Religion in Our Schools Revisited

Religion in Our School Revisited
Posted on 12/07/2017

Several school and community stakeholders attended a recent meeting of the School District of the Menomonie Area Board of Education in support of diversity and teaching about religion in our schools. Somehow a misunderstanding fueled by information circulated through the community and social media spurred concerns that students at Menomonie Middle School would no longer be allowed to learn about the Islamic religion during the school day. Since that time, school officials have been receiving a number of inquiries and letters of support from various sides of this issue, and several questions related to last year’s discussions about diversity in the school district have resurfaced.

Last year, the school district processed two formal complaints which stemmed from a guest speaker presenting information about the Muslim culture and Islamic religion to the 8th grade English language arts class. At that time, the school board ultimately ruled that no laws were broken, and it was determined that our schools have a dual obligation for teaching about and comparing religions, while at the same time not endorsing any particular faith. With that understanding, the Board provided some clear directives for SDMA educators moving forward.

In addition to the Board’s planned review of related policies, administrators were directed to improve the district’s procedures for parents and students wishing to opt out of particular learning activities, and to work with SDMA teachers to ensure that the curriculum being taught was balanced and not endorsing any particular religion. While the review of policies and the improvement of the opt out procedures have been completed, a review of the district’s curriculum is ongoing.

As the teachers and administrative staff at Menomonie Middle School make plans for upcoming units and lessons this year, discussions have occurred for how to best instruct students within the guidelines set forth by the various laws, policies, and expectations surrounding this complicated issue. A variety of ideas including the possibility of involving parents, having a panel discussion with representatives from all major world religions, and creating an interdisciplinary lesson in conjunction with the social studies department’s Word Religions unit are some of the ideas that have been considered.

It appears that information discussed during this year’s internal planning discussions may have been prematurely shared and interpreted by some as the school district trying to censor instruction. Community communications received by the school district indicate that some stakeholders are concerned that the use of outside speakers would be prohibited, or purposefully scheduled in a way that would minimize student participation. While final plans are still being developed by the team of educators who will be teaching lessons sometime after the new year, community members can rest assured that the district will not be censoring instruction related to major world religions or endorsing any one particular religion over the others. 

Thank you to everyone who cares so much about public education in our community. Should school families or community stakeholders have any questions about religion in our schools or anything else in our school district, I invite you to visit me at the Administrative Service Center on Pine Avenue, or contact me at 715-232-1642. More information about our schools can be found on the school district website (www.sdmaonline.com), and I regularly post school-related information on Twitter (www.twitter.com/sdmaonline) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/menomonie.schools)