December 3, 2018 Regular Board Meeting-Seg2
[00:00:00] Good evening. Thank you for such an informative report. I'm here to talk about the human sexuality education that you are considering. Go ahead. Give me your name and your address Suzanne Gallagher and I live at 13 547 Southwest Mountain Ridge Court. Not quite yet decorated for Christmas, so don't come too early.
There anything else that you wanted? Okay. Okay, I don't know what kind of curriculum that you are taking a look at. I don't know what it's called. But I'm glad to hear that. You're not using the flash curriculum that I hear that correctly. Okay. I also have a question for you for any of you who care to answer it.
I'm wondering what your policy is regarding opting out of objectionable human sexuality curriculum according to ORS. Point zero three [00:01:00] five parentheses 2 in parentheses parents do have the right to opt their children out of objection objection curriculum.
That's that's true. You will do that. Thank you.
I'm sorry, if I'm going to get your last year names mispronounced Carrie. Climate key.
So, it's Carrie clanky KL e i MK I'm going to kind of talk quickly. I typed out my notes. I know quite a few of you and to give your address. Yep. It's two nine eight two six Southwest Camelot Street. I wanted to first of all say thanks for the time. I've spoken to you some of you personally I'm dr.
Pryor and a lot of admin and I want to [00:02:00] say thank you to Reagan for responding to my email that I sent to all of you recently about behavioral concerns at West Linn, Wilsonville. So, my name is Kerry clanky, and I'm a Wilson Bill. Mom of three my children attend our neighborhood School. Right here locally, and I'm a former primary school teacher.
I've taught second fourth and fifth grade during my tenure at North LACMA school district and Reynolds School District. My perspective comes from that as a dedicated parent first, but also through the lens of an educator and an avid volunteer for the last six years in the schools on the fields over the last two to three school years.
I have seen an unsettling decline in the learning environment at our neighborhood School. The amount of social emotional outbursts and volatile behavior in the mainstream classrooms has increased exponentially.  I have also witnessed similar events while subbing here in the district. Admin [00:03:00] with walkie-talkies hustling from room to room putting out fires is the norm and extreme behaviors such as desk flipping chair throwing high-pitched screeching racing on the room toppling table contents hitting kicking.
And chasing and harming classmates with push pins are some of the things that I've personally witnessed not to mention aggression towards teachers and staff who are trying to intervene. It's heartbreaking to see five and six-year-olds shaking in fear and hiding under their desks.  What's most alarming is that most parents are unaware that these events are even taking place?
The class is cleared. In my experience with my child the classroom is cleared multiple times. Each week learning is disrupted children are suffering emotional and physical harm during the school day and it's repeated over and over. We need to start documenting all the extreme Behavior recording the data and be [00:04:00] transparent with parent communication.
None of the four mention behaviors were formally documented. Student privacy can still be protected while sharing the parents what transpired in that day. We need to love them wrap our arms around them. Guide them nurture them. Tell them that it's ok in school safe. Our district has an obligation to care for our child's welfare.
And now is the time to step up and get ahead of the systemically behavior crisis. I'm not sure if you guys know but o EA has been traveling around the state. They've been doing Town Hall meetings such as this standing room only to talk about disruptive behavior. It's not just whistling Wilsonville.
But this is what we're seeing urgency needs to come from the top down from the top down. If we want to be a model for inclusion and Equity. There must be a bigger broader effort to focus on behavior and safety first and foremost. A lot of things need to happen new teachers need extensive class management mentorship all teachers and IAS needs to be offered behavior [00:05:00] management and modification training by experts in the field.
Not just our student services specialist within the district. We need experts have been National level to come and push in. Our teachers are downtrodden they are sad. We've got your three minutes if you want to provide written more sentence if that's okay. The oea survey said that 90% of teachers feel unsafe in the classroom and closing.
Just mat even. If you can imagine a 5 or 6 year old trying to use their finger to track and learn to read and chairs are being thrown. They're hiding under their desks. This is something that we really need to take seriously. So I appreciate the time. Sorry for going over. I'm just really this is so important to me and a lot of people here tonight.
And so I hope that you guys listen. Thank you. Appreciate
it. [00:06:00] Eric Emery.
Thank you. I have a written statement here and my name is Eric emmerich at 20 to 35 Crestview Drive that's in West Linn. To respect the three minutes. I'm going to skip the introductions and just say I'm an active member in the community that represent many families as well.  I'm going to show you the experience and wisdom of my daughter in kindergarten.
Our daughter shared that there was a particular student who often acted out and interrupted distracted class. That's the kind of thing. I need you to be very careful about and is so you've identified a classroom and student. And so we're not that's what do that somewhere else. I'm not we're not [00:07:00] able to hear that here at this public forum.
So bring it up a little higher for me. If you would please a couple years ago. My daughter had a experience. Let me know when I get my time. It's my daughter. Can I talk about right now? So that needs to be we can handle that at a different level so not a lot but about my daughter. Why don't you take a break and maybe someone can help maybe dr.
Pryor? Around that will come back to you. All right.
the Lisa Kelso.
[00:08:00] Good evening. My name is Alicia Kelso. And I reside at 2 1 4 0 0 Southwest 60 Fifth Avenue in Tualatin, but I am West Linn Wilsonville School District. I would like to say that I do believe and I know that all of you care very deeply for our students and I stand here today not only as a parent but as a partner in ensuring that our students do achieve success in our schools with that being said, I have given you an email that was sent out to our principal and our Wellness teacher at Meridian Creek Middle School after I had requested to review the curriculum for the.
