Martino: Shame on the School Board

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The Palm Beach County School Board approved new Mission, Vision, and Equity statements for The School District of Palm Beach County.  I would strongly encourage all parents of K-12 grade level students enrolled in public and charter schools in Palm Beach Gardens and Palm Beach County to read these statements, carefully, to draw your own conclusions. It is too important, for you as a parent not to. Express your concerns to Barbara McQuinn, District 1 School Board representative, phone 561-434-8038, email barbara.mcquinn@palmbeachschools.org

I would opine that a substantial portion of the Mission Statement and Vision Statement is shameful. Much of it should be stricken entirely. It is offensive, inaccurate, antagonizing, accusatory, and divisive. A significant amount of the text is social discourse and racially charged with little association to educational inspiration or excellence. Equity has replaced equality. In a May 4th Palm Beach Post article a School Board member suggests that the pronouncements by the School Board, among other things, where influenced by “last year’s protests about racial justice…”. It is my belief that policy based on emotion is bad policy.

If this is the best Mission and the best Vision the elected School Board members can offer for the 197,000 students in their charge than Palm Beach County, parents you have a problem. The real dangers of the declarations are the curriculums and books that they generate. Will the teachings be based on the traditional American educational classroom basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, if you will permit me, the 3 R’s? Or will the classroom teachings be nuanced in the direction of the questionable and unproven, critical race theory, the 1619 project, cancel culture, and other abstract thought. I ask, are our teachers’ to be educators or social workers?

Palm Beach Gardens and North Palm Beach County enjoy a reputation for great schools which has enhanced our quality of life and economic viability. I would encourage the City Council of Palm Beach Gardens along with the other North Palm Beach County local governments to discuss the consequences and affects of The School District of Palm Beach County’s new Mission, Vision, and Equity policy statements. I would also persuade the business community and organizations and the Parent Teacher Organizations to offer their voices concerning the influences and effects these pronouncements may have on our children and community.

Here is a link to the statements below.  Contact information for all schoolboard members here.

 

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Mission
The mission of the School District of Palm Beach County is to educate, affirm, and inspire each student in an equity-embedded school system.

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Vision
We envision…

The School District of Palm Beach County is an educational and working environment, where both students and staff are unimpeded by bias or discrimination. Individuals of all backgrounds and experiences are embraced, affirmed, and inspired. Each and every one will succeed and flourish.

The School District of Palm Beach County will take ownership for students’ academic mastery, emotional intelligence, and social-emotional needs by creating environments where students, families, staff, and communities will develop agency and voice.

A joy of learning is fostered in each student and a positive vision for their future is nurtured. Each student’s cultural heritage is valued and their physical, emotional, academic, and social needs are met.

…WE SEE YOU.

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Equity Definition
Equity means each student—regardless of race, ethnicity, poverty, disability, language status, undocumented status, religious affiliation, gender identity, and sexual orientation—will have access to the opportunities, resources, and support they need to imagine, nurture, and achieve their dreams.

Equity Statement
The School District of Palm Beach County is committed to dismantling racism and other systems of oppression and inequity. We will create equitable and inclusive schools that ensure students have what they need to be successful in school and life.

Achieving racial equity requires proactive and continuous investment in historically marginalized groups who have endured centuries of systemic oppression. The School District of Palm Beach County is committed to dismantling structures rooted in white advantage and transforming our system by hearing and elevating under-represented voices, sharing power, recognizing and eliminating bias, and redistributing resources to provide equitable outcomes.

The School District of Palm Beach County will take ownership for students’ academic mastery, emotional intelligence, and social-emotional needs by creating environments where students, families, staff, and communities will develop agency and voice.

The School District of Palm Beach County acknowledges the existence of—and will eliminate—systems, processes, and mindsets that perpetuate race, ethnicity, poverty, disability, language status, undocumented status, religious affiliation, gender identity, and sexual orientation as predictors of achievement.

The School District of Palm Beach County will embrace, celebrate, and honor our students, families, staff, and community members and their unique cultural histories, while ensuring each student achieves personal and academic success.