Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1509126
Extremists Rear Ugly Heads Throughout State Check out our story on Kern County, next page. Other school districts where extremists have worked to undermine public education and sow division in communities: • Glendale: Since April, educators, parents and community members have dealt with anti-LGBTQ+ attacks at school board meetings and on social media, culminating in violence at a June board meeting. The attacks have inspired counter-organizing from educators and the community — especially around this year 's school board elec- tions. Previously, a Glendale teacher was publicly harassed and threatened for providing administration-endorsed Pride curriculum to students. The local chapter and CTA helped the member respond to the harassment and fight the district's inappropriate attempts to discipline her. • Hayward: Educators, students and community showed up at a June meeting to support the LGBTQ+ community after a Hayward Unified board member made outrageous and misleading homophobic comments about the school district's curriculum and support for inclusive policies. On a 4-1 vote, the board adopted a resolution declaring support for LGBTQIA+ youth, staff and families. • Murrieta: In August, Murrieta Unified's school board approved a "parental notification" policy similar to Clovis' and Chino Valley 's, citing CVUSD's policy as a model. scorched earth mentality employed by the current extremists at the helm, which is a major distraction from the issues that matter for students and families. "We had the opportunity to reimagine schools in Orange but we're fighting this," says OUEA Vice President Karin Barone, an educator at a gifted and talented magnet school. "I worry that there will be further strain." OUEA President Goodlander says he's already seeing impacts in classrooms, where teachers are less willing to think outside the box or try new and innovative pedagogy due to fear of poten- tial retribution from the extremist politicians. " The association has always had a collaborative relation- ship with the district," he says. "This has put undue stress on our relationship." The situation has created an environment where Orange educators are wary about what they say and teach in their class- rooms, lest they end up on social media incurring outrage and phoned-in threats from extremists across the country. Good- lander said some educators who have left the district said they felt like they were being "hunted." In response to the new, extreme direction of the school board, OUEA joined Orange families and community members in work- ing to qualify a recall election for the four school board members currently in the majority. OUEA members including Barone and Chapman have been walking neighborhoods to gather signa- tures on recall petitions — the recall initiative needs to gather more than 13,000 signatures by November to qualify for an elec- tion next spring (visit ousdrecall.com for more information and to spread the word #ousdrecall). "Most of our voters still don't know what's going on," says Chapman, OUEA political action committee chair. "When we're out there talking to people about the recall, we're getting a lot of 'okay, where do I sign?'" Orange Unified Education Association leaders Dr. Heather Chapman, Greg Goodlander and Karin Barone. The Fight to Stop Extremism This is the first in a series of stories where we look at how educators and allies are fighting back against fringe extremist policies and initiatives that erode trust in public education and hurt students and educators. Look for more coverage in our upcoming issues. 29 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 3