The mission of both the Granby Public Schools and the Connecticut State Board of Education is clear: academic excellence must be our top priority. Granby BOE policy requires board members to act with integrity, accountability and transparency, while working in true partnership with parents and guardians.
The current board stresses its commitment to “being as transparent and collaborative as possible,” “viewing parents and guardians as essential partners, providing meaningful learning experiences for EVERY student” and how “being an effective board member involves separating personal wishes and experiences from overarching policy concerns.”
Unfortunately, recent actions do not reflect these commitments. Instead of open dialogue, concerns from families have been met with dismissive responses, little accountability, placating and condescending comments to close the topic and bullying those that do not agree with their position.
A recent 10th grade wellness assignment, drawn from the Healthy and Balanced Living Curriculum Framework, asked students to view multiple LGBTQ+ videos and write reflections. The district pointed to HR 1.8.12 as justification. But this indicator is part of a state framework, not a statutory requirement. Boards of education are required by law to provide health education, but they have local discretion over which lessons and materials to use. Granby’s leadership is choosing this content—they are not compelled by state statute.
The framework contains many other indicators that could have been emphasized instead: nutrition and disease prevention (N 1.1.12), the impact of substance use (ATOD 1.2.12), strategies for managing stress and supporting mental health (MH 1.6.12) and decision-making and healthy relationships (HR 1.3.12). These topics would have provided valuable skills for all students while staying true to the spirit of health education.
When this was raised to the BOE, the response was “we are following state regulations and every student has the ability to opt-out of ‘triggering lessons’.” End of story, discussion over. There was no interest on the part of the BOE to engage in healthy dialogue, understand other views or come to a compromise on how best to address concerns that impact the students. In addition, the lesson plan was immediately removed from Google Classroom and no credit given for the assignment—demonstrating a lack of accountability!
Our schools must focus on rigorous academics, safe environments and respectful engagement with families. Personal identity issues are best left to families, while the board’s responsibility is to deliver academic excellence and honor its own policies.
If current leadership cannot uphold these standards, then it is time for new leadership that will put students and academic excellence first.
Editor’s Note: In response to an editor’s inquiry, the author states “the quotes in the second paragraph came from the Drummer’s October edition, BOE member statements in support of candidates, as well as the piece from the superintendent. Response to my concerns were from BOE meeting in May, a meeting with assistant superintendent and emails from superintendent.”