Nelson mother blames school district for wait-list communication failure

A Nelson girl is finally off to her first day of high school today, but her mother says she's still waiting for answers on why it took so long for officials to confirm they had space to accommodate a local student.

Camara Cassin says she spoke to the principal of L.V. Rogers Secondary last night and was told to bring her daughter to the office on Thursday to start school.

But she says she is still waiting to hear from district officials, who have arranged to meet her and other parents to discuss their concerns this afternoon.

Earlier this week Camara Cassin posted on Facebook that her 14-year-old daughter Solara was on a wait-list for the only high school in town and she had no idea if she would be accepted or would need to apply to another school.

Cassin said after she missed the March 31 registration deadline by "about a week," she spent the next five months phoning the school trying to determine if her daughter who had previously been home-schooled would be able to attend L.V. Rogers this fall.

She said district officials gave her no information about her daughter's status, so earlier this week they went to the school to try to find out what was going on.

'We can certainly improve our messaging'

Yesterday school board superintendent Jeff Jones said they don't turn away local students and the whole issue is a misunderstanding.

"We are required and fulfil that requirement to accommodate students in the catchment area. Our challenge is doing that in a way that recognizes the other shifting student numbers."

Jones concedes the school district needs to be more clear about what being on the 'waiting list' means.

When asked why Cassin wasn't given a clear answer over the summer, Jones admits there could have been better communication.

'We can certainly improve our messaging to the parents so they understand the process that's in front of them."

Jones also dismissed concerns that Cassin's daughter was denied a space in order to accommodate fee-paying international students.

The problem in Cassin's case was she registered late, he said.

'I do understand what a wait-list is'

For her part, Cassin says if there was a misunderstanding, it was not her fault.

"I do understand what a wait-list is," Cassin said Thursday morning. "I was asking for five months if she had gotten in."