Jason's Story
Copyright© 2025 by writer 406
Chapter 29
Unexpectedly, the school board’s decision had generated controversy. The story caught the attention of Sarah Landers, the education reporter for the Seattle Times. She’d been covering the district’s struggles with declining test scores and budget constraints for years.
Someone had tipped her off about Jason Stone. Her article featured interviews with students who felt their lives had been changed by what they called “Survival Classes”. She detailed the sessions and examined the political pressure that had led to the cancellation. She concluded with the following:
“Capitol Hill High School was in the process of creating something special,” Landers wrote. “A survival program that was teaching kids how to adult. (Speaking for myself, I sure would have liked to have had a class on budgeting and how to use credit card in the real world. I almost went bankrupt in my 20s because I thought my Master Card gave me the keys to the kingdom.)
Then they threw it away because a few parents who hadn’t bothered to check out the facts started a smear campaign.
Superintendent Dr. Ronald Stafford sat at his desk rereading Sarah Landers’ Seattle Times article for the third time. His coffee had gone cold an hour ago, but he barely noticed.
“ ... then they threw it away because a few parents who hadn’t bothered to check the facts started a smear campaign.”
The sentence felt like a personal indictment. Stafford had been superintendent for seven years, surviving budget crises, union negotiations, and contentious school board politics. He’d built his reputation on being the steady hand, the professional administrator who made difficult decisions based on sound judgment.
The fired teacher was being portrayed as an educational martyr while he looked like the bureaucrat who’d killed innovation to appease a few uninformed parents.
His PR coordinator, Susan Willis, knocked and entered without waiting for acknowledgment.
“NPR called. They want our comments on a segment they are planning about ‘innovative education programs killed by administrative politics.’ And...” she hesitated. “The Portland School District called asking for Jason Stone’s contact information.”
Stafford felt his blood pressure rising. “Portland wants to hire him?”
“They want to discuss adapting his ‘survival education model’ for their high schools. Apparently, their superintendent saw a YouTube video.”
The atmosphere in the Seattle School Board’s conference room was thick with tension. Board President Thomas Hartwell sat at the head of the table, flanked by the six other board members. None of them looked happy.
“Ronald,” Hartwell began without preamble, “we have a problem.”
“I’ve seen the Times article.”
“It’s not just the Times. There is a YouTube video of one of the sessions that has 400,000 views and climbing. My phone has been ringing for days with parents asking why we fired a teacher who was actually teaching ‘useful stuff.’”
Board member Dr. Margaret Williams leaned forward. “Ronald, I brought up my concerns that everybody was going off half-cocked. My question is, did you actually fully investigate the situation, or did you just react?”
“There was plenty of evidence—”
“Yes, but was there?” interrupted board member Robert Martinez. “Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like you didn’t do your job and investigate this fully. Now we have what appears to be a promising program cut short because a few vocal parents didn’t like the messaging.”
Hartwell interjected, “What has gone unnoticed so far is that the classes cost us nothing. Stone is on salary, so his time is already paid. The class was after school hours, so there was no interference with the regular curriculum. And all those parents who were complaining could have told their kids not to attend. Instead, we have created a cause and a martyr.”
Stafford felt his temper fraying. “The program violated district policies regarding unauthorized curriculum and professional boundaries. Stone was conducting counseling sessions without proper certification...”
Hartwell held up his hand. “What’s done is done. The question now is damage control. How do we respond to the media inquiries?”
“We stick to our statement about maintaining educational standards,” Stafford said firmly. “The controversy will die down in a few weeks.”
“Ronald, the superintendent of Portland called me personally,” Hartwell said. “He wants to know how Stone achieved the student engagement metrics mentioned in the article. He’s considering hiring educational consultants to replicate the approach.”
The irony was plain to see. Other districts were trying to implement what Seattle had just eliminated.
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