Editorial

Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.

– Mark Twain

Sometimes, lessons taught are different than lessons learned.

That’s what parents and the Hays Free Press found out this week when Chapa Middle School, in collaboration with teachers, the principal and other school district officials, sent out a letter to students and parents stating that, from now on, students would be charged for all copies in history classes – tests, study guides, worksheets and more.

Irate parents called the school, with nary a word of explanation. Then they called the newspaper, wanting us to get to the bottom of this edict. We called the school, teachers and Hays CISD’s public information officer, trying to get an explanation. We called Texas Education Agency for rules about this sort of payment obligation.

Hours passed and still no word from any school official.

So we posted the story on our website. Then, and only then, did this newspaper get a response.

The Chapa lesson was in taxation without representation, Principal Lisa Islas said. The kids get the letter, and teachers and staff play along. After a couple of days, students are told that the letter is a hoax.

The lesson was also one for this newspaper, and for administrators. Usually, we cover all angles of every story, at times waiting for hours for a response. We use the same standards for our web reporting as in printing reporting, striving for accuracy in fact checking and unbiased sources.

But the mad rush to break the news story caused an embarrasing slip in our journalistic standards. For that we apologize.

We also request that, in the future, school administrators give us a heads up on such a “lesson” if they plan on being closed-mouthed about such a hoax. In other teaching situations, such as Shattered Dreams, the Hays Free Press is told ahead of time about the “wreck” that will occur. We don’t leak the information to students or parents, we cover the event, and the overall lesson works. It is a lesson for all of us. Some times, a little openness and trust keeps us from reporting an event that is a hoax, and keeps the school from having to do “damage control” with the general public.

Related stories:

• Teachers put children first  05/25/2011
• Coping with CSCOPE: Educators try to adapt to flawed curriculum software  05/7/2012
• Tough time to graduate  06/4/2008