlete" in the gifted program at Sanford Middle School and got an A in honors algebra, according to the suit.
But in order to take part in Mu Alpha Theta's next round of competition in January, he must raise his math grade to a B, according to the group's rules.
Brandi Williams-Hillard — who is not involved in this case but teaches at Vero Beach High School and prepares students there for math contests — said she's never heard of a parent suing a school because a student was transferred out of an advanced-math class.
"Usually the parent always wins the argument."
SANFORD — Jonathan Hefley was an eighth-grade math whiz, so when he started ninth grade, he wound up in an honors Algebra 2 class designed to prepare kids for math contests.
But in that Seminole High School class, Jonathan has foundered and is getting a D. After weeks of complaints from his parents about his teacher and the course work, the principal decided to move him to a slightly easier class.
Now his parents have sued. Their son doesn't want to be pulled away from his "mathlete" buddies, the lawsuit says.
On Wednesday, Jonathan's mom and dad — Heathrow lawyers Aimee and William Hefley — are expected to ask a judge to prohibit the Seminole County School Board and Seminole High Principal Connie Collins from making the change.
Moving the boy, according the suit, "will emotionally scar" him, remove him "from his trusted companions" and "irreparably damage … [his] psyche and reputation."
The Hefleys would not discuss the dispute with the Orlando Sentinel. Neither would school officials, so it's not clear whether the student has already been forced to switch classes.
But in an email to Jonathan's parents that's attached to the lawsuit, school officials say the move is best for Jonathan. It'll take pressure off him, give him a fresh start with a new teacher, and he'll wind up with the same academic credit because he'll still be taking an Algebra 2 honors course.
Before deciding on the change, the school lined up daily tutoring sessions. It also offered to let Jonathan retake two key tests and throw out all of his pop-quiz scores if he moves to the other class, according to email between school officials and his parents.
At the heart of the dispute are a series of contests sponsored by a national honor society for math students, Mu Alpha Theta.
Four years ago, Jonathan's current teacher, Trung Vong, coached a Seminole High student who won a national Mu Alpha Theta competition.
"Mr. Vong is teaching with the goal to win trophies," the suit alleges.
But Collins, the principal, wrote, "It seems that you want Mr. Vong to put 90 percent of the class on an academic standstill while Jonathan catches up." Changing him to a different class, she wrote, would "help [Jonathan] find some relief from the stress that must be his as a result of this constant pressure."
Until Jonathan was placed in Vong's class, the boy "loved math and enjoyed participating in Mu Alpha Theta," according to the suit.
Last year, Jonathan was a "mathlete" in the gifted program at Sanford Middle School and got an A in honors algebra, according to the suit.
But in order to take part in Mu Alpha Theta's next round of competition in January, he must raise his math grade to a B, according to the group's rules.
Brandi Williams-Hillard — who is not involved in this case but teaches at Vero Beach High School and prepares students there for math contests — said she's never heard of a parent suing a school because a student was transferred out of an advanced-math class.
"Usually the parent always wins the argument."