Guardian issue keeps student out of Dist. 211 school

The home 14-year-old Cordeirdre Mitchell has come to know is a crime-infested area of Milwaukee where she, her mother and three brothers live on public assistance.

Wanting something better, Cordeirdre moved in June to Hanover Park to live with her grandmother, Tanya Washington.

Cordeirdre was all set to join Schaumburg High School's Class of 2011, and her grandmother called Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 to register her.

Cordeirdre was denied.

"This is crazy," Washington said. "I pay taxes to the district. They will not deny her from going to the school where she lives."

Washington is not Cordeirdre's legal custodian, which is a District 211 requirement.

But the State Board of Education says Cordeirdre should be admitted.

Illinois law states only that a pupil needs to live with an adult who has accepted responsibility for the pupil, and that the adult provides a "fixed nighttime abode." The adult also has to reside in the district.

"If a district refused to enroll a student living with a district resident, that district would be in violation of state code," State Board of Education spokesman Matt Vanover said.

District 211 first informed Washington she'd have to fill out a nonresident application for her granddaughter. She and Cordeirdre then went in for an interview, a process Washington said she found very disturbing.

She said she and Cordeirdre were asked inappropriate questions, like how many siblings Cordeirdre had and by how many fathers.

A copy of her application, provided by Washington, showed a note in the margin, presumably written by a district staff member, that read: "3 + 1 student. All have different fathers."

The interviewer also asked about the circumstances surrounding the death of Cordeirdre's father and Washington's son, Daryl Mitchell, who was shot and killed by Chicago police when Cordeirdre was a baby.

Uncomfortable with the questioning, Washington made her granddaughter at one point leave the room.

"I asked what it had to do with her going to this school," Washington said.

District 211 Superintendent Roger Thornton said the interview process is standard.

He said the district has had a series of questions in place for a long time. School officials want to know why a student is without his or her parents or siblings.

They also want to make sure a student isn't transferring for school purposes such as a great athletic program.

"The bottom line in all of this is that if a student is transferring to a non-custodial parent, we're going to ask them to seek a (legal) guardianship change," Thornton said.

He added that, out of the district's 411 transfer cases last year, 363 were approved.

Neighboring districts appear to employ much different policies than District 211.

Northwest Suburban High School District 214 would only require proof of Washington's residency, spokeswoman Venetia Miles said.

Maine Township High School District 207 automatically accepts all transfer student requests. The only condition, said Assistant Superintendent Greg Dietz, is that nonresidents have to pay tuition.

Washington suspects District 211 had a more sinister reason for the denying Cordeirdre.

"The only thing I can think of is that she's black," said Washington -- an assertion Thornton flatly and strongly denied.

The process has been a frustrating one, said Washington, especially considering she first called District 211 at the end of July. Plus, classes start in less than a week and freshmen open houses are today and Friday.

"School is starting and she has no place to go," Washington said.

Cordeirdre, whose mother Katrina Mitchell could not be reached for comment, shares the frustration.

"It's my first year," she said. "There shouldn't be a problem."