Thread by @WilliamsonStrg

Follow along as we live tweet the #wcsb meeting which starts in about 20 mins. You can view the livestream here:

meeting has begun! 10/12 members present (Emerson and Aprea are absent.)

Chair Nancy Garrett takes a moment to ask we remember Board member Candy Emerson in our moment of silence on the recent loss of her husband. 💔

Public comments is now up, reminds everyone to model how people can respectfully disagree and share their views, especially as students are present tonight. 35 speakers have 1 minute each.

(as always, we will likely butcher names and will do our best. apologies in advance.)

Stephanie Murphy is up 1st: talks about age-appropriate movies as a lead in to the curriculum issues. Says the curriculum committee's conclusion is patronizing. Context: tennessean.com/story/news/loc…

says kids have spent 1,000 of hours in counseling due to the side effect of the curriculum.

Next up: Tizgel High with @OneWillco speaking of how black children are treated and some Board members want to protect white children's comfort. History is uncomfortable. Focus on supporting educators to turn discomfort into learning & empathy.

...asks the committee to vote to approve the curriculum committee's "well-informed" results.

Robert Lewis - @OneWillco - says his black child is not protected from the same things some people are trying to protect their white children from. "Keep our schools competitive so they can compete nationally. don't deny them a 1st rate education because of these parents."

Justin Kanew: Reads Ezekial 23:20 passage and other ones that are pretty graphic. Says we trust our pastors to guide us through these conversations, just as we should trust our educators to do the same with books like Ruby Bridges and MLK, Jr....

"This is a coordinated attack on our public schools to funnel taxpayer money to private schools."

Angela Moseley - WCS teacher and parent - it's disheartening that groups of people are exploiting our schools as political parents, pitting parents against teachers and cause extra hardships in our schools.

...when teachers picked our curriculum we had one agenda in mind: to provide the best educational materials for students. Listen to reason and govern with wisdom so our schools can provide a quality education for our whole community.

Molly Volker - @wcsFHS senior - speaking about movement across state to remove books from schools/libraries. Says books have shown her that her experience is not the only one out there. Shielding youth won't make the problems go away or prepare them for the real world.

Alanna Truss - @OneWillco - WCS parent and clinical psychologist serving families in this community. Deeply concerned about book banning efforts. Discomfort serves to inspire them to make our community a better place....we're underestimating our students' ability to handle.

..."I choose to believe the majority of our county prefers a curriculum that promotes a safe environment for all." Please support curriculum committee recommendations.

Mira - a @wcsFHS junior student - learning about different topics in school gave her a broader perspective. Would you rather your kids learn about things in a safe classroom or on the next viral TikTok?

Elliott, student from @wcsFHS - it's vital we protect all the information we offer to students. When we restrict learning materials like books we restrict learning as a whole. They need to learn how to think for themselves.

Avery Cloud is another @wcsFHS student - have always sought to learn. Learning has helped understand how the world works. Censorship in education is harmful to students who need to learn about their history and is not worth losing b/c it makes certain groups more comfortable.

..."censorship is a child of fear and the father of ignorance" she quotes (missed the name of who she quoted.)

Angie Colvin - mother of 3 - not interested in banning books, is here to talk about Wit & Wisdom and it not being age-appropriate.

Jennifer Cortez - @OneWillco - "public" means concerning the people as a whole. Schools concern our whole community and process exists in open view, just like how curriculum review has gone. Just b/c hasn't gone your way doesn't mean it wasn't considered.

Brynn Sierra - @OneWillco - former WCS 4th grade degrees and certified library specialist. In district of 10's of 1,000s of parents and the very small complaints have been reviewed exhaustively. Don't forget the other parents who support the curriculum.

...you don't get to strong-arm this process because you don't like the outcome. Families of color and their allies are all watching to see how you stand up to your mission to provide quality education to all students.

Erin Crawford, mother of 2 boys in Page community and Williamson County commission candidate. Can't believe we're discussing book bans in 2022 by and about our civil rights heroes. Chose to live here in 2015 when job relocated here mainly due to the schools...

...never imagined their curriculum and libraries would be restricted to prevent them from learning about other identities and religions. Support our local experts and value them and vote to approve their recommendations.

Kimberly Calpote - at a loss how it took reconsideration committee 7 months and still couldn't grasp the concerns. Do what the committee wouldn't do and make a motion to replace books with other ones so they can all learn together.

