In Part 2 of this week’s Three Things, we’re starting a new series of informational posts about Special Education advocacy. Each month we’ll share a resource that we have found helpful in preparing us to successfully advocate for our children.
In the third edition of Three Things, we’re covering Parent Satisfaction Surveys, a summary of the 7/19/23 Board Meeting, and Teacher Wish Lists.
In the second edition of Three Things, we’re covering the July 19 School Board Meeting, the Summer School Musical at Waukesha West, and an update on the contract termination of Melissa Tempel.
The Waukesha School District terminated a teacher yesterday because the Board and Superintendent brought negative attention to the community.
The Alliance is concerned about the District’s ongoing misuse of policy as a shield for its pattern of harmful decisions negatively impacting the students and school community and the potential impact of her termination on First Amendment rights, teacher retention, and the promise for more transparent communication with parents.
Another highly qualified teacher has publicly resigned from the Waukesha School District:
“SDW could turn its focus to a lot of real problems, among which include making sure every student has their needs met: a safe place to learn, a meal in their belly, and academic support to help them grow and thrive. Instead, the school district has a policy to steer this ship backwards, and it’s headed for a rocky coast.”
The Alliance is disappointed to learn that on May 15, 2023, after being on administrative leave for more than a month, Heyer Elementary School First Grade Teacher Melissa Tempel was notified that the Superintendent of the School District of Waukesha was recommending her termination.
STATEMENT ON BIAS IN WAUKESHA SCHOOLS
The School District of Waukesha (SDW) made national news for banning the song “Rainbowland.” This decision is a consequence of nearly three years of bad policy implementation by the SDW Superintendent and Board. Rainbowland is merely a symptom of an on-going pattern of bias, bullying of students, staff and parents, and failure to appropriately document and respond to incidents of discrimination and harassment.
Please respect our intellectual freedoms and allow our students freer access to challenging ideas. Please maintain the current consideration process.
What’s most concerning is the ease for someone to censor material based on bigoted beliefs under the guise of protecting children, thus removing material geared toward marginalized students without the public being the wiser. A parent may censor their own child, but that’s where the line needs to be drawn. No one should limit anyone else’s kids simply because they disagree with the content.