News-Record.com

It was a real eye-opener for me and quite troubling.

I knew that Zach M. had tranfered to Grimsley but didn't know the circumstances. Same with some of the other players.

But the reporting of the three Southern-turned-Whirlie baseballers and the Page-turned-Whirlie punter was pretty amazing stuff.

To give up custody of your child and/or get a legal separation in order for you child to play on a winning team is just plain wrong and out of all proportion.

I understand why so many folks "weren't available for comment" - including Grimsley's AD because they don't have a moral foot to stand on. The whole thing is sordid, unfair to many schools, and... and... just plain wrong.

I agree that this article hasshined an unfavorable light on a "system that is clearly broken and being exploited".

Great reporting Mr. Bell! But I must add... "Go Whirlies".

Who'd have thought a scant 5 years ago that Guildford's best athletes and their parents would be tearing their families asunder and clamoring to play for, Grimsley's lowly athletic programs?

Actually, this is nothing new. In olden days (late 70s, early 80s), students would get themselves declared LD in order to register at one school or another. They used grandma's address, fake addresses, got diagnosed, paid tuition in a rare case or two and whatever it took. Face it, it's not about morals IMO. It's about exposure and college scholarships. The scouts don't go to the outlying schools' games; they go where the teams make the state playoffs and yes, where they get the press. Follow the money; morals are surely a distant second.

I found the story quite interesting. I've always been amazed at how often top athletes seem to bounce from school to school. And I'm amazed how many kids talked openly about it with Robert. He did an excellent job.

In Indiana, where I played high school sports, the statewide athletic association has a rule that requires you to sit out a year if you switch schools except under some extremely limited circumstances. You'll still get some kids moving around for sports, particularly between freshmen and sophomore year. And some people do find loopholes in the limited exceptions. But it doesn't seem to be nearly as prevalent as in the other states I've lived (N.C., Md. and Va.).

I wonder how many Guilford County athletes would still be willing to transfer if they lost a whole year of playing.

I am also amazed at how many athletes were willing to talk to Robert. I wonder if the athletes were aware they were talking to a reporter that was planning to write an article about transferring and "free agents."
A sad truth is that Robert's article didn't touch on basketball, where this practice is also prevalent. What has happened is that an AAU mentality has taken over at the scholastic level. Players and parents go looking for places and/or coaches where they feel certain they'll get a chance to play most quickly. If something goes wrong, they just change schools as easily as they might change AAU teams. Guilford County Schools has added to the problem by hiring head coaches in some instances that are not trained educators, but businessmen who got started in coaching at the AAU level. These coaches "recruit" players to come to the school in which they are coaching.
I'm somewhat surprised at the timing of this article, especially with Grimsley still in the playoffs. Good luck to the Whirlies! It will be interesting to see what the school board does next with this enlightening information.

Thanks, coach. I assure you they were aware they were talking to a reporter.

We published the story when we had it ready. We like to write about topics when interest is high so it's no coincidence that we pursued the football angle during football season.

This activity of going to another school instead of the one your neighborhood is districted to has been happening for years and is not limited to sports reasons. If parents consider a school to be "inferior" for whatever reason, they will do whatever it takes to get them into a "better" school. Many times this has nothing to do with academics but their perception of the school.

I have tried to stop this practice and have reported numerous families to Doyle Craven at GCS but they ignore it. The school board has told me in the past that they don't have enough time to pursue these families. Many times families that do get caught simply appeal their case to the school board and get it approved.

Oddly, no one has mentioned that Kevin Gillespie brought his nephew with him from Randolph Co. for his (Gillespie's) first season at Page. Gillespie choose to "start" his nephew as quarterback, instead of Will Newman, despite the fact that his nephew had not practiced due to an injury involving a cast. The cast was removed mere days before the first game and Will was replaced as the starting quarterback. Interestingly, the nephew is not at Page this year and Will has been allowed to shine, something that Gillespie now seems to want to take all the credit for.

Robert Bell?s article ?Era of Free Agents? is disturbing on many levels. I have addressed my concerns to Mr. Bell and he has encouraged me to write a letter to the editor.

