The Appleton Area School District has provided an update on their review into an AASD educator’s apparent signing of the Zinn Education Project’s “Pledge To Teach The Truth.”
Below are the questions I asked them and the answers I received from Kylie Harwell on behalf of AASD Superintendent Judy Baseman.
Question: I was wondering if the leadership team was aware that one of your teachers names is associated with this pledge and if you have talked with her about it or confirmed with her that she was the person who signed this pledge. (I do recognize the possibility that someone else could have signed her name.)
Answer: We have been unable to connect with Ms. Haskel directly but will do so when she is available.
Question: I was wondering what the district’s stance is on the “Pledge To Teach Truth”, and more broadly on the concept currently being debated throughout society that America is systemically racist.
Answer: Our District does not tolerate racism or race discrimination. Wisconsin law and our District’s policies clearly prohibit discrimination, and we take discrimination and the damaging effects that it can have on staff or students very seriously.
Question: Does the district have any guidelines regarding how the teaching of race, racism, and racial issues should be addressed in the classroom? Do you have a specific curriculum to address those issues?
Answer: AASD utilizes a culturally relevant approach to instruction. Culturally competent practices affirm students’ ethnic and racial backgrounds and are intellectually rigorous. Critical Race Theory is not synonymous with culturally relevant teaching. The curriculum taught in the Appleton Area School District, which is decided and approved by the Board of Education, does not include instruction in Critical Race Theory.
Question: Additionally (and more generally given that WI has not enacted any laws like the pledge signers are concerned about) what is the district’s position on educators and employees actively refusing to follow the rules for public educators and public education institutions set out in state law?
Answer: Our teachers understand that they are not permitted to overwrite or revise the curriculum that the Board has approved with their own personal opinions or philosophy. To do so would be in conflict with district expectations.
Question: How does the district monitor or control what teachers teach?
Answer: Teacher practices and implementation of the district’s approved curriculum are monitored through a supervision and evaluation process that includes periodic classroom visits, observations, and review of lesson plans and units of instruction.
Question: Finally, I was also wondering if you could tell me what curriculum Ms. Haskell uses/teaches. And would it be possible for the public to review her lesson plans?
Answer: Ms. Haskell serves in the role of an English Language (EL) Coach within the district. Unlike a classroom educator, Ms. Haskell’s role in the district is not to deliver instructional curriculum directly to students, therefore, there are no lesson plans to review.
I also asked a few follow up questions.
Question: I would appreciate some clarification regarding your stance on “The Pledge To Teach The Truth” specifically.
The writers of that pledge believe that America “was founded on dispossession of Native Americans, slavery, structural racism and oppression; and structural racism is a defining characteristic of our society today.” Do you agree with that statement?
Question: If an AASD teacher did, as the Pledge To Teach The Truth states they will, intentionally teach what they identify as truth in opposition to set curriculum and state law, what would happen to that teacher?
To those two questions I received the following reply from Clara Kopplinger on behalf of Superintendent Baseman: Regarding your questions related to the “Pledge to Teach Truth”, the District will not be providing any additional response beyond what has already been provided to you.
I also asked: If I’m understanding your response correctly, the district does have guidelines regarding how the teaching of race, racism, and racial issues should be addressed in the classroom and those are “culturally competent practices”. Could you provide an overview of what those practices are and how they work? What resources and training materials are you using to educate teachers on these practices?
In answer to that, Assistant Superintendent Steve Harrison provided the following information:
“As a district, we have been working with Dr. Sharokky Hollie as part of our continuous school improvement efforts to create a safe, healthy, and welcoming environment for all students within the Appleton Area School District. Rather than this being a designated curriculum, we instead have worked to provide instruction and educational experiences that are culturally responsive to the diverse student population we serve. In particular, this means recognizing the various rings of culture that all of our students and staff have and how we must work collaboratively to validate, affirm, build, and bridge relationships with our students.
“For example,
“Validate = To validate is to make legitimate that which the institution and mainstream have made illegitimate through negative stereotypes and labels.
“Affirm = The intentional and purposeful effort to reserve the negative stereotypes, images, and representations by intentionally providing images, texts, and narratives that give students alternative perspectives.
“Build = Building is understanding and recognizing the cultural and linguistic behaviors of students and using those behaviors to foster rapport and relationships with students.
“Bridge = Bridging is providing the academic and social skills that students will need to have success beyond the classroom.”
You can learn more about Dr. Sharroky Hollie here: https://www.culturallyresponsive.org/about-dr-hollie
You can view a number of his lectures on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdhfCYg5nUa0xohqrCYo498fYdOaNUc9U
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