There is a national debate on what is being taught to children in public schools. This debate really heated up when Democrat Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe said that parents shouldn’t have a say in what their children are taught in school.

I think most parents have always felt that this should be a partnership. The board members are elected, they hire school personnel and with parents having input, a local curriculum is developed.

Much of this may be determined by teachers in conjunction with school board committees, curriculum coordinators, and administration, but there are times when parents offer feedback or participate on committees and task forces. By engaging parents in the process, there are no surprises. It limits something being discovered by parents that can erupt into a battle within the district. Battles tend to erupt when parents discover controversial materials that are assigned or taught in the classroom.

This creates a Parents Vs. School District dichotomy.

Parents argue that some of the material isn’t appropriate for all children or sometimes just their children. The one-size-fits-all approach can backfire when it comes to controversial subjects.

Years ago when teachers began developing competencies, many schools posted that information on the district website. This allowed parents to review what their children should know in order to advance. But after that, I noticed that the competencies were were not posted to the district websites. What changed? Why did they remove that information from the school district website? Why not share that information with parents?

Why not list the textbooks used? The books that are assigned to students to read in class? The software vendors used in each class? Why not make all of this transparent to parents and taxpayers?

In Loudoun County Virginia where the district is in the middle of a complete meltdown, school officials are now requiring parents to sign Non-Disclosure forms in order to review the curriculum. What are they hiding? 

This is the school district that failed to inform parents about a brutal sexual assault on one of their students in the girls bathroom. A boy who is described as gender fluid, accessed the school bathroom and raped one of the girls. Her father brought this up at a school board meeting when they were discussing the bathroom policy as it relates to transgender students. Parents discovered that school officials kept that information from the public, and were horrified to learn that the student who raped the girl was quietly sent to another school where he committed another sexual assault.

This district is immersed in corruption, secrecy, and coverups —  that all starts with a culture of deception.

Nothing should be hidden from parents when it comes to the curriculum or any other materials used in a classroom. There is no good reason to hide this information from parents, unless they are doing something nefarious. This begs the question, what are they hiding from parents? 

School elections are coming up in November, and then in March. Make sure you are in contact with the people in your town running for office. Ask them questions about transparency. Would they support posting the syllabus, competencies, materials, etc. on the district website for each grade? IF not, then that’s not who you want to vote for!

Sign up at defendourkids.org for more information on how to protect your children.

I’m happy to help parents identify good quality candidates in your district.
You can email me at : banfieldannmarie@gmail.com