Curriculum meant to foster ‘belonging,’ company says
Rebecca Slaby, executive director of AmazeWorks.org, which curates the books and provides lesson plans for them, told CNA on Tuesday that the curriculum also includes books about immigrants, race, ethnicity, language, religion, divorce, blended families, and children with incarcerated family members, among other situations.
“We exist so that all children — and adults, frankly — can experience belonging. And so, our curriculums are about representing all lived experiences as they already exist in our community,” Slaby said in a telephone interview.
“It is about representation so that kids can grow up feeling good about themselves, and also so that we can all treat each other with dignity and kindness, even if we have different beliefs.”
During the school board meeting last month, several teachers made presentations touting the curriculum.
Abby Marta, a second grade teacher, praised several books in the program, including a 2019 book called “When Aidan Became a Brother,” which is about a girl who tells her parents she is a boy; and a 2016 book called “One of a Kind Like Me,” which involves a boy who wants to dress up as a princess in the school parade.
“Every one of us experiences prejudiced thoughts or beliefs and it is our responsibility as professional educators to make sure that we proactively disrupt the transition from prejudiced thought to prejudiced behavior and discrimination,” Marta said. “And we are so fortunate here at DaVinci to have the AmazeWorks resources as research-based guidelines to do so.”
Hannah Dalske, who has taught gifted and talented students at the school for three years, said at the meeting the curriculum helps foster empathy and respect, and helps students have “that representation and safety of living their lives as the truest versions of themselves.”
At one point, she held up a ribbon that she said represented a boy she was friends with in high school who identified as “openly queer” and who died of suicide because of bullying he endured in school.
“No one is born inherently knowing how to take action against systemic inequality. Our understanding and empathy are meant to become action, vocabulary, and age-appropriate ways to seek help and equity, and simple knowledge of the lives that other people live is integral to this,” Dalske said.
“In my classroom, we view the world through a very wide-angle lens. We read books to connect abstract learning into deciding what kind of person we want to be,” Dalske said. “… I do not care if my students leave my room believing as I do. I care that they leave my room knowing why they believe what they do.”
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Mixed reviews
The teachers’ presentations drew a mixed reaction from the school board. Some expressed support — one board member announced that she was “queer” and said she hoped her parents weren’t watching because she hadn’t told them yet.
But other board members questioned why the school needs to use a curriculum that offends so many parents. One board member asked what problem the curriculum is solving.
Holly Fischer, the executive director of the school, said students who identify as homosexual or transgender “need to see themselves represented in the books and the conversations at DaVinci.”
“And to value one child’s safety over another child’s safety is not something that we can do,” Fischer said.
Sana Soussi, a school board member and Muslim mother of four children at the school, asked Fischer what it would be like for the school if about 150 students “leave, like tomorrow.” Soussi noted that it would be a big budget hit for the school, since public education dollars follow the students.