Lack of ethics haunts mom

Regarding the Peabody story [News, "School story: Peabody Mom gets son expelled," August 14, 2003], this is my third letter to you which I was assured would be published.

After I saw what Lisa Provence had done to the issues, I called her, and she said, "We did not like the angle of a boy not doing well in school, so we used this one."

Clearly this was not about the actualities or sequence of events.

I provided lots of quotes and situations clearly illustrating the lack of inter-staff communication, let alone with parents and students. I even supplied information regarding an NBC29 story illustrating neglect of students at Peabody. Interesting, your selective omissions.

What benefit could there be for the Hook to slant a story? A kid, a scholarship, a revocation two months into school. No one can make a call in that amount of time. The school's promises, both verbal and in writing, to provide extra help to integrate Nicolas into Peabody mid-year, were not followed through on. There was no conference requested before revocation; this is not responsible action.

How dare you conveniently neglect this information and blatantly side with a school whose administrators do not do what they say, promise, and put in writing?

Is this a low-income mom verses a wealthy community school bias?

[Hook reporter] Lisa [Provence] had the audacity to libel me with the slanderous comment by [school principal] Harriet [Kaplan] "belligerent" and "threatening to the safety of the school."

Anyone with any brainpower will read that and infer that I was violent. I was never violent, nor did I ever threaten the safety of anything or anyone.

I was furious that Kaplan neglected to respond to my e-mails after specifically e-mailing me back saying, "I am considering your points and will respond in two or three days." One month later when I asked her if she had any intention of responding, she said no. And then I challenged her and confronted her ethics, including the attitudes of her staff.

It was then that she threatened me with the police and expelled my son due to "no fault of his own."

What a negligent slant, Lisa; why so committed to making me look at the very least like an unfit parent?

I am appalled and thoroughly disgusted with your lack of ethics. The Hook and Harriet Kaplan seem to see eye to eye on altering things to look good, save face, CYA, or an "angle." Very reflective of our society at large.

My naiveté will serve me well. And you Lisa, [Hook editor] Hawes [Spencer], [Hook copy editor] Rosalind [Warfield-Brown], and the Peabody staff, may you steep in your lack of ethics as they come back upon you; life is like that, haven't you noticed that yet?

J. Raskin
Charlottesville

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