A licensed public school in Utah allowed parents to remove their children from the Black History Month curriculum, but reversed their decision after a public outcry and meeting with parents to address their concerns.
Micah Hirokawa, director of the Maria Montessori Academy in North Ogden, an elementary and high school about 40 miles north of Salt Lake City, said in a statement on Sunday that the school had “regretfully” submitted a form self-exclusion to parents who requested the option.
He gave no details about the parents’ concerns or said how many tried to get their children out of the events and activities that the school had scheduled as part of the month-long program. But he said in the statement, which was posted on the Utah Montessorians Facebook page, that the episode was “alarming” and that the school was trying to “change hearts and minds with grace and courtesy”.
He said that families “who initially had doubts and concerns came willingly to the table to resolve any differences” and that “at this time, no family is choosing to leave our planned activities and we have removed that option”.
“It has been a difficult path, as we work to honor and follow the personal journey of each child and each adult,” he said.
Mr. Hirokawa refused to answer other questions on Monday, including how many parents sought the option and why. But he said the school now has full participation in Black History Month activities after he spoke with his parents.
“I talked with families and expressed the importance of the study and ensured that all the content shared would be ethical and based on state standards for social studies,” he said by email.
School board members did not respond to e-mail messages requesting comments.
North Ogden has a population of more than 20,500 people, more than 94 percent of whom are white, according to the US Census Bureau. Black residents represent less than 0.8 percent of the population.
Only three of the 322 students at the Maria Montessori Academy are black and 70% are white, the Associated Press reported, citing data from the Utah State Board of Education.
The Maria Montessori Academy is publicly funded, but as a charter school, it has an independent board and controls its own curriculum.
The Standard-Examiner of Ogden, Utah, reported the school’s decision on Friday. Mr Hirokawa said initially in a Facebook post, which appears to have been removed, that he “reluctantly” sent a letter to parents explaining that “families can exercise their civil rights to not participate in Black History Month at school”.
It was not clear whether the objections to the school’s Black History Month events had to do with activities that highlighted black history or the way history was being taught.
Mr. Hirokawa’s announcement caught the attention of the NAACP Ogden section, whose director, Betty Sawyer, contacted the school on Saturday about the decision to make the Black History Month curriculum optional, the AP reported.
Munir Shivji, the executive director of the American Montessori Society, said in a statement that he was “horrified and saddened” by the school’s decision to allow parents to exclude their children from Black History Month classes and activities.
“Although the decision was rescinded,” he said, “the fact that the choice was made sets a clear and dangerous precedent that the rich and robust history of black Americans and other marginalized groups can be ignored.”
Duna Strachan, director of Soaring Wings International Montessori School in Park City, Utah, wrote on the Utah Montessorians Facebook page that Montessori schools were “committed to teaching black history and the practices of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in our schools. “
She said in an interview on Monday that “I wanted to point out as soon as possible that Montessori is always about inclusion for everyone”.
She said her school was updating its black history curriculum, which is taught every year and not just during Black History Month, especially after 2020, when “there was so much focus on being culturally sensitive”.
Congressman Blake D. Moore, a Republican who represents North Ogden in Congress, said in a statement on Monday that he shared “disappointment and sadness” that some have chosen to leave the curriculum, but “encouraged” that the school has reversed your decision.
“Although I have not personally reviewed the curriculum, I strongly believe that we cannot learn American history without learning black history,” he said.