Ames school leaders defend Black Lives Matter week; one Iowa lawmaker called it an 'abuse of power'
Phillip SitterAn Iowa lawmaker on Tuesday called Ames' Black Lives Matter at School week an abuse of power and misuse of resources, while district leaders defended the importance of affirming diverse identities in the classroom.
The district kicked off Black History Month on Feb. 1 with the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, during which teachers engaged students with a set of 13 guiding principles through free resources from outside organizations. Stated goals for the week included to affirm students' diverse Black identities, offer them a sense of belonging they might not otherwise have been feeling, and expand students' perspectives on Black history and life.
The efforts were met with support and criticism from community members and beyond — attracting the attention of national conservative commentators and some Iowa lawmakers, including the chairwoman of the House Government Oversight Committee, Rep. Holly Brink, R-Oskaloosa.
Brink and the other committee members on Tuesday heard from Ames Superintendent Jenny Risner, Director of Equity Anthony Jones, school board member Monic Behnken — who leads the board's equity committee — and Executive Director of Education Jeff Hawkins.
The House committee members said parents, teachers and others brought them concerns including that the content of the week's materials previously posted by the district was morally objectionable or politically one-sided.
Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, read from what he said had been included online in materials posted by the district, about the history of voter suppression in the U.S.: "'from voter ID requirements to gerrymandering and poll closures, we know it must be explored throughout all our classrooms the ways that racist political maneuverings work to limit voting rights.'"
He said that content should not have been stated as fact.
"You didn’t put, ‘in your opinion,’" he said. "I find it to be beyond offensive that you’re using my tax dollars to teach kids that, for instance, the bill that I floor managed last week makes me a racist. I find that to be an egregious abuse of your power, an abhorrent use of resources.”
The bill, signed into law Monday by Gov. Kim Reynolds, shortened Iowa's early and Election Day voting periods.
“This is incorrect curriculum," Kaufmann said, "and you’re indoctrinating kids with this garbage.”
More:Gov. Kim Reynolds signs law shortening Iowa's early and Election Day voting
Jones pushed back on that statement, saying, “There was no recollection in the documents I have that we called anyone racist.”
“What we posted on our website was the resource, and we gave our teachers the flexibility to pull information based on the 13 guiding principles,” Jones said. He added that the material Kaufmann referenced on voter suppression was online but not necessarily used in classrooms.
Hawkins, more broadly, said, "There were resources posted on our website that may or may not represent what actually happened in our classrooms.” He said what's currently posted are samples representative of what was taught in classrooms.
Risner said the way the material had been originally posted was a problem.
"We’re not here today saying that everything went perfectly," she said. "Hear me when I say that there were things that we’ve learned from this. Yes, posting all of the materials was confusing to parents. It’s not something we would do again. We now have our Ames toolkit, and that’s what we would share."
She also said there could have been more time for people to review and give feedback on the materials: "our timeline did not give the adequate time that we would have really liked. Those are things that, as we reflect, we go back to the drawing board, just as I’m sure you all do in your roles. We do that, too.”
For subscribers:'Look how far we've come': Ames schools' equity director reflects on the district's Black Lives Matter at School week
No repercussions for opting out, according to district
Some of the House committee members raised concerns that students, families or teachers who opted out of learning or teaching materials during the Week of Action faced retaliation.
The Tribune requested but did not immediately receive copies of those communications to lawmakers from Brink or Kaufmann.
Behnken said every parent who asked if their child could opt out of part or all of the curriculum was accommodated. "We have not had any communications to the board that there were any kind of repercussions for those choices,” she said.
Hawkins also said there were no instances he had been told of from administrators where parents asked to opt their child out and were told they could not, or situations in which a parent expressed concern about what happened in classrooms.
“Those things that might be coming to other members of the (House) committee are not coming to us," he said.
Seven teachers in the district opted not to teach using some of the materials provided for the week of action, Hawkins said. "No teacher was forced to teach something" that they objected to, he said.
Brink said she had heard from 11 teachers with concerns.
“I think that you could find 11 teachers in our district at any given time that aren’t comfortable with certain curriculum," Risner responded. "We are a public school system. We are a community school district. We do have to teach topics that touch on all areas of our students.”
More:Ames equity director speaks on goals, some criticisms of Black Lives Matter at School week
"Every single day, our curriculum favors one style, one nuclear family, one gender," and that ignores other students, Risner said.
"Our data shows those students are experiencing mental health challenges on a regular basis. They are trying to commit suicide. We have data on that. It is my job, ethically and morally, to ensure that I am doing everything I can to set a space for those students where they feel loved, accepted and safe," Risner said.
In the planning phase, district leaders expected some pushback to offering these resources, she said.
But teaching Black history shouldn't be limited to just teaching about Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, Behnken said, though some in the community have suggested as much.
"What we are trying to do as a community is to tell the stories of our students better, Behnken said. She asked the House committee members to forward any information they may have that would help the district better serve students.
"I am elected to serve every single person in my community, and I'm sworn to do that," she said, "I can't do that if you have information that you would use a sword that prevents me from serving them."
Phillip Sitter covers education for the Ames Tribune, including Iowa State University and PreK-12 schools in Ames and elsewhere in Story County. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on Twitter @pslifeisabeauty.