The Francis Howell School Board plans to vote this month on new curricula for the district's Black history and Black literature courses, a decision that would ensure that the district continues to offer the classes.
But some parents are worried that the school board may not agree with the changes.
The board in December voted to remove the classes because they relied in part on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s social justice standards. The board plans to vote on the new curricula on March 21.
The revised courses don’t include the social justice standards. The Black literature course covers much of the same material, with units focused on exploring the Black experience and the impact of Black voices.
The Black history course takes a chronological approach, starting with ancient African history, the slave trade, up to the Civil Rights Movement and the present day. However, the units will put less emphasis on why studying Black history is important and how economic policies have largely prevented many Black Americans from building wealth.
The original classes are still offered at the district’s three high schools.
The board’s 5-2 vote in December sparked outrage among students and parents. The board president and superintendent announced a week later that the classes would return under a “politically neutral” curriculum.
“There’s nothing wrong with what we've had,” said Harry Harris, a Black parent who ran for school board last year. “Teachers have been impressed by it, families have been happy with it, like there's never been anything wrong with the curriculum.”
Harris said that he appreciates the chronological approach and that the core lessons from the original course are still in the proposals. But Harris is still concerned that the board won’t approve the classes and that the changes won’t satisfy the board’s majority.
“Until they actually pass everything, until we're able to put this discussion to bed, I will have that concern,” Harris said.
Board President Adam Bertrand did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, the Southern Poverty Law Center said the board’s decision undermines the rights of children and parents who seek an honest and inclusive education.
Board member Janet Stiglich voted for the original curricula in 2020 and voted against removing the classes and the curricula in December. She said she has faith in the district’s curriculum team.
“The people that wrote it, or came back to write it, really did try to keep the depth of what the original what the intensive of course was,” Stiglich said.
Stiglich said that she’s unsure how the board will vote and that she’s been kept out of the loop by the majority on numerous conversations.
The previous board voted to create the classes in 2020, after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, sparking nationwide protests. After an election last year, the board’s majority changed with the new board members opposing the curricula, paving the way for changes.
The next school board race is in April. Stiglich and Chad Lange, who also voted to keep the classes, are not running for reelection.
The board’s direction has some worried that it will ignore the proposed curricula in favor of a different one that fits another agenda.
“It could be that the board majority has their heart set on something else, and the administration’s proposal is not going to work,” said Steven Blair, a candidate for the school board this year.
Blair supports the current curricula and objected to the December vote. But he said the district has larger problems that need to be addressed, like teacher retention and increasing salaries.
State data show the district’s average full-time teacher salary ranked 13th among districts in St. Charles County, St. Louis County and St. Louis during the 2022-23 school year, falling six places since 2016. The district's full-time equivalent average salary is $67,159, about $7,000 above average in the three counties. The district also had about 40 fewer full-time teachers than it had during the 2020-21 school year.
Many teachers worry the recent controversy will only drive more teachers away, said Carolie Owens, another school board candidate who supports the original and new curricula. She said some residents also are concerned.
“They're worried about their property values, are we going to keep our property values when we have all these attacks on our schools,” Owens said. “People think, ’Well, I don't want to go there and get in the middle of that, I don't want to buy a home in that district.’”
But some parents are hopeful the board will approve the new curricula. The Black literature curriculum expands on units that focus on concepts designed to help readers learn more about themselves and others. To help students learn new topics, the new curriculum also aims to help the reader understand the author's point of view. That could allow readers to better understand what they’re reading, said Carrie Ziolkowski, a Francis Howell parent with two children in the district.
Ziolkowski said it’s now up to the board to decide if it wants to keep the classes.
“The district's done exactly what you've asked them to do, and possibly a little bit more and they've done it quickly and in a way that was very transparent and open,” Ziolkowski said. “If they don't agree to this curriculum, then what was their intent? Was their intent to get rid of more than just the Southern Poverty Law Center standards?”
