From the
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
this morning: [ since removed as it was a improper use of the guestbook
but will be placed under the CURRENT EVENTS section on the web site ]
Saturday 01/29/2005 3:47:14pm
Name: Jean [delete]
E-Mail: [delete]
Homepage Title: We The Parents
Homepage URL: http://www.stevenscreekparents.org
Referred By: Just Surfed In
Location: Cupertino, CA
Comments: Contact: Nathalie [delete]
California parents request retraction and apology from Alliance Defense
Fund
Cupertino, California. 1-24-2005. A group of parents from Stevens Creek
Elementary School in Cupertino, California, has sent a letter to the
Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) requesting the retraction of a misleading press
release, and an apology for the damages caused.
On November 22, 2004, the ADF issued a press release with the headline,
“Declaration of Independence banned from classroom,” to publicize a lawsuit
filed in Federal Court against Stevens Creek Elementary School principal
Patricia Vidmar, the school district and school board members. Due to its
inflammatory nature, the press release was widely covered in the media and
resulted in thousands of obscene and hostile calls, faxes and emails
directed at Vidmar and the school To ensure the safety of students and
staff, the Santa Clara Sheriff's Department posted two Sheriff Officers on
school grounds to protect the children and staff for the weeks following
their return to class from the Thanksgiving holiday.
"For the ADF to target Stevens Creek Elementary in this way is, to be
charitable, silly. If anything, our school should be hailed by this group I
once supported,” said Larry Woodard. "The founding documents are taught in
the correct historic and religious context. Our children sing patriotic
songs such as ‘God Bless America’ in class and school assemblies; recite
the Pledge of Allegiance, the version that includes ‘under God,’ every day;
and holds an annual Holiday sing-along. The “Good News Club”, an after
school Christian club meets regularly on campus, along with other after
school organizations."
The lawsuit concerned the way in which the principal reviewed lesson plans
and supplemental handouts of fifth grade teacher Stephen Williams,
following a number of complaints from parents over an extended period of
time. According to the open letter, the press release, which is still
posted on the ADF web site, contains a number of glaring inaccuracies:
The Declaration of Independence was not banned. It is printed in full in
the textbook that all fifth grade teachers, including the claimant, Mr.
Stephen Williams use. It is also posted in locations throughout the school.
During the Hannity and Colmes program, Williams denied the claim that the
Declaration of Independence was banned.
The children at Stevens Creek Elementary are taught history with the
correct religious background in an exemplary program within the district.
The school has been widely recognized for the Living History Program
implemented at the fifth grade level every year.
According to Mike Johnson of the ADF (Baptist Press News, December 20,
2004), “The school ground is the battleground now in the culture war when
it comes to religious expression. Teachers are in the crosshairs.” The
letter urges ADF to remember that, in schools, children are most affected
by that hostile environment.
“What right do they have to disrupt our community and make a police
presence necessary at our school?” Richard Crouch said, “It is sad that a
group that claims to protect the 'right to speak and hear the Truth' should
show such contempt for the facts while pursuing what we believe is a
political agenda.”
Nathalie Schuler noted, “I know parents in the school who used to donate to
the ADF, but are now absolutely disgusted by their assertions and what they
see as un-Christian behavior. I hope that anyone who cares about the
well-being of this nation's children will think twice before supporting
this group when there are so many other honorable Christian organizations
in need of support.”
The letter to the ADF is posted on www.stevenscreekparents.org
Open letter to Alliance Defense Fund
We, The Parents, an organization of parents of students at Stevens Creek
Elementary School in Cupertino, California, request that you retract the
misstatements about our school contained in your press release dated
11/23/04, still present on your website. Further, we feel that a public
apology from your organization for the disruption it has caused our
community would be appropriate.
Your press release, which falsely asserts that our school has banned the
Declaration of Independence from the classroom, was picked up by Reuters,
and quickly spread via internet blogs, talk show radio, and, of course, Fox
News. The school’s mailboxes, answering machines and emails were thereafter
flooded with well over 3000 hate-filled messages from all over the country
and abroad. Security, including sheriff's patrols, was immediately
heightened at the school much to the concern and distress of both parents
and children.
While you may not have directly contacted the many people who felt
compelled to vent their hostility toward our principal and school, we
believe your organization is nonetheless responsible. This reaction was the
direct consequence of the incendiary headline that can still be found on
your webpage, “Declaration of Independence Banned from Classroom.” We
therefore ask that you stop exposing our school and our children to more
harm by continuing to state what is clearly false on your website. We
request a withdrawal of your headline and a public retraction. Surely, in
all good conscience, you cannot continue to falsely represent that our
school has banned the Declaration of Independence from the classroom.
Your group states on its website that it supports and defends families and
family values. Yet, it appears that since 2001 you have targeted schools
and therefore the families that make up those schools in order to achieve
what we believe is your political agenda. In a recent interview, one of
your spokespersons said that you view schools as the “new battleground.” Do
you realize that your battleground is where we send our children? Is that
the environment in which you want to fight a battle? How does learning take
place in a school besieged by hate mail triggered by an incendiary and
erroneous headline on your website? We wonder if your supporters realize
that your actions may be tearing the very fabric you purport to weave.
We have seen firsthand that truth has been a casualty in this case. But
most of all it is disturbing to see how an organization that claims to
defend the truth and Christian values spreads false information about our
school, its principal and our local school board. These actions can only
undermine the public’s trust in your organization, and may cause even some
of your supporters to question your actions and your judgment.
It is not our objective to address whether your lawsuit has any merit; that
will ultimately be decided by the courts. We would, however, like to point
out a few discrepancies between what you have stated on your website and
the truth:
1- Our Principal, Patricia Vidmar, and our School District have never
banned the Declaration of Independence. It is fully reproduced in the fifth
grade history text book that Stephen Williams and all other Stevens Creek
fifth grade teachers are obliged to use in their classrooms and is proudly
displayed at the library of the school, where it always has been.
2- In the Hannity and Colmes program (12/8/04), you attended with your
client, Mr. Williams himself denied your false claim that the Declaration
of Independence was banned by our Principal! He called it a “bit of a
stretch” and even stated “my kids have read the Declaration.”
3- Our children, contrary to what you have led many to believe, are
properly taught not only the Declaration of Independence, but all the other
founding documents included in the fifth grade history curriculum. In fact,
our Living History program is highly touted as an example to follow for
other schools. Through this program, our children re-live the days of the
explorers and the Colonial Days. And the highlight of the program is the
overnight Revolutionary War Encampment that allows them to learn about the
war, medical practices of the day, social customs and food of the period
and experience firsthand some of the hardships our patriots experienced.
According to your website, the purpose of your organization is “defending
the right to hear and speak the Truth . . . .” Why do you stray from the
truth in this case? We urge you now to set the record straight, retract
your false assertion regarding the Declaration of Independence and
apologize for the harm done to our fine school and its reputation.
Sincerely,
We the parents and over 55 signatures on file.
****************************************************************
All are invited here
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
and you might like to check this out as well
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
.
|
