Maple Avenue Middle School Parents are angry that the district gave no prior notification or asked for parental consent before exposing their children to a highly personal and inappropriate line of questioning in front of their peer group.
Saratoga Springs, NY - Maple Avenue Middle School faced criticism this week after administrators replaced a physical education class with an activity from the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) without notifying parents beforehand. The NCBI activity was conducted by high school students from the school district's NCBI club, and involved asking 7th grade students a series of personal and potentially inappropriate questions. These included questions about their family, background, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Parents and caregivers were not informed about the activity prior to its implementation, and no prior parental consent was obtained. This inquisition-like activity was not conducted by teachers or other licensed professionals. Instead, it was conducted by high school students, which raises questions about their qualifications to conduct such an activity. 7th grade students were asked a series of questions in a large group setting and were publicly recognized in front of their peers if they answered "yes" to any of the questions.
The list of questions asked of the students includes:
1. Have you experienced the loss of a family member?
2. Are you adopted?
3. What is your religion?
4. What are your pronouns?
5. Are you rich or poor?
6. Are you Black and if so, were you born in America or Africa?
7. Do you identify as LGBTQ?
8. What is your heritage and where are you from?
Moving Saratoga Forward spoke with more than a half dozen families that expressed concern and outrage at the lack of transparency and sensitivity in implementing such an activity. Most of those family members refused to go on record over fear of retaliation from the school district.
Michael Biss, who has a grandchild that participated in the NCBI activity, said; “the districts failing to advise parents on this, especially in light of similar incidents national wide that have drawn the ire of parents shows that they are willingly trying to keep parents out of the loop.” “Any question like these asked without an educator or licensed professional in the room is wrong;” said Biss.
Following a series of complaints about the activity from families of children who participated in the event, Maple Avenue Middle School administrators sent an email communication to the families of 7th grade students, alerting them to the presence of the NCBI event happening in replacement of their physical education class. However, the administration did not provide a detailed explanation of the event, the types of questions asked, or seek prior parental consent.
Parents and caregivers have the right to know what their children are being taught in the classroom, and there should be a proactive system in place where curriculum materials and classroom content are easily accessible to families who may need special consideration during the teaching of highly sensitive topics. School administrators should understand the importance of working together with families to ensure that vulnerable students experience a positive and safe learning environment.
Principal Singer of Maple Ave Middle School did not respond for a request for comment.
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