Parent's view: not surprised by decision Parent's view: not surprised by decision (December 28, 2005)

By Marjorie Mader

Almanac Staff Writer

Menlo Park parent James Doody said he was not surprised when he learned December 21 that district trustees denied his complaint, alleging racial discrimination at Laurel School.

"There are idiosyncrasies in the class-assignment process at Laurel," he said, that produce some "odd results."

He cited the "very high proportion of Tinsley students" in his son's former first-grade class and "what seemed to be a higher than normal number of children from single-parent families, and English learners."

He said he continues to believe that "the well-connected [families] generally get one outcome and the unconnected get another" in the class-assignment process.

He also raised questions about the limited scope and data in the compliance officer's report.

Mr. Doody's dispute with the school began as soon as class lists were posted last August. His son was not placed with the teacher and class that Mr. Doody wanted.

"There was absolutely no offer to change" his son's assignment, said Mr. Doody, a U.S. Navy officer who will leave the area shortly to start training before becoming a submarine commanding officer.

He said he's in Menlo Park because the Navy sent him to Stanford University, where he recently completed requirements for a master's degree in East Asian studies. He said he and his wife, a pediatrician, have four children.

A daughter is in a fourth-grade class at Encinal School, and Mr. Doody said he is pleased with that placement.

As discussions with teachers, the principal and the superintendent continued, Mr. Doody decided to lodge a complaint "essentially on behalf of what I consider the most powerless people in the system," minorities and ethnic groups.

Mr. Doody was offered as an option a first-grade placement for his son at the district's Oak Knoll School. He said he and his son visited the Oak Knoll class and also a first-grade class at St. Raymond School in Menlo Park.

They made the decision to withdraw his son from the district November 21 and enroll him at the parochial school because they considered it a good fit.

Mr. Doody said he's still considering what to do regarding the board's decision, but said it's unlikely he will appeal to the state Board of Education. "I am mindful that generating a precedent in this case may be counterproductive to people who are actually harmed by this unfair process," he said.

"I don't understand why anyone [on the district staff] couldn't look me in the eye and explain why this class assignment was good for my son," said Mr. Doody.

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