School Board Approves Curriculum Under Some Public Scrutiny

February 10, 2022

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The room for the Oskaloosa School Board was filled with parents, community members and teachers on Tuesday evening. They were joined by many who watched the live stream.

The attention was around a proposed curriculum for the Oskaloosa Elementary School, ‘Wit and Wisdom.’

The proposed materials had gotten the attention of area parents who shared concerns in a group chat on social media.

An article was published by another media outlet concerning the curriculum that created, at times, heated emotions by those involved.

Parents in Oskaloosa said they are not racists but felt they were being portrayed in that light.

The problematic text for parents revolved around a book that was described to involve a mother having a miscarriage, and parents believed that could be too graphic for some.

But on Tuesday night’s board meeting, four people stepped forward to say they supported the curriculum, and one other person stepped forward to voice their concern that ethics had been broken by a board member or member of the school administration in the release of information to the media.

Teachers and administrators said they were happy to continue working with parents to find alternatives for controversial points.

Clint O’Day and Kathy Butler were the two opposing votes, while the remaining five board members voted in favor of the new curriculum.

The Oskaloosa School District isn’t the only school district to have had parents concerned about the material. School districts in Tennessee, for example, have also expressed concerns.

The publisher of Wit and Wisdom directs those interested in the ability of the curriculum to help students learn to the non-profit EdReports.org, which gave the curriculum nearly perfect scores.

Helping students gain knowledge after the disruption that the pandemic brought to education was a driving factor for the teachers and administration in the selection.

Oskaloosa School Board President Sharma Parlett said, “it’s been a very good discussion.”

“The bottom line for me is would I want my grandkids to be reading that. And they’re all in elementary school. Yes, I would want them to read those books. And I would want them and encourage them to have the conversations around that content,” Parlett added.

“Teachers are going to do what’s best for the kids. That’s what they’ve always done. So I have no qualms with trusting them with that [curriculum].”