The Bottom Line: You would think a major media company like Scripps Howard would know that dashing the hopes of a 12-year-old's chances of competing in its spelling bee over a paperwork issue would be a PR disaster. And it is turning out that way.
Congratulations to KCMO-710's Chris Stigall for stepping up and having the girl driven to school Tuesday morning (3/25) in a limousine to give her some of the recognition she deserves. Congressman Sam Graves has also jumped into the fray.
It is hoped that an embarrassed Scripps Howard would step up and do the right thing and let her compete. 03-24-2008
Scripps National Spelling Bee let others re-apply; North Platte student remains ineligible
By KAREN DILLON and TONY RIZZO, The Kansas City Star
A �couple of hundred� other school districts made the same paperwork mistake that is now derailing a Platte County girl�s trip to the national spelling bee.
But the Scripps National Spelling Bee gave most of those schools � which had failed to follow the bee�s new school enrollment rules � the chance to fix the problem and re-apply last fall.
North Platte R-1, where 12-year-old Morgan Brown is a student, didn�t get that chance. That�s because North Platte�s application didn�t use the word �district,� so it was missed in the database search that the spelling bee officials used to contact those who had made the mistake.
And the director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee said Sunday night that they will not make an exception now to allow Morgan, the regional spelling bee champion from northwest Missouri, to compete in the national finals in Washington, D.C., in May.
�The overwhelming majority of schools got it and did it right,� said Paige Kimble, director of the national bee. North Platte Superintendent Francis Moran said Sunday night that he intended to contact spelling bee officials today on behalf of Morgan, who he said rightfully earned the chance to compete. �Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail,� he said.
�Even if we didn�t do the paperwork correctly, you certainly don�t punish the girl.� Kimble said that in the fall, spelling bee officials noticed that a number of school districts from across the country had misapplied.
Previously, districts or schools enrolled through sponsoring newspapers, with the papers making sure everything was in order. But for this year�s bee, Scripps required individual schools to sign up directly with the bee itself, paying a $99 enrollment fee per school in the process.
Despite several warnings, including one printed in bold red, on the new applications, Kimble said that a �couple of hundred� applications were submitted incorrectly. Apparently the only North Platte enrollment entry made with Scripps listed North Platte R-1 � the district�s name � rather than individual schools.
For school address, the North Platte entry used North Platte Intermediate School�s location rather than that of Morgan�s North Platte Junior High. If the word �district� had been included, it would have been among those contacted and offered a chance to apply correctly.
Kimble said that two and possibly three other students in other parts of the country are now facing the same situation as Morgan.
�It�s not Scripps� responsibility to ensure student eligibility,� Kimble said. Morgan, who attends North Platte Junior High in Dearborn, got word Saturday of the problem that could derail her dream. �I was devastated for a moment,� she said. �Then I thought, �There�s always next year.�
She said she didn�t cry, �but my dad sure did.� Morgan�s parents already have spent $1,000 on plane tickets to attend the competition, and she had been working with a coach twice a week to prepare.
She said that if she had a chance to speak with spelling bee officials, �I hope it would work out so I can compete.� �I�m still holding out hope,� she said. |