Michael Miller - thanks teachers and staff. we appreciate you. Out of 20,000 elem students, only 4 appealed the committee. The policy was clear. Effectively, none of us complained about the decision. The discomfort of few doesn't warrant taking it away from my children.

...we must welcome the more painful emotions be it disgust for a historical event or empathy for a character going through something difficult. Rise to the challenge and guide your children as they experience these things.

Shannon Kidder - 4 kids - recommendations from committee were a great start. Says Wit & Wisdom exposes her kids to negative material. Thankful for opt out but that has her 5th grader sitting out for 6 weeks in ELA.

Kurt Cosack - lives in Brenthaven - not here to talk about books but loves to read. Running for House seat District 61, been a HS teacher for 17 years including at Summit for past 4 years.

Bonnie Young - southern baptist preacher's daughter with masters in education with 2 children in these school's. 0.2% of the population shouldn't get to censor reading materials for all children. Trust that highly educated and trained professionals know what they're doing.

Sarah Lapping - daughter graduated from @wcsFHS had come home and said she came across Mein Kamp in school library. As a Jew, I could have lost it but felt more thankful than dismay - this is free speech. This is challenge & the privilege of living in a society that values it.

Ashley Webster - parents entrust their children to a system that serves an entire community, not a vocal minority. There are 48k students in WCS but 37 people is underestimating children who grow up in one of the most privileged counties in the entire state.

...these 37 complainants asked for a review and they got it. Now 9 of them are back here because they didn't get the answer they wanted.

Amy Welte - WCS parent - registering her support for our teachers and our curriculum. Asking Board to invest more in our public schools, not less. Don't support charter schools, vast majority of parents are tired of this ridiculous spent on a small but vocal minority.

...most of us are tired of extremism in our schools. We want them to learn more, not less.

Benton McDonough: 1st grade WCS father - quotes the twitter saying going around: "those who can, teach. those who can't, meddle." Calls out a Board member who called a few covid cases statistically insignificant but yet a few curriculum complaints is worth all this?

Lori Wagner - curriculum concerns were about teachers manuals too. Committee's review took 7 months and resulted in "not much." Says parents are buried under procedure, has learned there is an agenda that you all don't want disrupted.

Jeff Bourque - father of 3 kids in WCS - concerned about our teachers. Thanks for passing the raise last month. Ask that we're concerned about the protection of teachers - retaining financially yes, but they're not feeling community support. Consider the impact of your actions.

....teachers are exhausted.

Hunter Brown: has document to submit w/his full comments. Policy 4.403 is designed to address individual issues and not a "large scale revolt". 🙄

(missed the name): holds up a dot to dot picture. That's what this review of W&W was....likes each concern to a dot. Curriculum is not fit to be used in WCS which causes distress.

Marissa Diplock - i may be a small minority but have spent hours and hours reading books and teachers manuals and can say it's not all what you think it is. Reads from her appeal (she's one of the 9 who won't drop this.)

Next speaker who signed up is called - Robin Steenman of @Moms4LibertyWC - and she's not here.

Fred Wilhelm - 2 WCS kids - speaking in support of admins, teachers, and current curriculum. My boys have taken W&W and are thriving. We trust the schools, the only agenda the school has it to help the kids achieve.

...learning may make you uncomfortable sometimes, which is true at any age. If you're not challenged you're probably not being challenged. Limiting access will not benefit our student body or our society.

Natalie Showalter - reconciliation process seemed problematic from the start. Know 3 of the 9 appeal applicants were not asked to discuss their concerns.

Patrica Lucente - WCS parent - W&W is a failed curriculum. (We hear there are some flyers out there that say the same thing but with typos) "We are watching you as you run for re-election. We're watching your social media. Remember that."

Emily - WCS parent - child studied Civil Rights recently. Kids deserve to know what happened so they can continue to make sense of the world. Convos aren't easy, but when is easy the goal of education...easy doesn't ask anyone to learn or grow.

Chair asks the next speaker to approach the podium. Looks like they're verifying some info....

[missed first name] Brown with Moms for Liberty - "we all want the same thing."

No, no we do not.

...there's a very authoritative approach being taken. The Board meeting is setup to prevent dialogue.

Public comment is concluded. Taking 5-minute break.