New. Health and wellness material I do want to say thank you for removing the flash curriculum my questions in there particularly pertain to that curriculum material. That was so explicit. My email was blocked by the firewall and the principal and the teacher were never able to read my email until I went to the teacher and emailed it to her personal email and then she shared with the principal so I do want to say the material and that curriculum was [00:09:00] incredibly sexually explicit it pushed sex on children.
It made me uncomfortable just as a parent to read it. So thank you for hearing our feedback and thank you very much for removing that I do want to say that I would love to have your assurance that that curriculum will not be adopted at any point and that there will not be a supplemental curriculum that comes in that is equivalent to or.
Possibly worse than that, I do ask of you as well. As many people here that we have your commitment to that. I understand that the text that is being used. Now only meets 80% of the standards that you do need supplemental when you are looking for supplemental curriculum. We ask that you please involve us.
I want to let you know that the communication you used to reach out to parents and Community failed. It did not work. Unfortunately our PTA president and members did not know about this curriculum. The majority of the people here did not know about this curriculum the booster club president or high school did not know we know now.
And the word is [00:10:00] spreading and people are finding out parents are invested and they want to know and this particular school district has enormous support these parents want to be involved and we are here to work beside you. So we do ask. Please allow us to be a part of that with what is coming up in January.
We are confused. I don't know what a human sexuality plan is. We need to know we need to have the opportunity to be involved with that. And we ask that you commit to delaying the vote in January to allow time for a health and wellness curriculum selection committee comprised of parents teachers nurses psychologists youth workers Etc.
So that together we can select the safest and most effective curriculum for our. I would like to ask that anyone in this room who supports what I just said to please stand with me and solidarity.
[00:11:00] One other thing I would like to say to use the words. Thank you so much. We are together. We stand strong. We love our kids and we know you do too one other thing. I want to say to quote the words of an assistant superintendent here. Why is the airplane still in the process of being built with our children on board airplanes that are not completed crash airplanes that have not been tested have not had pilots who are properly trained crash.
My child is currently receiving this curriculum that is still in process, and I as a parent. I'm currently trying to know what she's going to be taught tomorrow. I know that second semester parents are going to benefit from what is happening today, and I am trying my best to make sure that we all can achieve success for our children.
Thank you.
[00:12:00] There's cutting.
My name is Liz cutting for seven one four South West East Gate Drive.
I'm going to piggyback off of a lot of which Lisa just said, my name is Liz and I currently have four children in the Fantastic Wilsonville schools. I'm also a part-time Health educator in the Legacy Health System a position of held the last 16 years today. I have two concerns that I would like to bring to the board's attention my first concern entails the choosing of the curriculum for with the health and wellness.
Standards as a health educator in a hospital setting choosing Health curriculum is part of my job the job entails a very thorough process that must be followed process is important.  When I heard that our district had chosen a curriculum for the [00:13:00] new health and wellness standards that entailed a supplemental flash curriculum.
I and many of my colleagues felt blindsided because we were not involved in the selection tonight I represent. Many here who feel the process of selecting was flawed. We are representing our we are requesting that the board to not approve the flash at any point because we believe there is enough evidence that our district did not fully comply with the state mandate that parents shall be included in the plan of instruction specifically the parents of our Latino community and Wilson Valdez.
We do not believe that our district intentionally did this you did offer for evening forums, but it was by no means deficient. We know that we are a valued voice and we're requesting the board to not approve this in January.  My second concern is with the State's new organ sexuality education standard that is [00:14:00] requiring students in the middle schools to know how to use a condom.
Our district however can appeal this the new state standards. And again, these are State Standards. Say the all 6th grade students.  Thing here must identify the steps to use this condom in 7th grade. They must be able to describe the steps in eighth grade. They must demonstrate the steps of this. I along with my colleagues specifically are requesting the board to work with parents and making an appeal to the Oregon Department of Education for our district to be granted a waiver to opt out of condom usage skills at any point at the middle school level because it goes against our districts instructional approach.
One of the things I love about our district is the the approach to it takes a teaching. It [00:15:00] entails the content at says it's been referred to tonight. It needs to be age-appropriate needs to be comfortable and safe for all Learners and it's full of information and not beliefs condom demonstrations are not age-appropriate 92 to 95 percent of middle school students are not having sex kids are less Advanced emotionally than they used to be social media has proven that screen time causes emotional delays condom demonstrations also violate our District's commitment to creating a comfortable and safe learning environment.
Preteen and teen anxiety is on the rise and it's not good many Middle School girls and boys will have tremendous anxiety over this. I'm going to interrupt you because of time if you have more to the share with your board. You're welcome to do that in right? My colleagues. Here are just asking that a waiver be.
Out of this. Thank you. Thank you.
[00:16:00] Mr. Emmerich. Thank you. Thank you Doctor friend.
Was going to make the three minutes anyway.
I want to share the experience and wisdom of my daughter. She shared once of a particular experience where the class was often interrupted in distracted. We encourage her to be tolerant and remember that all our neighbors would be loved that the student probably needs a friend. We encouraged empathy later.
Our daughter casually mentioned. I cried a little bit today in class. The certainly caught us by surprise. We probed we learned that a student had developed a bad habit of singling her out likely because she chose not to alienate them like many of the other students did just as we had encouraged her and began [00:17:00] stopping here between desks holding her by the arms.
Tweezing and not letting go should you not know what to do. She was frozen trapped and scared. We've repeatedly encourage our daughter to show them love. And as a family we prayed for the student the teacher actually told us I can tell your daughter that her daughter is the only student the class that would treat them like a friend.
Later during a recess daughter was playing a sort of tag and capture game with many friends including the one who her before. It was a capture game. She was captured but unlike the rest of the fun harmless captures something horrible happened. The student captured her with their arms around her neck continue to squeeze and then shake her up and down.
She did not know what to do.
I'm going to take a [00:18:00] [00:19:00] break