An array of diversity programs should hit Novato classrooms in January, but the school district won’t be looking for input from the Anti-Defamation League.
At a recent meeting, the board of the Novato Unified School District approved five out of six diversity curricula for pilot programs in district schools during this academic year, rejecting only the ADL’s “A World of Difference” program, which addresses issues of prejudice.
Local ADL staff believes the board bowed to the pressure of Christian-right groups and outspoken Novato parents, who publicly called the program anti-American, anti-Christian and negative in its treatment of history.
They also fear ADL may have been blackballed because sexual orientation, which the program addresses, is a hot-button issue for many Novato parents.
Parent Bob Koch, for instance, told the board at its Aug. 20 meeting that “A World of Difference” “trashes America” and pours “gasoline on the flames of historical grievance,” urging students to “look backward with bitterness” on American history “instead of forward with optimism.”
The program, he said, “invites black, brown and Asian children to resent the white children, the Jewish children to resent the Christian children, the girls to resent the boys.”
Absolutely ridiculous, said Nina Grotch, education coordinator for the ADL’s Central Pacific region. She said “A World of Difference” is an anti-bias and diversity education program used internationally by schools, universities, corporations and community and law enforcement agencies.
“If you’re talking honestly about history and teaching kids things there’s nothing negative about that.”
Lynne Walsey, co-chair of United for Safe Schools Novato (a coalition dedicated to ensuring all six diversity programs get approved by the board), agreed.
“The fact that we have the opportunity in this country to look at our history through a critical, or an honest eye makes it a very positive program,” said Walsey, who is Jewish and a parent of two daughters in the Novato Unified School District. “To say we ought not do this is getting into very dangerous ground.”
She also said she was blown away by complaints that the ADL curriculum “didn’t deal with Christmas” but instead focused on Gay Pride Day.
“Hello! The idea is to give a perspective your textbook isn’t likely to. Do you know what it’s like to be Jewish in Novato? There are piles and piles of Christmas decorations all over the place here. We don’t need to honor Christmas any more. Christmas is already honored quite a bit.”
“A World of Difference” is a 17-year-old training program, which started in Boston and has been implemented locally by thousands of teachers in San Francisco Unified, Santa Rosa Unified, Mount Diablo Unified, San Juan Unified and West Contra Costa County school districts, said Grotch. Novato Unified contacted her two years ago, she said, when the board began to explore its options for making a districtwide diversity curriculum.
While the district’s board president, Ross Millerick, said there was recent pressure from concerned parents regarding “A World of Difference,” he contends Novato Unified already has an older version of the ADL program in place. The board, which voted against the training 5-2, was simply trying to conserve its resources for pilot programs, he said.
“We have our plate full at this time, full of other things we’re trying to pilot, and we just felt it was better to wait and have this newer edition come back before the board at a later date,” said Millerick, who voted against it. “This wasn’t a step back, it just wasn’t a step forward.”
Board member Perry Newman, who voted in favor of “A World of Difference” training, chose not to comment, “except to say that all the rumors,” from anti-Semitism to homophobia, “have an element of truth.”
Grotch, meanwhile, was astounded when informed that the Novato district said it already had “A World of Difference” in place. To the best of her knowledge, the ADL had only done a brief three-hour training program with 40 Novato teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade in 1998. Typically, she said, the program lasts at least two full days. The comprehensive curriculum, she said, has also been updated since then and is much more relevant to the times.
Dianne Pavia, director of public information for the Novato Unified School District, said the board had previously approved an older version of “A World of Difference” as supplemental material.
“I’m not sure how many teachers are actually using it at this point,” she said.
At the meeting the board unanimously approved four pilot programs:
*”Bully Proofing,” a K-12 program designed to help staff, students and parents respond to bullying.
*”Different and the Same,” a K-3 program that uses videos and puppets to promote friendship and individuality.
*”Get Real About Violence,” a K-12 program promoting civility and addressing consequences for infractions.
*”Giraffes and Heroes,” a K-12 program that promotes positive role models.
More controversial was the approval of the video “That’s a Family,” a documentary that includes gay and lesbian-parented families. It was approved by a vote of 5-2, but not without a fight from parents who virulently opposed its content.
Parents can choose to opt their children out of a pilot program at any time, but one parent group, Novato Parents and Family Coalition, is currently soliciting signatures for a petition objecting to the district’s “use of any controversial/divisive diversity materials, including, but not limited to, ‘That’s A Family.'” The parents’ main concern is its treatment of sexual orientation.
Calls to the coalition regarding “A World of Difference” were not returned.
Training for the pilot programs will begin within the next couple of months, with test runs beginning in January, said Pavia. Teachers will report to the school board in May or June on the effectiveness of the programs.
Koch, who said he read the 800-page “A World of Difference” training manual from cover to cover, is “very happy” that the program did not get approved.
Apart from his disagreements with its portrayal of history, he raised an objection that “any public school text book should be written by a religious organization,” like the ADL.
“Religious organizations are not dispassionate. They see history through a narrow perspective,” he said. “It’s not fair to take out Christianity and replace it with Judaism.”
ADL board member Michael Franzblau said this is “what we call in Yiddish a bubbemeysa (old wives’ tale).
“The ADL is a defense organization that represents the interest of Jews and other members of society who are oppressed. To say that it is a religious organization is an absurdity. It defends people by countering defamation.”
Grotch agrees that “A World of Difference” works very hard to keep its autonomy from the ADL. “We’re very clear about who we are, that we are part of the ADL, but that’s the end of it,” she said. “Our facilitators are Asian, African-American, Jewish, Christian — We focus on diversity and prejudice as a whole.”