Photo by Michael J. GallegosTribune

Tribune

Joanna Montoya holds up a sign in a parking lot at The Pit to help locate her cousin and two other friends after the Rio Grande High School graduation ceremony. Montoya attended the commencement exercise Tuesday night with family and friends to cheer on nearly 290 graduating seniors.

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All eyes were on the red-and-black gowns, the seniors who made it, the Ravens of the South Valley.

Tuesday night in The Pit was for celebrating the Rio Grande High School class of 2007, not the time or the place to spoil its glory.

Still, the buzz over a controversial, last-minute grade change was in the air as the 287 graduates took their seats.

The focus was on the first row and the senior whose F in English was changed to a D so he could walk with his class.

The change was sought by his parents, former Albuquerque Board of Education member Miguel Acosta and Bernalillo County Commissioner Teresa Cordova.

Over the objections of the boy's English teacher and Rio Principal Al Sanchez, the grade change was ordered by a district administrator, igniting an uproar on the eve of graduation.

But the controversy didn't heat up The Pit on Tuesday night.

"It seemed like everyone put everything aside. Everyone seemed to be real happy," said Albuquerque Public Schools Police Chief Steve Tellez.

Tellez said he doubled security for the evening, just in case. "But the graduation was completely without incident," he said.

Row 23 in Section 8 was a case in point. It filled with family members and students either upset about the grade change or happy about it.

They all cheered when Acosta's son crossed the stage. Not one boo was heard.

"He didn't deserve to get booed," said Raymond Martinez, 16, who played basketball with the senior.

"He should pass because that's my boy," said another basketball chum of Acosta's son, John Chavez Jr. "I don't know why they have to make a big ol' deal about it. I thought it was dumb."

Other students sitting in Row 23 were upset that friends who could have graduated Tuesday were left out of the ceremony. They knew several seniors who will have to go to summer school to get the half credit they needed to graduate.

"It's not fair," said Thalia Gonzales, a Rio Grande freshman.

"That's life, though," said Samuel Saiz Jr., whose brother, Felix, was in the class of 2007. "It's not what you know, it's who you know."

Saiz said Rio students should earn their grades, not get their parents to change them.

"Three weeks of summer school is not that big of a deal for a half credit," he said.

About 40 seniors did not graduate Tuesday because they did not meet the requirements, school officials said.

After Acosta's son was added to the graduation list, three more seniors were added because their teachers decided to pass them after work was turned in, said Rio Grande Activities Director James Chavez.

It's not unusual to have last-minute additions to the commencement ceremony, he said.

"We halted the printing of the programs," he said. "We didn't waste that much paper." About 4,000 programs were printed.

Chavez has organized three graduation ceremonies at Rio Grande and each has been intense, he said.

"You've got parents counting on you," he said. "We've got to make sure it goes smoothly and we don't embarrass ourselves."

At the end of the Row 23 were the grandparents of a senior who brought an F in English up to a B-minus so he wouldn't miss the ceremony.

Eighteen members of his family, many of them Rio grads, came to cheer his success.

"My son busted his butt to get here," said Patricia Torrez, mother of graduate Ruben Torrez. "I even called a teacher at home to check on how he was doing. I kept track of his progress until the very end."

She said she supported Principal Al Sanchez's decision to back the teacher who flunked Acosta's son. "He is a good principal. I was mad when I heard about the grade change. That's wrong."

Other parents rallied behind Sanchez and accused Albuquerque Public Schools administrators of undermining him.

"They don't like Al. They are vultures flying around the school ready to swoop down on him," said Joaquin Altamirano, father of a 2007 graduate.

Altamirano called for the removal of Elsy Fierro, Sanchez's supervisor, who ordered the grade change for Acosta's son. "She bullies people and they are giving her free rein. I blame this all on the administration. Superintendent (Beth) Everitt should have taken the lead on this."

Everitt told The Tribune on Tuesday she backed Fierro's decision. She said the school apparently did not provide Acosta and Cordova the proper notification and help their son needed when it became evident he was failing.

She asked for a review of district policies and procedures for notifying parents of failing grades and poor attendance.

Everitt and Sanchez met Tuesday to prepare for graduation.

Sanchez said he and Everitt agreed the focus should be on the graduates, not the controversy.

"We're going to give them the best graduation," he said. "It's all about them now."