Mom speaks up after speech scoring flub

A mathematical error on a judge’s scorecard cost a 10-year-old girl an opportunity to advance to the finals in the annual Chula Vista Elementary School District speech competition where she could have won a cash prize in the fourth-grade division.

Alayda Guerrero, a fourth-grader at Vista Square Elementary School, on Feb. 24 presented a three- to five-minute speech about her favorite artist, Freda Kahlo, and the benefits an arts program will have on Vista Square.

When her total scores from three judges were added,  Alyada learned she did not have a high enough score to make it into the finals.

Upon hearing the scores, Alayda’s mother, Maria Guerrero, said one of the judges and school officials asked her why Alayda did not make it to the next round because they thought Alayda’s speech was one of the best.

Looking for answers, Maria Guerrero met with speech coordinator Antwon Lincoln after the competition to review the three  judges’ comments on the score sheets to find out what her daughter can improve on for next year’s competition.

When Guerrero reviewed the comments, she said she noticed that former Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox’s scorecard did not correctly add up. Guerrero said Cox’s score was tallied wrong and was off by 4.5 points.
Guerrero said had Cox correctly added her score it would have been enough points to propel Alayda into the finals.

The children were scored on a 50-point scale. A maximum of 25 points could be awarded for content while poise and delivery scored together could also earn a  maximum of 25 points.

The Chula Vista Elementary School District admitted an error occurred.

“There was a mistake made on the judge’s card and we’ve taken several steps to remedy this situation. Unfortunately, she didn’t precede on into to the finals,” said district spokesman Anthony Millican.

“Obviously we are all disappointed that this happened and we’ve taken steps to ensure for next year’s competition that we have a different process and procedures in place to help keep this from happening again.”

Millican would not confirm if Cox made the scoring blunder. The other two judges who scored Alayda were Chula Vista police officer Pricilla Graton and Chula Vista Councilman Steve Miesen.

Cox said the district never told her about the possible error, although she does not remember making such a mistake.

“I feel terrible about that,” Cox said. “It is so disappointing to a child.”
Cox said she apologizes if she prevented Alayda from going further in the competition.

“When you make a mistake like that, you wish you can fix it,” she said.

Millican said although a correct score card could have advanced Alayda to the finals, it does not mean she would have placed into the top three.

First place winner in the fourth grade division, Owen McCann, received $200 while second place earned $100 and third place earned $75.

To remedy the situation, Guerrero said the district offered Alayda a $50 check with a ribbon stating she was a semifinalist.

But her mother declined the offer and instead asked the district to issue an apology and recognize Alayda in the district- wide newsletter that goes out electronically to district staff and involved parents.

“I said, ‘Please do not send her the $50,’ my daughter did not compete for the money,” Guerrero said. “She put in a lot of time and a lot of effort into this. It was more about the recognition.”

“What we will get out of the district newsletter is that everybody will know that my daughter had all the potential to move forward in a competition that she worked very hard for, skipping recess, staying after school, not playing outside.”

Millican called Guerrero’s request “a little excessive” and said the district will not mention anything about Alayda or the scoring error in its newsletter to protect the integrity of its judges.

“We’ve taken responsibility and owned up to it but also at the same time, we are not about to humiliate or vilify our judges who donated their time to do this.” Millican said. “One made a mistake in adding this up so it’s an unfortunate event. We are not about to embarrass our judges and humiliate them. That’s just not what we do in our school district.”

Guerrero said the district could still acknowledge Alayda in the newsletter without mentioning any of the judges’ names.

The district is currently exploring a relationship with Toastmasters International, a nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide, to oversee the competition and judging in the coming years, Millican said.

Guerrero said she asked for a copy of Cox’s scorecard but district officials said they needed authorization to release it.

The Star-News submitted a records request last week for all the scorecards for the fourth graders competing in the contest.