Families close ranks to support Morningside School and staff

PORT ST. LUCIE - At Morningside Elementary, parents consider themselves part of a family.

To most people outside the school family, however, it's the place where a 5-year-old autistic boy was voted out of his kindergarten class a year ago.

Within hours after news of Alex Barton being voted out of his classroom 14-to-2, the school's phones and e-mail system were jammed with angry people from all over the world. The school's Web site was taken down and still is offline.

Morningside parents couldn't get through in some instances. Some teachers got threatening e-mails.

Parent Shanna Cetin said she answered the phones in the office after news broke about the incident.

"I was in tears. My child had to sit in that school, and I was scared," Cetin said.

Parents said their school has been unfairly and unjustly tarnished over the past year.

They're tired of their children hearing comments when they tell strangers where they attend school.

"We love our school. We love our teachers," Cetin said.

What makes the school great is the teachers who know all the children, not just the ones in their classes, parents said.

It's the teachers who call parents during lunch on the first day of school just to tell them their child is having a good day.

It's the fall festivals, where teachers man tables to raise money for classroom supplies, and the Saturdays when teachers volunteer to help children prepare for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test or chaperone a St. Augustine trip.

About 20 parents stood alongside the road earlier this month holding signs to support their teachers.

"We just want to say some nice, positive things about Morningside," said parent Patti Putko. "The school has had too much negativity. We want to end the school year on a positive note."

The demonstration was during teacher appreciation week. Teachers watched from the school campus until the end of the workday, then walked across the street to stand with the parents.

They had a group hug in the middle of the road and teacher Eric Graff thanked the parents for coming out.

Morningside faculty and administrators still aren't allowed to talk about the Alex Barton vote because of pending legal action.

But during teacher Wendy Portillo's administrative hearing in March over her suspension for polling the class, staff members told a judge how the case affected their school.

"We've taken a hit, a lot of us personally and professionally," Graff testified. "But we're still going. We're still a very good school."

Assistant Principal Patricia Gascoigne also testified about the impact the vote and its attention has had on the school.

"It's not really been good because we've been a little put off, you would say, because it's not a customary thing that happens at Morningside," she testified. "It's more or less we're trying to get through it."

Parents said teachers try not to let their feelings affect their students.

"Under the circumstances, I think the kids are faring pretty well," said grandparent Wayne Schopp.

There is one positive result of the vote from a year ago, said parent Tonia Oravec.

"It has brought the school closer together," she said.