Letter to the Editor: But is it happening in Lowell Area Schools?

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What is REALLY going on in our schools?

Spring 2020. While parents were busy working, checking backpacks, carpooling, and cheering and clapping for our kids, Covid-19 and the ensuing governmental mandates and lockdowns came along and put it all to a screeching halt. Everyone struggled in their own way, but children took the brunt of it while the adults of the world floundered to agree on a way for them to “safely” live their lives.

At a time when our Nation was divided by deep differences in beliefs related to virus mandates (masks and Covid vaccines), the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd occurred, and racially charged riots ensued, bringing BLM and Antifa violence and division to cities and towns across America including our very own Grand Rapids and even our beloved Lowell. As a result, many businesses and schools felt the need to issue “equity statements” as a show of support for ending “systemic racism”, which some viewed was the cause of the racially charged riots during the Spring/Summer of 2020. On June 5, 2020, each of the 20 Kent Intermediate School District Superintendents, including Greg Pratt who was LAS Superintendent at the time, signed onto the ‘KISA Equity Statement’, penned by the Kent Intermediate Superintendents’ Association. KISA-Statement-on-George-Floyd-killing-June-2020-1.pdf (schoolnewsnetwork.org)

This statement was a written acknowledgement that our District would focus on ending inequity, implicit bias, and racist practices and policies that they felt were present within our schools. And with that, the active push for DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) within Lowell Schools was born. Almost immediately after the KISA Statement, Greg Pratt resigned, and Nate Fowler stepped in as Interim Superintendent in August 2020. When questioned about DEI, Mr. Fowler claimed he didn’t know much about it. A ‘Freedom of Information Act’ (FOIA) request proved otherwise. Not only did Mr. Fowler know about DEI, but immediately leading up to his new role as Interim Superintendent of Lowell Area Schools, he was the DIRECTOR of the Lowell Area Schools DEI Team! Formed in 2018, the DEI team began because of a couple of Lowell families who had expressed concerns about isolated incidents which had occurred with their children while they were students of LAS. Prior to 2020, the team met very infrequently, and progress was slow. However, in the fall of 2020, rather than proving the need for a District-wide change in programming and being transparent with the Lowell Community, the team began meeting regularly, naming school-specific representatives, and working hard to bring diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts into our schools via school-based clubs (Gay-Straight Alliance, International Club, Women in Sports, etc.), sex ed programs, staff use of gender pronouns, “safe space” signs and stickers, fundraisers, staff professional development, book donations from area bookstores and the Lowell Education Foundation etc. These books include such topics as BLM, Antifa, LGBTQ+, political/racial/sexual activism, defund the police, pornography, etc. There is now a section of books in the library catalogued under “DEI”, and some elementary teachers report having had DEI books “donated” to their classroom libraries over the summer. Many of these books are readily available to minors, and the only way a parent would know is if their child checks one out and discovers it for themselves. There is an ever growing list of over 400 books in K-12 libraries which have been found by concerned parents to contain age-inappropriate or pornographic material. There is currently no Board policy governing individual classroom libraries. Our schools have been made aware that there are at- least 140 of these in our schools, yet they continue to stand by their word that “there is no obscene or inappropriate material in our schools”. Go to ‘Mary in the Library’ Michigan on Facebook to see what parents are finding in schools across the State, and then go to Destiny Discover | Follett School Solutions | School Picker (gofollett.com) which is the online library catalog for Lowell Area Schools (your tax dollars pay for this!) to see which ones we have in our libraries. We can either attack this known eyesore in our K-12 schools one book at a time through the District’s backward approach, or we can dig in and get our hands dirty and actually fix this problem in a timely manner. It’s not that difficult, and those parents who want their children to have access to pornography can still do-so either through an “adult” section in our school libraries, or at the public libraries where ALL books are available. Even if only 1% of our books are inappropriate, isn’t it worth it to protect young minds from potentially harmful and addictive pornographic material?

In an attempt to recover from the Covid lockdowns and resulting drop in attendance, 20%+ drop in test scores (www.mischooldata.org), mental health crisis, etc. the Federal and State government have ushered billions of dollars in taxpayer funds into our schools nationwide in the form of ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) and other grant money. Teachers unions (NEA, MEA, and locally the LEA) are pushing hard for this money! Lowell Area Schools has partaken in every grant it can get its hands on. The problem is, the money is earmarked for government programs (if we take the money, we are required to spend a certain portion of it a certain way) which include divisive teachings and curriculum aimed at teaching our children how to look at the world through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion, racial, sexual, and political differences. Watch and listen for mention of programs such as DEI, SEL (Social Emotional Learning), PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions & Support), MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) and more, and then go to websites such as https://www.purpleforparentsindiana.com , www.michiganlibertyleaders.com/resources, and begin your journey to understanding what is REALLY going on in your children’s schools.

I am an open book! Everything stated here can be backed with physical proof and evidence. Please feel free to reach out to me for facts and resources, as most of it comes directly from concerned parents, students, and teachers, many of whom are afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation. I have a list of thousands of concerned parents and teachers across the US who are not OK with what is being pushed on our children in public schools today and I could list those here, however I will spare you! My only purpose in the efforts I have put into this movement for the past 3 years is FOR THE KIDS and the future of America! I appreciate your time, but your kids will appreciate it even more!

Stefanie Boone
Concerned LAS Parent and Mother of 6
Former K-8 Public Schools Teacher
Ada Township