In response to complaints on the Arizona Department of Education’s hotline, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is questioning why the Osborn school district “is allowing race and gender politics to distract from academics.”
Horne accused the central Phoenix school district of displaying distracting signage promoting Black Lives Matter and other politically-charged causes on school grounds.
“As Superintendent of Public Instruction my primary focus is helping schools increase academic outcomes, and the Osborn school district is not doing well academically, in part because of needless and provocative distractions,” said Horne.
“We received a notification on the department’s Empower Hotline from a member of the Osborn community, who is offended by what is going on at that school district,” explained Horne. “This person sent pictures of a classroom wall that instead of posting academic materials had a big Black Lives Matter poster. They also sent a picture of stickers given to the students with the Osborn logo, surrounded by the colors associated with gender politics. The district provides magnets to attach this to cars, and stickers to students and staff, according to the notification we received on the hotline. There are no posters of brown lives matter, blue lives matter. Where does one stop when one goes down this path?”
Horne cites test scores comparing Osborn to the demographically similar Avondale Elementary district. Avondale has a higher poverty rate based on the number of children getting free and reduced lunches, yet Avondale does significantly higher in academics. 81 percent of Osborn students are not proficient in math, compared to 67 percent in Avondale. In reading, 76 percent of Osborn students are not proficient, while that figure for Avondale is 63 percent.
“If districts eliminate the time spent on race and gender politics they will have more time for academics,” said Horne. “This will produce higher test scores. I spoke to the Osborne superintendent about this. He said what I was complaining about was designed to make all students feel welcome. The way to do that properly is to teach students to treat each other as individuals without regard to race, sexual orientation, sexual identity, or any such characteristic. It is not to promote identity politics in our public schools. He responded that we would have to agree to disagree.”
“Arizona is a local control state,” said Horne. “I do not have authority to order this to stop. We must rely on the parents and taxpayers in the Osborn school district to bring proper values and focus on academics to that school district. I urge them to do this as I do parents throughout Arizona who may observe this kind of needless distraction being promoted by schools.”
“I have been a passionate supporter of civil rights since childhood. I attended the march on Washington in 1963 in which Martin Luther King gave his famous speech arguing that we should be judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin. That has been my philosophy my whole life,” concluded Horne. “Race and gender politics in schools are contrary to this philosophy which should be taught to all students.”
BLM is a domestic terror group and should be treated accordingly.
Horne is out of reach on this one and leaning dangerously into freedom of speech territory.
Schools ought to be teaching not throwing propaganda around. Make a kid feel good by educating them not giving them something to carry around like a millstone around their neck.
. How will these children ever learn skills which prepare them to lead lives of self determination and self discipline leading to achievement of their dreams? They won’t have educational systems are hijacked as indoctrination factories. It’s the difference between preparing children to be able to contribute to making their country the best it can be and accepting mediocrity and hateful behavior as normal.
So what additional proof do parents with children attending Osborn District School System need before they take action and demand proper values in the school district? Would parents rather have their children taught skills of academic excellence or would they want those goals set aside while their children are taught propaganda which ensures they become warriors of socialism and Marxism. How will these children ever learn skills which prepare them for self determination and self discipline leading to achievement of their dreams? They won’t have educational systems are hijacked as indoctrination factories.
It’s like you gotta be good at playing whack a mole with these idiots!
Wanna know why public school enrollment is down and that more families are opting to send their young uns’ to Charter and Private schools under the ESA program? Well….here you go!
won’t be long the left will be persecuting those who don’t agree with them..
Students and Parents must be vigilant about these distractions and address the wayward Administration Officials. If their concerns for a focus on academic achievement are ignored (agree to disagree), they should move their students into an academically acceptable charter school.
This school district is performing just like the liberals want them to. They don’t want kids educated, they want them indoctrinated and malleable so they can become good little drones for the left. The teachers unions are behind most of this too because they love them some liberals and all things anti establishment…. And I am sure this isn’t the only school district in AZ doing this or in the country for that matter.