Today, President Obama addressed school children across the nation. The Olentangy Local School District first learned of this message approximately two weeks ago and at that time chose to treat this address just like all other instructional materials such as textbooks and guest speakers. School districts have a limited amount of time with students to cover an expansive curriculum. At Olentangy, administrators review all resources for curriculum relevance to make sure we maximize our educational time with students.
On September 3, a message was sent to parents via our school listserves and the district’s Web site letting them know about the President’s address and that it would be reviewed for specific curriculum area relevance prior to student viewing. This message also stated that parents would be informed if this message was used in classrooms and that the district would respect a parent’s choice to not have their child participate.
The transcript of the President’s message was made available to the public on Monday, September 7 and promptly reviewed from a curriculum standpoint by several Olentangy administrators. I feel that this address does align with Olentangy’s curriculum through these specific talking points at all grade levels in the district’s Guidance Curriculum Maps:
- students will be academically prepared to set goals and make informed decisions about post-secondary options;
- students will identify and utilize strategies to achieve future career goals;
- students will identify the connections among personal qualities, education, training and the world of work; and,
- students will make decisions, set goals and take necessary action to achieve goals.
At this time, the President’s message has been reviewed and found to have ties to district wide curriculum and will be made available in its entirety to all students on Friday, September 11. Parents also have the opportunity to review this message prior to their child seeing it and may become part of the learning process through discussions at home. I feel that this method has protected student time on task, provides a stronger Olentangy curriculum connection for our students and allows parents to become more involved in their child’s education.
Attached to this update is a form that parents may sign and send in to their child’s school to not have their child participate in this program if that is their wish. Due to different schedules and media options, each school will have a different time and format in which they share this 18-minute message with students. However all students will have the opportunity to take part in this lesson. If you have specific questions related to how the staff plans to use this address or alternative activities, please contact your student’s school. Parents may review the President’s address online at www.ed.gov.
I want to thank the many parents and community members who have shared their input related to this matter with myself and other administrators. Olentangy Local Schools is such a special place because as a district we truly value and receive parent input on a daily basis. Please continue to keep the communication lines open throughout the entire school year.