Poudre Schools Speaks

Two weeks ago Greeley Report released a photo snapped at Bauder Elementary School in Ft. Collins, that showed a Saudi Arabian flag elevated above the U.S. flag.  After outcries from the general public this was resolved, but questions remained.  Now, Poudre Schools has released responses to Greeley Report questions concerning school teaching of the students and their philosophies regarding this incident.  They are published below.

Question: It seems the flag was moved by someone within the school itself.  Has that person and/or motive been identified?  If so, who and what are they?

Answer:  The school and district continue to investigate the situation.  At this time, we do not know who moved the flag or why. Once the unusual placement was discovered, the flag was put back in its customary location.

Question:  Bauder Elementary is a school with a great number of children from various nations.  However, they are a U.S. school funded by taxpayer dollars, responsible for training students of U.S. citizens about patriotism and American allegiance to this nation first.  Is the pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag observed daily?  How is American patriotism taught in this multicultural environment?

Answer:  Schools in Poudre School District recite the Pledge of Allegiance aloud daily, in compliance with Colorado state law.  American patriotism is taught via the social studies curriculum through engagement of  student learning in teaching about our country's rich history, struggles and triumphs both at home and abroad.

Question:  What type of communication was released to the administration, staff and parents regarding this flag incident?  How was this communicated to the students?  What were they taught?

Answer:  A letter was sent home to all Bauder parents regarding the incident.  Principal Brian Carpenter held a staff meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation with all staff members.  The incident was not discussed with students themselves.  Rather parents were encouraged to discuss it with their children if they chose.

Question: Since the Saudi Arabian flag contains the statement that Muslims use to embrace the Islamic faith in it's inscription (and the flag and the sword are wholly Islamic as well), this is a religious flag in every respect.  Will the flags of other faiths and ideologies be displayed as well?

Answer:  The Saudi Arabian flag is a national flag of a country.  Regardless of the religion that the country embraces, the flag is representative of the nation state.  As you know, our country was founded on the principal of separation of church and state.  As such, we do not teach about specific religious ideologies.  Our curriculum does, however, include historical teachings as they pertain to global religions (ie. The Crusades was a historical event that was steeped in religious ideology.)

Our policy regarding teaching religion in schools states:

"Instruction should include the understanding of religions and cultures and their similarities, diversities, histories, and contributions.  Such teaching should be factual, and any doctrinal impact should be avoided.

In this effort, teachers are the key.  Their manner and sincerity in seeking greater religious and cultural understanding are crucial to success.

Instruction should acknowledge the multicultural society.  Focus should be on the similarities and differences of religions and cultures without treating differences as novelties.

In providing information, teachers should draw upon community resources.  Students should not be expected to represent a group unless they are comfortable doing so.

The Poudre R-1 schools and each individual should work to bring about better religious and cultural understanding.

The curriculum and instruction division should provide assistance with religious and cultural education.  Particular help should be made available in the fields of music, art, social studies, language arts, and bilingual education.  The district's media center should be a resource.

Principals shall be encouraged to lead in-service activities at their sites.  The emphasis of the in-service training should be focused upon the crucial role of the classroom teacher both as a behavioral example and as the instructional leader.

Above all, a meaningful effort toward achieving a sensitive understanding of people regardless of religion, culture, or race demands a dedication of each individual to that end."

Comments

[Rick Jones]

I think Poudre/Bauder needs some work on their understanding and presentation of our country's founding. They use the commonly used phrase "separation of church and state" in their response, a phrase replete with misunderstanding.

They said:
"As you know, our country was founded on the principal of separation of church and state"

Actually, it is more correct to say that our country pioneered the concept of freedom for religion and that our Bill of Rights includes a provision protecting against intervention by Congress to create or inhibit religion.

The original intent is little understood, and less frequently adhered to today; and if Poudre/Bauder and all other schools want to be honest brokers of history they need to adjust away from use of the corrupted phrase "separation of church and state" as that phrase appears nowhere within the Constitution or the Bill of Rights and its persistent use only serves to perpetuate an all too common misunderstanding of the role the founders intended for religion in American society.

[Dennis]

I would think, given our country's shortcomings academically, that they would get rid of the fluff and focus more on the three "R"s.

[Far-in]

Sad thing is I doubt Greeley schools are any better....

[CuppaJoe]

Hmmmm. It seems this "multicultural school" knows about the religious ideology of some things (like the Crusades), but they don't know how to handle the U.S. flag. Since the U.S. colonies were more than 95 percent Christian until 1800, I assume the school district will heavily weight their art, literature, music and other things with Christian influences? Probably not. This response from them is a bunch of P.C. garbage. They act more like they try to protect their multicultural reputation more than they do patriotism and America. Somebody needs to send this to every person on their school board.