[ad_1]
OGDEN, Utah – A school in Ogden has reversed its decision that would have allowed parents to opt out of the Black History Month program after being rejected by the community.
Parents at Maria Montessori Academy in North Ogden received an email informing them that they would have the option to withdraw their child from Black History Month lessons and events that were scheduled throughout the month from February.
WATCH: Black artists featured in new exhibit at Utah Museum of Fine Arts
The statement was posted on the school’s Facebook page, but it has since been removed from the site.
“I’m not sure exactly why someone thought they needed to send a document saying, ‘I don’t want my child to participate in this activity,'” said Jaime Tracey, parent of a student at the school. “That’s what the document says.”
Tracey’s daughter has been a student at the Maria Montessori Academy for seven years.
“This is the first year that we have discussed anything about Black History Month,” she added.
She said she had worked for years to include Black History Month in the school curriculum.
“I’ve always been doing it,” Tracey said.
Lex Scott, the founder of Black Lives Matter Utah, said the decision to allow parents to opt out is appalling.
“You can’t walk away from black history. Black history is American history,” Scott said. “So this absolutely comes from a place of racism and ignorance.”
READ: U of U’s Black Cultural Center celebrates Black History Month
In a follow-up email sent to parents on Thursday, school principal Micah Hirokawa said he was deeply saddened and disappointed that parents were removing their children from the Black History Month program. In the email, Hirokawa added that as an Asian American whose great-grandparents were thrown into internment camps, he values teaching students “abuse, the challenges and obstacles that the people of our country have had to endure ”.
“It’s just heartbreaking that anyone who runs a school thinks it’s okay in any way, that it’s okay in any way to try and ban talking about history. black people, ”Scott added.
Hirokawa was hired to replace the school’s former principal in April 2020. Tracey said she believed she made a real effort to include Black History Month lessons in the school’s curriculum.
“I just knew he was as surprised as I was that probably a lot of families had sent in papers not to participate,” Tracey said.
READ: 5-year-old Detroit girl dresses up as notable characters and gives lessons for Black History Month
Scott added that the ability for parents to opt out shouldn’t have been an option in the first place.
“He has to learn from it, he has to apologize and make sure every child in this school learns black history,” she said.
Utah Law allows parents to exclude their children from parts of the program based on religious beliefs or the right of conscience. But a representative from the Utah State Board of Education clarified with FOX 13 that “no student can be exempt from the state Social Studies Standards which include a focus on US history, inequality and race relations. “
Hirokawa sent parents another email on Saturday afternoon to apologize for the possibility of opting out and canceled that offer. The email states that “at this time no family is disabling our scheduled activities and we have removed this option.”
[ad_2]
Source link