By CATHY GATLEY

This opinion piece is in response to a Nov. 19 Wall Street Journal article "The New White Flight"

I made the mistake of thinking that a prestigious paper such as the Wall Street Journal would be fair and accurate in its reporting. How surprised and hurt I was to read its article titled "White Flight" on Nov 19 and saw my thoughts misrepresented in such a way as to try and divide the wonderful diverse community I live in.

As co-president of the PTA, I am often asked my opinion, but never have my words been more manipulated and edited to offend my neighbors. When asked about the school that my children attend, I responded that it is a very academic school. Students have to make sacrifices with their time that I don't think they should have to make.

The point I was trying to make is that strong academics are important, but the things one learns outside a classroom can be just as valuable as the things one learns in a classroom. I don't want my children to only concentrate on AP classes and on getting A's. I want my children to learn good sportsmanship by being on a school sports team. I want them to smile with joy as they sing in a choir performance. I want them to build confidence as they recite their lines in the school play, and I want them to go to the beach with their friends on a Saturday and not bring their books with them to study.

In the highly driven academic environment of Monta Vista High School, some students sacrifice the extra things such as the building of a sand castle or being on a sports team in order to take one more AP class or to go to SAT tutoring.

I think twice about having my children live in an environment that makes them make those choices. So when asked, "would you have moved to Cupertino then knowing what you know now?" my answer was, "I don't know." It had nothing to do with the change in demographics as the writer might lead you to believe, but for the desire for a school filled with pep-rallies, school spirit, pasta nights and fun.

Strong academics and competition are important to me, but so are the extra things teenagers should experience that I feel are getting lost and forgotten for the sake of an AP class. When I see my friends choosing other schools for their children, it's because they are seeking a more balanced school environment, not because they don't believe in competition or diversity.

Instead of fleeing to that kind of school, I am committed to the Monta Vista community and support the school's focus on educating the whole child.

Cupertino schools afford our children an excellent education, in part because of the tremendous programs and in part because of the wonderful parental involvement.

Monta Vista has great academics, but it also has a great arts and music program, great community service programs and athletic programs.

Monta Vista's staff has been working hard over the past year to transform itself into a more rounded school environment. I attended freshman night recently and was proud to hear one of our administrators counsel incoming freshman parents about their role. He said if we allowed our children to focus only on academics and miss out on an extra-curricular activity, be it band or sports or drama or service, then we as parents were not holding up our part of the bargain.

It's time for papers like the Wall Street Journal to stop trying to divide this great nation of ours by printing articles that pit neighbor against neighbor. We all come from different backgrounds and experiences and no one is better than the other--just different.

I personally embrace the differences my community has to offer and plan on living in Cupertino a very long time.

Cathy Gatley is the co-president of Monta Vista High School's PTA

WSJ article inaccurate and irresponsible

By STEPHEN R. ROWLEY

There has been considerable public concern expressed over the "White Flight" article published in the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 19--and justifiably so. I want to share with you the frustration and regret that I feel about the skewed set of "facts" selected for this story and its inflammatory story line.

I'm particularly disturbed by the divisive, racial overtones of the article, which implies that white families have been leaving our schools because of the growing Asian student population. To the contrary, this community is highly aware of the many families, both Asian and white, trying to illegally enter our schools, not leave them.

There is little evidence of "white flight" in our schools or community. WSJ writer Suein Hwang's illustration of a few instances of parents, both white and Asian, enrolling their children elsewhere hardly makes the case for "white flight," certainly as we compare it with the example of the exodus of white families to the suburbs in the '60s and '70s.

The writer asked for no hard evidence of such a story line, and we had none to share. In the days leading to its publication, the writer prompted many of us who were initially interviewed with follow-up questions that were slanted and ultimately divisive.

I spent considerable time with the WSJ writer over the phone and during two school visits. I pointed out to her time and again the uniqueness of the community, the quality of our schools, and the uncommon degree of cultural integration she would see in our classrooms and schools. I have been in communication with each of the parents mentioned in this article, and each has a similar story to tell. Each of us feels personally betrayed by the selective use of our quotes in order to paint a picture of our schools and community that is far from accurate and responsible.

I escorted the WSJ writer on a visit to three very different classrooms at Monta Vista High School. I selected these classes for the high quality yet diverse styles of teaching that I knew we would find in each. These classes included art, algebra and AP chemistry. With absolutely no notice of our visit to these classes, we saw powerful teaching and learning in three very different areas of our instructional program.

Those of you who read the article may question the account that I "whispered" about what we would see in each classroom--as though we would be seeing examples of racial segregation or underperformance by one racial group or another.

I did indeed "whisper" to her about the algebra class, but it was in deference to the need to lower our voices as we entered it in the middle of a lesson.

I also escorted the WSJ writer to Lynbrook High School. I encouraged her to wander on her own to observe students in one of their most natural settings--the Quad during brunch.

I introduced her to many students from a variety of racial and cultural backgrounds who spoke with her freely. Despite her promise to the contrary, none of these students is quoted. Over my objection, only my son's name, a junior at Lynbrook, was used.

The WSJ writer and I also discussed at length the issues of high stress, high expectations of parents and staff, and the issues of underperformance that exist not only in the Fremont Union High School District, but in any of the high-performing high schools in Silicon Valley.

Race is certainly a major strand of the complex web of life in our schools, the Cupertino community and the Bay Area. Race is a factor in our communal lives that deserves continual self-examination and bridge building. Little that I spoke with her about, however, would lead to the conclusion that underperformance or over-achievement was aligned to a given race.

Without question, we know that student performance does strongly correlate to socio-economic status. But there is not a significant academic gulf between white and Asian students in our schools. The performance of white and Asian students is consistently and similarly high. Indeed, our schools are among the most competitive in the state and nation.

I understand it is smart business to sell newspapers by hyping headlines to gather attention and readership. I also know that journalists must have the discretion within limited space to choose statements and ideas that support a given theme.

It is altogether different to devise a story line in advance of collecting the facts, or to build a story on limited examples and selective sources that cannot substantiate a major conclusion. Either way, the journalistic slant of the article is irresponsible and its negative spin on our schools and community is unwarranted.

I am confident that anyone familiar with our schools and those quoted in the article will see through its distortions to affirm the quality of our schools and the Cupertino community.

On the positive side, this article can serve as a reminder that the unity of our community and its rich, multi-cultural heritage is something not to be taken for granted. The vitality of our community must be honored by our mutual, ongoing commitment to proudly live, work and learn together like no other place in the United States.

Stephen R. Rowley, Ph.D., is the superintendent of the Fremont Union High School District.