Firstly, I find it unusual that Mr. Bell was on campus to interview the students without an adult present. Both my son and the student interviewed at the same time as he, feel their comments were taken out of context. Had an adult have been present, there would have been someone other than the two students there to confirm this. As it stands the reporter has the upper hand. Since the story is better with the boys? comments as written, the reporter will of course stand by his story. Due to the nature of the story, if the students attempt to defend and/or correct their comments, it could be viewed as them changing their stories; because their stories are different from that of their parents. If the story stands as written, the boys, their parents, and the school system can be viewed as seeking and approving a transfer for athletic reasons. Either way the boys lose. Obviously, Mr. Bell has no concern about how this story could affect these young people.

I have to wonder why Mr. Bell chose to contact parents only after he interviewed the students instead of before.

Mr. Bell admitted in his conversation with me that he changed the tone and focus of his article between the time he interviewed the boys and when he interviewed me. The boys were lead to believe the article was about the social issues involved with transferring to a new school. Let?s keep in mind these are young people and students, not adults. During the course of the interview, playing football was discussed. My son?s comments, taken out of context, make it seem that he felt he was transferred to Grimsley to play football. This is in no way the case, nor what he said. Mr. Bell appears to have felt content to convey whatever meaning he chose based on phrases he elicited. I understand, from talking with others, that Mr. Bell has the reputation of misquoting interviewees on a frequent basis.

During the 2006/2007 school year, my son experienced difficulties with several of the coaches and several members of the staff and administration at Page High School. While the initial focus of these problems may have been related in part to football, it was certainly not the reason for our decision to transfer our son from Page.

We made the decision to transfer Stefan away from Page, not to transfer him to Grimsley.

Contrary to what Mr. Bell may have inferred, I never stated the reason for the transfer was that Stefan ?? had exhausted the advanced courses he could take at Page and that Grimsley offered more?. While we did request Grimsley as the school we preferred Stefan to attend, we did so not because of the lack of advanced courses at Page. We felt it in our son?s best interest to be away from Page, and Grimsley was not only the closest school to our home, but it also offered (in conjunction with Weaver Center) the next level in the Sci-Vis program that Stefan had excelled in during the last 3 years; something not offered at Page. Mrs. Jones, the Sci-Vis teacher at Page and a leading teaching in North Carolina in the Sci-Vis curriculum, recommended the course offerings at Weaver Center as a logical next step. It was Mr. Bell who chose to make Sci-Vis classes synonymous with advanced classes. Obviously, as he is not a teacher, nor a very good researcher, he was easily confused. Additionally, as I told Mr. Bell, Stefan was a minor child when the decision was made to transfer Stefan from Page and as such Stefan wasn?t consulted. The decision was made by his parents and other adults that had his best interests at heart. These adults included the Board of Education who extensively scrutinized our application.

Furthermore, contrary to Mr. Bell?s writing, I never conveyed to him that the transfer was based solely on academics. I just stated firmly that the transfer was not based solely on football. In fact, until we received the approval from the Guilford County Schools, (in late June of 2007) we did not know which school Stefan would attend. That in and of itself should dispel the notion that Stefan was transferred to Grimsley to play football.

Stefan was subjected to a plethora of unfair treatments at Page, not the least of which was being forced to attend a meeting with Head Coach Gillespie, Assistant Principal Cockerham and Assistant Athletic Director Barnes. Stefan was removed from his chemistry class while taking a test, and told he needed to meet with these three adults. Stefan requested that one or both of his parents be present at the meeting. His request was not only denied, but when his mother arrived at the school, she was denied access to the meeting. This type behavior was not only allowed by Dr. Worrell (the principal at the time) and Mr. Lee, but apparently condoned by Dr. Grier and a majority of the school board members.

Sadly, as reprehensible as this was, there were many more incidents such as this; each one worse than the next. I did not feel that it was necessary to go into this part of the reason for Stefan?s transfer from Page with Mr. Bell; however, due to the comment made by Athletic Director Rusty Lee, who was quoted in the article, and subsequent comments I have received from Page Principal Marilyn Foley and Guilford County School Board Chairman Alan Duncan, I feel I have no choice.

I contend that Mr. Lee?s comment, "I can tell you unequivocally (Shepard) did not leave because of academics," was inappropriate, unprofessional, and in breech of the guidelines set out by the GCSS to protect student privacy as shown on the GCSS website. There it is written: ?Recipients of student records should be cautioned that student information may not be released to third parties without the consent of the parent/guardian or eligible student?. In this case Mr. Lee would be the ?recipient? and Mr. Bell the ?third party?. Not only was Mr. Lee incorrect in his quote, he broke policy by commenting on what should have remained private. What is even more disturbing is that it appears Mr. Lee was instructed as to how to respond to Mr. Bell.

