To the editor:
Many thanks to Carrie, Jessica, and Melissa for voting to sunset Policy 100 at last week’s schoolboard meeting. It took lots of intestinal fortitude for them to face a nearly full room of spectators, most of whom were wearing red shirts to show they were against the removal of this divisive policy. They did what is best for our schools and the students in them. Their vote was for the love they have for ALL students. Policy 100 is covered in several other existing ISD200 policies without the language that divides us instead of uniting us. Melissa’s statement was a very heartfelt statement, one that she put much thought, research, and belief into,
speaking with people from both sides of the issue, including parents, nonparents, teachers and students. Her vote was exactly why the majority of people of ISD200 voted her unto the board, to fight for getting back to what our schools are supposed to be doing – educating students to be well-prepared to become adults contributing to our country in the future.
Schools and classrooms should be welcoming places of neutrality, where students should not need to be afraid to give answers or write a paper based on what they believe in their own heart. But it does happen (hopefully not often), that a student will say what they believe the teacher wants because they are afraid they will be given a lower grade if they say something that goes against what the teacher believes. In the past, students rarely knew their teacher’s political leanings, and that’s the way it should still be.
The day of the board meeting, many teachers came to school wearing red shirts. When asked why by a student, the student was told the red shirts were showing the teachers’ opposition to sunsetting the policy. Doing that was bringing politics right into the classrooms. For a group that says they are not political, this seems very hypocritical to me.
Again, thank you, Carrie, Jessica, Melissa, for always standing up for what is best for our district and its students.
Teddi Tri
Class of 68 Graduate