Former principal unhappy with story Former principal unhappy with story (August 11, 2004)

By Edward Winchester

I read Marjorie Mader's June 23 Almanac article about the appointment of Corte Madera's new principal with great interest. Unfortunately, I believe it contained some factual errors and some blatantly unfair, biased statements.

In her article, Ms. Mader said that, "Mr. Winchester's leadership style resulted in controversy and divisiveness in the community."

For someone who has been covering Portola Valley schools for a very long time, it seems disingenuous and unfair for Ms. Mader to assign labels, especially since Portola Valley as a community has a history of controversy and divisiveness. It has not been my history to be divisive or controversial and those adjectives have never been used to describe me prior to my time at Corte Madera.

Ms. Mader further says that "One of [Winchester's] first decisions was to cancel the traditional eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C. and replace it with Sojourn to the Past, which traced the American Civil Rights movement in the South. She also implies that it was a unilateral decision.

I wish Ms. Mader had checked her facts because she mixes several events. I did make the decision to cancel the eighth grade trip for the 2002-03 school year, but that was only out of concern for the safety of our children in light of the fact that the war in Iraq was imminent and we were intending to go to places that would be primary targets for terrorism. Also, the decision was made only after I had checked with teachers, parents, and district personnel.

Admittedly, I could have checked with all people affected, perhaps by having an eighth grade meeting, and I have learned from this. It should be noted that the decision was revisited, and after some further discussion, the trip was reinstated.

The Sojourn issue was totally separate and the decision to change was made only after having a nighttime meeting to which all parents and incoming eighth graders were invited. There was a massive amount of communication about this change, and by the time the change was made the vast majority of students, teachers, and parents were in support. Unfortunately, several parents and an ex-employee with their own agendas did all they could to undermine a decision that had already been made and they succeeded in creating an unpleasant environment for several months at the beginning of the 2003/04 school year. By the way, Sojourn occurred in May and it was hailed as an amazing educational experience by the most of the participants, including parents.

Finally, I find it telling that Ms. Mader chose to use quotes from several parents who have been less than supportive during my time at Corte Madera, but she did not take the time to call me to ask for my comments, nor did she speak with any parents or teachers who might have offered her a different perspective of my tenure at Corte Madera.

I should mention that Ms. Mader has had numerous chances to talk with me at board meetings, but she has never made an attempt to do so. It seems that she is more than content to gather her information from a limited pool of biased sources, rather than seek the truth, or at least a more balanced version of the story.

Shame on you, Ms. Mader. Your article could have simply introduced the new principal, without attacking the outgoing one. I hope your future writing will be more fair and accurate. I also hope that you will be more open to communicating with Mr. Willen, rather than printing half-truths and innuendo about him.

Edward Winchester Former principal, Corte Madera School

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Almanac has run stories on Ed Winchester's departure from Corte Madera School that have included the views of many people who supported him and questioned the district's decision. When news of his planned departure surfaced, the Almanac sought his comment, but he did not return the call. Ms. Mader subsequently talked with Mr. Winchester about his objection to a paragraph in a July 23 story about the naming of a new principal. She invited him to write a letter to the editor to express his views.

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