That Stefan transferred to Grimsley is public record ? he is there. The reasons why or why not a transfer took place are private, and for an official (Mr. Lee) of the school system to convey information about a student is not appropriate. This is where Mr. Lee invaded Stefan?s privacy, and why his comments are in breech of the community?s trust. I have to wonder: if he is so willing to talk about my son?s private issues, can he be trusted to keep other private matters from becoming public?

I questioned Mr. Bell?s use of the quote. I also questioned Principal Foley?s and the School Board?s reasoning for allowing such a quote. Listed below are the comments I have received in answer to my questions regarding the appropriateness of Mr. Lee?s comment. All of the quotes were taken from emails sent to me.

From Mr. Bell, 11/15/07: ??Mr. Lee said he would have to talk with school officials before responding. When he called back, he told me that both Page and Guilford County School administrators had instructed him on what to say??

From Ms. Foley, 11/15/07: ?I can tell you that the reporter gave the slant to Mr. Lee that the transfer was due to Page?s poor academics. That was certainly a perception that would be an inaccurate portrayal of the academic programs here at Page. I was out of town and did not see the article. However, it was my understanding that Mr. Lee stated only that the transfer was not due to academics.

From Mr. Bell, 11/16/07: ?I agree: You never questioned Page?s academics in our interview. Nor did I imply as much in my interview last week with Mr. Lee. I merely repeated to him the reasons you had explained to me for the transfer -- that Stefan had exhausted all the advanced courses available for him at Page. I spoke to Mr. Lee this morning and he confirmed this?.

?As I noted yesterday, Mr. Lee said last week in our interview he would have to talk to school administrators before comment. This morning, he said he interpreted your remarks as being negative and that he relayed as much to Dr. Foley last week?.

From Alan Duncan, 11/16/07: ?Factually, the statement that is attributed to you in the article is not accurate given the number of Advanced Placement courses offered at Page. The clear inference left by your statement is unmistakably to the effect that Page's academic offerings were inferior to Grimsley's and the Board allowed the reassignment based on that fact. Any reassignment that was permitted for your son was not based on inadequate academic offerings at Page?

It is obvious that someone is not being completely truthful. Either Mr. Bell conveyed to Mr. Lee that my comments were something other than what they actually were, or Mr. Lee embellished Mr. Bell?s comments in an effort to get permission to comment. Either way, it was inappropriate for Mr. Lee to comment. Mr. Lee not only violated my son?s right to privacy, he blatantly defied my request from last year, a request of which Mr. Lee was fully aware: that he (Mr. Lee) was to have no contact with my son nor was he to comment on any situation regarding my son. This is in response to a situation in which Mr. Lee verbally attacked me in a public arena; a situation for which Mr. Lee was reprimanded, as confirmed by letter from Dr. Terry Worrell (former Page principal) in September 2006.

While I do feel that Mr. Bell was remiss in his handling of this article I feel that the comment made by Mr. Lee was inexcusable. The only thing worse than Mr. Lee making the comment is that it appears that his comment was a directive from Ms. Foley and ?Guilford County School administrators?. Apparently it is the opinion of Mr. Lee, Ms. Foley, and ?Guilford County School administrators? that it is more important to defend an aspersion, thought to be cast against Page?s academics than it is to protect the privacy of a student, and follow policy.

For all of those who have commented on how wrong it was that my son be transferred for athletic reasons?it was because of the reasons I have stated here, and certain members of the Page staff and administration?s total disregard for policy, procedure and student welfare that my son was transferred away from Page. Fortunately for my son, the School Board decided he would attend Grimsley.

We are pleased that his school experiences at Grimsley have proven to be positive. We have hoped that the positive environment would help him to move past the negativity of his experiences of last year at Page. We are hoping that he will be able to move on to a productive future as a student and athlete, having learned from these experiences.

Unfortunately, due to Mr. Bell?s jaundiced journalism and Mr. Lee?s inappropriate comments, this will be more difficult than anticipated.

J Bruce Shepherd