Sources within Deerfield (IL) High School have indicated that, although District 113, Superintendent George Fornero claims that,
“The Board of Education, school administration, and the involved teacher are aware that Angels in America is a provocative work intended for mature and thoughtful readers and support Jeff Berger-White's decision to teach it..."In reality some in the administration were not aware that Angels in America was being taught, were not aware of its offensive content, and would not support its teaching. In fact, some administrators are angry at the implication that they would support such a text.
Dr. Fornero’s public statement (excerpted above) suggests that all administrators supported the teaching of this pernicious play. His comment fails to mention that some, perhaps many, administrators were excluded from this process, including even the English Department Chair, according to faculty sources. Those administrators who were excluded from the decision-making process and who find the teaching of this play reprehensible are now being portrayed by the Superintendent as having given their stamp of approval to its teaching.
As a result of the District's selective public statements, parents remain largely unaware of how many teachers in District 113 are angry about this indefensible decision but are afraid to speak out. Anyone who pays taxes, whether they have children in school right now or not, should be outraged and speak out now.
Here are some steps that parents and taxpayers can take to ascertain exactly where the blame lies for this unconscionable decision:
- Contact the administration and demand to know specifically who approved this decision, since many administrators were not included and likely would not have approved it. Demand to know names.
- Demand also to know the names of school board members who approved this decision.
- Ask for the names of administrators who were excluded from the decision-making process.
- Ask for the names of administrators who were included but did not approve.
- Ask which teacher has been teaching Angels in America for five years at Highland Park HS.
- Ask what year parental notification letters were first sent out to parents at HPHS and DHS.
- Ask what year an alternative text was formally made available to students at HPHS and DHS ("formally" means, rather than merely providing one after a parent on their own requested opting their child out).
Taxpayers are urged to forward answers to the above, as provided by the school(s), to feedback@culturecampaign.com
