Sticks and Stones 

Contrary to the title of this submission, Yehuda Berg once said: “Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble.”  

Our words do matter. And so, after reading Ralph Schwartz’s November 27th article “Methow Valley School Board Seeks New Director, Superintendent,” I felt his words misrepresented my concerns regarding the need for fair competition in women’s sports and declining student achievement scores. Since the article appeared in the Methow Valley News, I wrote a letter to the editor clarifying my concerns. Disappointingly, he chose not to publish my clarification. Consequently, I have reached out to the Methow Valley Examiner to publish this as an opinion piece in order to promote dialogue around these two important topics which impact all our students.

To begin, in the article, the reporter claims I seek to ban transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports, contrary to state and federal nondiscrimination policies, because I signed a petition sponsored by RenewED. The petition from RenewED states, “We believe that girls need to be protected in the sports arena from unfair competition by biological boys.” Biological boys who identify as transgender girls are not the target of any ban to keep them from participating in competitive sports. The issue is one of fair competition. While it is easy to hide behind state and federal nondiscrimination laws, the fact is, half of states now have policies in place requiring students to participate in sports consistent with their biological sex rather than gender identity (K-12Dive 2/13/24). This is a complex issue that deserves thoughtful dialogue and solutions that provide for both fair competition and accommodation for individuals identifying in a gender different from their biological sex. Sensationalizing this issue and characterizing it as a ban on transgender athletes only serves to fan the flames of division. This type of rhetoric on both sides only leads to hateful speech. Both I and RenewED unequivocally denounce the threatening and hate-filled phone calls to the school district which were recently reported.  

Seemingly in response to my concerns regarding academic achievement, the article then goes on to report that “Methow Valley students do about as well as students across the state in math assessments while outperforming them in science and English Language Arts.” This is a classic example of grading on a curve. If everyone else does poorly, you end up looking better than you really are. Unless you go on to college, that is. Washington students ranked in the top ten a decade ago in both math and reading performance on national assessments. Today, Washington students only rank in the top 20 or 30 depending on subject and grade level. Only eighth graders stayed in the top 10 in national reading assessments (K-12 education facts for Washington State – Washington House Republicans). 

While assessment tests have their limitations, the downward trend is troubling. The Methow Valley School District has seen even steeper declines, which started before COVID. The point is, it doesn’t matter how many kids you’re graduating if they aren’t prepared for life after high school. Who wouldn’t want their child to be encouraged to excel academically? Are we really okay with only 40% of our students on track for college-level learning in math? For English Language Arts, 52% of students are on track for college-level learning. Our best percentage is in science at a whopping 56%. 

To be fair, not every student is bound for college. If we lower the bar substantially and just look at foundational grade level knowledge, 63% of our students meet this standard for math. For English Language Arts and Science, that percentage increases to roughly 72% (OSPI.K12 Report Card for Methow Valley School District – Spring 2024). That still means one-third of our students don’t have basic math skills and over a quarter of our students don’t have basic reading and writing skills. Is that what we want to see in our school district? It’s no wonder there is a new group advocating for student excellence. 

My hope is that the current school board will select a replacement for Gary Marchbank who can bring a diversity of thought and perspective to the board. Ideally, that individual would also be a parent with kids in the school system, and understands what parents, students, and teachers are experiencing. I plan to apply for the position, and If I am selected, I will work hard to support the board by encouraging and valuing parental involvement, looking for ways to improve academic rigor, and finding solutions to the issues of fair competition in sports while supporting each student, regardless of gender identity.