Novato School Board Approves Diversity Curriculum

Marin Independant Journal

By Jane Futcher

After more than three hours of emotional public comment, the Novato Unified School District Board of Trustees early Wednesday morning approved five of six diversity curriculum pilot materials for use in district schools in the upcoming academic year.

"That's a Family," the controversial documentary on diverse families that includes gay- and lesbian-parented families, was approved for use in the fifth grade by a 4-3 vote. Trustees Jeff McAlpin, Cindi Clinton and Leslie Schwarze opposed its adoption. "The issue of pursuing a diversity program in the public schools has to do with bringing in broader groups," said school board president Ross Millerick, who argued that diversity education makes schools safer for all students.

More than half of some 60 people who spoke at the meeting criticized "That's a Family," many insisting that parents, not schools, should discuss matters as personal as sexual orientation with their children.

"Parents are the appropriate teachers of values," said parent Julie Devoris. "This controversy is turning our schools into a three-ring circus."

Nearly 300 people packed the trustees' chambers as the seven-member board deliberated after midnight on the six supplementary diversity programs to be tested this year."That's a Family" — used in 78 school districts in 41 states — drew the most pro and con comments, which was not unexpected. The documentary has served as a lighting rod in a controversy that has engulfed the district for more than 18 months.

"The whole thing that is happening here is that they are putting down regular heterosexual marriages," said Novato parent Joyce Kleege.

Jesus Alvarez, representing a grassroots, pro-diversity group called United for Safe Schools in Novato, said he strongly endorsed "That's a Family" and the entire diversity curriculum."I look here and I see a bunch of white faces," Alvarez concluded. "Let me tell you it is very difficult to be a person of color in a white community — so wake up.

"Voicing support for United for Safe Schools in Novato and for diversity materials that include lesbians and gays are U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D- Petaluma, Novato Police Chief Brian Brady and state Sen. John Burton, D-San Francisco.

Many parents who spoke against "That's a Family" were members of the newly formed Novato Parents and Family Coalition. The group solicited 1,200 signatures in 12 days, according to member Edison Fowler. Many of its supporters said that school "opt out" forms were not adequate to protect their children from discussions of sexual orientation if diversity materials began to find their way into the core curriculum.

"The more you dictate social engineering, the more you take away from the basics," said Dan Barclay, who proposed that instead of teaching about gays, the district focus on such issues as pedophilia, child abuse or prostitution. "These are the real crimes," he said.

The school board's Diversity Advisory Committee had been reviewing diversity materials for more nearly two years, but last December, in response to concerns of some parents that the trustees were on the brink of implementing untested materials without adequate parental review and feedback, the board expanded the 40-member Diversity Advisory Committee to include parents who oppose references to gay and lesbian issues at school. The committee reduced the possible materials from 17 to six.

Last night the board unanimously approved four other supplemental pilot diversity programs, including:

  • "Bully Proofing," a K-12 program designed to help staff, students and parents respond to bullying.
  • "Different and the Same," a K-3 program that uses videos of puppets to promote friendship, kind interactions and appreciation for individual attribution.
  • "Get Real About Violence," a K-12 program that addresses and promotes civility and acceptance and suggests specific consequences for infractions of established behavior guidelines.
  • "Giraffes and Heroes," a K-12 program that promotes positive role models for everyday people who demonstrate courage and support for one another.

The school board rejected "World of Difference," a K-12 curriculum plan written by the Anti-Defamation League with specific history and social studies lessons aligned with specific grade levels and themes.

Novato resident Bob Koch told trustees that the program "trashes America and the majority of its people past and present. It relentlessly portrays America as a purgatory of oppression of its powerless victims.

"Both McAlpin and Schwarze agreed that the program was "negative" and "opinionated" in its portrayal of American history, and Clinton, Roger Collins and Millerick voted with them to reject it. Perry Newman and Bill King opposed the move.

Before the final vote, many Novato parents and teen-agers spoke in support of the proposed diversity curriculum, as did the mother of Jed Levine, the victim of a hate crime at Novato High School last year.

"He (Jed) told us that even his close friends routinely ridicule gay or gay-appearing students," she said. "How soon is too soon to learn that differences can be celebrated rather than ridiculed?"

Brought to you by The Marin Independent Journal

Contact Jane Futcher via e-mail at jfutcher@marinij.com

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