WWRSD—Parents spoke to what they see as the pros and cons of new state health curricula that feature topics such as anatomy, puberty, and gender identity — and one called for a stop to the “culture wars crap” — during a public comment period at the April 18 Westwood Regional School District meeting.
Westwood trustee Michael Pontillo noted April 18 that the state may be “walking back” some of the health standards and called for a future board discussion. He suggested the issue go back to the district’s curriculum committee “to take the temperature of the group.”
Board President Frank Romano III, of the Township of Washington, said that the “best discussion would be an informed discussion” and said the curriculum committee should put forward a recommendation on the issue.
While parents did not cite specific lessons or topics, the comments mostly centered around new comprehensive health and physical education standards being implemented in grades 2, 5 and 8.
These standards were updated by the state in 2020 and are going into effect this year.
In an email to families on April 20, Superintendent Jill Mortimer said over the prior week she had seen many social media and news posts about the standards.
“Some of what I have read is accurate, and some of it is not. I wanted to take the opportunity to let you know exactly what the standards are and how they are being implemented in our district,” she said.
She explained, “For Elementary Health, we have purchased The Great Body Shop as our instructional material. We feel this resource takes an appropriately conservative view of the content in the standards.”
She noted, “Other districts are using different products that take a wide variety of approaches. That is what seems to be driving the media coverage.”
(For more, see “Mortimer on district’s approach to health, phys ed. standards,” Pascack Press, April 25, 2022.)
The standards, state officials and educators note, provide broad state guidelines about what topics should be taught but leaves how to teach the topic and the resources/materials to be used up to local districts.
Meanwhile state Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-39) has drawn national attention for her efforts against adoption of the new standards, starting with her Facebook post reacting to a draft lesson plan in the Westfield School District.
She also sparked a “disinformation alert” from the New Jersey Education Association, which said in part that “Politically motivated special-interest organizations and partisan politicians are actively spreading false information pertaining to New Jersey’s Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Standards, which were revised and adopted by the State Board of Education in 2020.”
The NJEA said, “These bad actors are intentionally and falsely claiming that New Jersey is forcing an age-inappropriate curriculum on children. Not only are these claims blatantly false, but this hateful rhetoric also has the potential to jeopardize the safety and mental health of New Jersey’s students.”
It said, “These standards do not mandate specific instruction, but rather, provide a blueprint for local school leaders to develop appropriate curricula for students in their communities.”
The union said “These revisions to the Health and Physical Education Standards require students to be able to ‘demonstrate ways to promote dignity and respect for all people (e.g., sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, differing ability, immigration status, family configuration)’ and also to be able to differentiate between gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.”
It said, “The responsibility to develop and implement curricula rests with local school officials. Once adopted, classroom teachers use the curriculum to write lesson plans to meet the specific needs of their students. … Parents retain the right to opt-out of sex education curriculum if they feel their child is not prepared for that instruction.”
As well, it said, “Educators know that parental involvement is a key part of student success. Educators should continue to partner with parents to deliver the best and most appropriate education to students. Parents who have questions about their child’s education should speak with educators, not politicians.”
Schepisi addressed a packed meeting of the Washington Township Council on the topic April 18, saying the disinformation alert was disingenuous and urging parents do what they could to replace members on the state Board of Education.
She criticized the timing of the 2020 state standards update, said schools should emphasize reading, writing, and arithmetic, and worried about the loss of quality education suffered amid the pandemic.
She also complained of content in one of her children’s social studies books, saying it “horrified” her, but gave no specifics.
Amid her account of the state DOE’s proposed health topics, and her conclusion that the update should at least be paused, one man exclaimed from the back of council chambers, “It’s pedophilia!” Schepisi did not correct him.
School board meeting views
At the meeting of the Westwood Regional School Board, Palisade Avenue resident Mike Reider said that he did not want his daughter, in a local elementary school, affected by the new health curriculum, particularly new standards he said were under 2.1.5: Performance expectations.
While Reider did not cite specifics listed under the second-grade standards, he said some of them were “very problematic.” “What I’m reading greatly concerns me,” he asserted.
Under the state health curriculum for second-grade, the new standards list body changes during puberty, common human sexual development, romantic and sexual feelings, mood swings, masturbation, trusted adults, sexual intercourse and human reproduction, and pregnancy, including IVF and surrogacy.
A letter issued earlier this year by Michael Kenduck, the district director of programs, is archived on the district website and links to the state DOE Comprehensive Health and Physical Education standards home page.
The topic areas for Grade 2 include: Personal Growth and Development; Pregnancy and Parenting; Emotional Health; Social and Sexual Health; and Community Health Services and Support. Each category lists “Core Ideas” and “Performance Expectations” for each section.
Reider charged that “This is political ideology being masqueraded as science” and asserted that he saw “the results what’s already happening to kids.” He said that he “completely disagreed with what they’re [the state DOE] doing.”
Former trustee Thomas Snee cited recent appearances by Schepisi.
He also questioned a recent middle school assembly that he charged was presented as an anti-bullying session when topics such as asexuality and pansexuality were discussed. He called the session “a blatant misrepresentation” of what it was about and wondered why parents were not notified or offered a choice to opt their children out.
Westwood resident Kelly O’Melia said she wished parents could have attended the middle school presentation, which she said was an anti-bullying session.
She said she wanted to “send a message” to students transitioning, or who may be asexual, pansexual or LGBTQ “that my friends and I will stand for you and fight for you. And if you’re a parent of one of these students, I will stand with you and fight for you. And if you’re a faculty member, or a staff member, or resident of this community, my friends and I will fight to protect your rights.”
Westwood resident Ally Stevenson called for trustees and parents to stop the “culture wars crap taking root here.”
She said she believed all parents and trustees were “operating from a place of wanting what’s best for all the kids.”
However, she said over the last two years, she has seen a change in the district.
‘It’s destroying the whole damn country and this place was like a haven amidst all of that noise and it’s taking over … I’m pissed and I’m tired of it. We’ve got to stop. The accusatory, and the inflammatory and the antagonistic language toward each other. Enough, we’re going to go — I’m afraid we’ve already gone too far,” she said.
She said she believed every trustee was “a good and decent person” and that she took two months off from listening to board meetings due to the divisiveness. “It’s hurtful, it’s hurting our kids, they hear it, they know it.”
She said kids age 8 and 9 have phones and social media and that “We’re scared of what they’re going to read somewhere. They’re reading it. So my opinion, my point of view, is let’s arm them with the truth: Truth is power, right?”
She said people can debate what’s appropriate and opt out, but also noted that the community has still not healed from rifts stemming from the coronavirus and school closures.
“Please, we have to stop doing this here,” she said.