Excuse Me Ma’am, Your Racism is Showing

Whitewashing History at the PUSD Board Meeting

It was just the second Thursday of the month, so you know what that means! That’s right! The Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) governing board circus meeting was back in session!

 Not only did I attend the PUSD board meeting, I also attended the Deer Valley Unified School District (DVUSD) board meeting on 8/8/23. PLUS, I also watched Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD), Catalina Foothills School District (CFSD), and Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) online. 

It’s…a lot.

This is important work, y’all, but I’m only one person. So I’m putting out the call for anyone who would like to write summaries of their local school board meetings so we can share them on our Substack. If you are interested in ANY kind of school board advocacy and support, you can let us know here. If you care about my mental well being, you’ll help a sister out. 

OK! On with the circus!

The district office was HOPPIN’ with most of the usual attendees, and as I was walking to my seat, I ran into 🧻USA darling, Tiffany Benson. My mother always taught me to “kill ‘em with kindness” so I acted like a normal person and said, “Hi, Tiffany, how are you?” and you would have thought I slapped her in the face, because she couldn’t even muster a “good, and you?” and huffed and puffed, and stammered out a “uh, pfft, yeah, pfft, uh, um, herm” and just made it awkward. 

But then I remembered that she thinks I’m a literal demon, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. 

The meeting started with the Pledge of course, and this time, one of the MAGA grandmas not only said “AMEN!” at the end but also made the sign of the cross. This is not my first rodeo, so nothing surprises me anymore. 

Next, a staff travel request was pulled from the consent agenda (routine items for approval), and we’re off!

Next, it was time for board members’ updates, and something truly beautiful happened. If you’ve been following along, you know that Board Members Hill and Rooks have been reading scripture from the dais, despite the threat of a lawsuit from the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF). So a couple of constituents submitted their public comments to address board comments. So clever!

A couple of regular attendees (an employee and a parent) used their time to implore Rooks and Hill to knock it off already with their proselytizing from the dais. When Hill had a chance to address their comments, she said she had every right to say whatever she wants but did NOT read scripture (hmmmm). She did however add her “every student, every day, except the girls” nonsense. 

Rooks echoed her sentiment about their bastardized motto, and then gave her update to include her take on the back-to-school rally. And what happened next was…just…racist. 

Apparently, PUSD showed a couple of videos to get everyone excited about the new year, and she had “feedback” about the videos. One of the videos said that the district’s clients are the students. As a former teacher and governing board member, I found myself aggressively nodding my head. Why did I get into education? THE KIDS! 

But Rooks went on to say that the clients are the parents, and that’s just the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.

Trust and believe, I have more hope and faith in the youth of this country than I do most adults. While I considered teaching at the college level for a hot second, I’m that special kind of weirdo that would much rather be with a bunch of awkward, stinky, and silly middle schoolers than their parents every damn day of the week. 

I didn’t create lessons for my students’ parents. I created lessons for my students. I asked myself, as all good teachers do, what would my kids want to learn about, not what their parents want to learn. 

And this is where the Christofascists will call me “groomer” or “indoctrinator” but I’m just a damn good teacher. I created curriculum and found books with my students and their interests in mind. That’s what damn good teachers do, and all these pArEnTs RiGhTs ghouls can kick rocks. 

Now. That’s not to say I didn’t work with parents. I did. Like, all the time. I called all of my students’ parents and guardians before the start of the year. I posted my materials on the school website when one was available. I attended every parent-teacher conference every year I had my own classroom. I didn’t hide a damn thing from my students’ parents, and this bullshit narrative of teachers being groomers or indoctrinators who actively work to suppress parental input is just that. 

BULLSHIT.

The other “offensive” video that Board Member Rooks Karened about was one that showed the history of racial diversity and inclusion in PUSD. From what I heard about the video, it took viewers on a journey of the history of PUSD and specifically how the PUSD school board has always governed with their most vulnerable and marginalized students in mind. 

This history include allowing Japanese-Americans and Japanese immigrants to attend PUSD schools after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, leading the way with regards to school integration and allowing both Black and White students on the same campus, allowing women in sports, and making sure that students with disabilities have the accommodations they need. 

All this to show how the district motto of “Every Student, Every Day, Prepared to Shape Tomorrow” came about. Sounds like good stuff, right? Not if you’re Heather Rooks. 

Turns out, that video had Board Member Rooks in a tizzy. She had an angry that the district shared its (accurate) history of racial diversity and inclusivity because they “made it all about race.” She said that the history shouldn’t just focus on skin color but on achievements and growth in education, and all I could think was, “THAT SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE WHAT THEY DID.”

Did she mean to say that she just wanted to hear about the achievements and growth in education of the white kids only? Not sure, but one thing I do know is that anyone who opposes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs might just be racist.

And seriously, folks, please watch the video here. This is simply a video highlighting the accurate history of exclusion in America and how Peoria led the way to be more inclusive. 

But board members like Rooks and Hill want to Florida my Arizona. (As you may have heard, PragerU “History & Blessings” curriculum will now be taught in FL schools, and Arkansas will no longer offer African American AP History classes because of their anti-CRT laws.) 

I’m not going to go into all the public comments from this meeting, except for those from a wonderful, eloquent young man, Mikah Dyer, who happens to be a student at Ironwood High School. He basically told the board to remember that they’re there for the students. It was so beautiful, and you can watch the video here. 

I’m happy to report that the pro-public education speakers outnumbered the MAGA deplorables by about 3-1, so good job, folks who show up and engage! And for the rest of you, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? 

The rejection of diversity, equity, and inclusion didn’t end with last month’s meeting when Rooks and Hill rejected a FREE partnership with Microsoft. It didn’t end with Rooks’ complaints about a historically accurate video that showcased the diversity of the district. And it didn’t stop when during this August 10th meeting, both Rooks and Hill voted against allowing school counselors to travel to a conference because some of the workshops included DEI. Thankfully, the other three board members voted to approve that travel request. 

But! 2024 is right around the corner, and three seats (Hill, Sandoval, and Sorensen) are up for grabs. You know the drill, folks. This is where I am going to ask you to get involved. 

Email. Call. Show up. Speak out. Run for office. 

Because you know what? The other side is doing all of that. I don’t want to come across as ageist here, but the average age at many of these meetings is probably 60. Folks who don’t even have kids in the district are raging against best practices in education because they think are being told that it’s “woke.”

It’s time to get involved, folks! If you care about AZ students learning accurate (rather than whitewashed) history, NOW is the time to take action.