Student fights for graduation

Friday, May 26 is graduation day at Mitchell High School, but senior Filip Lempa may not receive his diploma.\nLempa is a 19-year-old Polish foreign exchange student who has spent his senior year at MHS. A member of the football and track teams, he has completed all of the requirements for the Core 40 diploma, in addition to passing Indiana's Graduation Qualifying Exam and earning straight-A grades last semester. Yet, the principal of MHS, Dr. Steve Phillips, refuses to grant Lempa his diploma.\n"I deserve it," Lempa said. "I'm disappointed there is nothing (anyone) can do."\nMHS has a policy against graduating foreign exchange students. The Bedford Rotary Club sponsors Lempa's exchange and cannot guarantee a diploma for seniors participating in their program. Granting a high school diploma lies in the hands of the particular school's principal.\nLempa and his host family have made efforts to ensure he has all the state and school requirements needed to obtain the diploma. His mother sent him translated, legally verified curriculum guides to verify his Polish schooling. Lempa and his host mother, Kathleen Lomas, have also asked Sen. Richard Lugar, Ind., to look into the case.\nStill, Lempa has hit opposition along the way. In a Bedford Times-Mail article from April 20, Phillips said that all students are welcome to take the GQE. However, Lempa said that wasn't the case for him.\n"He said I could not take the GQE because he's afraid that I would lower the results and the school will gets less funds because of me," Lempa said. "I laughed when I read (Phillips' statement) in the Times-Mail."\nPhillips was unavailable for comment.\nAfter discussions with Mitchell Community School Corporation Superintendent John Lantis, Lempa took the GQE and passed it. Still, Phillips said he could not receive a diploma, even as they were waiting for Lempa's curriculum guides to arrive.\n"We made a notebook with everything (Phillips) asked for. We asked him if he would review and consider it," Lomas said. "He said, 'No, Filip's not going to graduate with a diploma. If I do it for Filip, I'll have to do it for everyone else.'"\nLantis and Phillips informed her of the MHS policy against graduating foreign exchange students, no matter their qualifications. Lempa and his host family decided to seek an independent evaluation of his translated curriculum guide. They felt it would ease the paperwork burden for the MCSC administrators.\n"Dr. Phillips told me, 'Do not bring this up with me again,'" Lomas said. "That's when I went to the superintendent and the board."\nShe said Lantis told her not to bother because the decision was final. Still, she made her presentation in March. The school board never responded, yet Lantis sent her a letter a few weeks later. It stated MHS chose to keep its agreement with the Bedford Rotary Club with regard to granting diplomas. Lomas was not aware of such a relevant agreement and said she only asked the board about Phillips' decision.\n"We want (Phillips) to willingly change his mind because it's the right thing to do," said Lomas. "We don't want force, we want a solution."\nThe Indiana Department of Education Web site states that the authority to grant high school diplomas lies with local schools: "A high school may grant a diploma to any student who meets the Indiana State Board of Education minimum requirements (including passing of the GQE) and any additional local requirements. A local school system may waive any of its local graduation requirements."\nOther local schools have different policies. Monroe County Community School Corporation doesn't have a blanket policy like MCSC. Yet, it also isn't routine to graduate foreign exchange students.\n"We have to be accountable for all the requirements," Bloomington High School North Assistant Principal Betty Anderson said. "Our intent isn't to prevent graduation."\nShe said they consider students who meet the criteria, but most students attend for the cultural experience, not the diploma. Janet Tupper, administrative assistant to the Superintendent and school board, said graduating a foreign exchange student could depend on a student's visa. Yet, in general, graduation is a possibility.\n"If they meet the same requirements, we will graduate them," Tupper said. "But the limit is: can they meet the requirements in one year?"\nLempa asserts he has the requirements for MHS, yet no one has agreed to review them. He and his host family are frustrated with the lack of support, yet don't wish to cast blame.\n"I am not disappointed with the Rotary Club," Lempa said. "There is nothing they can do."\nTo avoid repeating his senior year in Poland, Lempa takes GED classes at night. Yet, if he receives the GED instead of a high school diploma, the official paperwork he needs may not arrive in time for him to take his Polish college entrance exams in July.\n"The community doesn't want to hear about it anymore," Lomas said. "But it isn't resolved yet. Time is getting close"