Reading Horizons protesters shut down Minneapolis school board meeting

September 30, 2015

Think the Reading Horizons “issue” is over for the Minneapolis Public Schools?

The protest shut down the Minneapolis school board meeting

Not quite.

A loosely knit group of around 25 protesters–armed with a game show script, homemade signs, and a band of colorful ribbons gathered by Million Artist Movement reps–brought down the September 29 Minneapolis school board meeting. 

On a sheet plastered with images from the “Little Books” Reading Horizons initially sold to the Minneapolis Public Schools, the protesters called for “Change Now!” and demanded the district end its relationship with Reading Horizons. The sheet also called for interim superintendent Michael Goar to publicly apologize, and stated that Goar–or someone–should be fired over the district’s business deal with Utah-based Reading Horizons.

After first gathering in the light filled space outside the Davis Center board room, the group trooped into the official meeting room, chanting, “Whose tax dollars? Our tax dollars!” and “Whose children? Our children!”

image
Getting ready to march in

The protesters then took over the board meeting (which was a business meeting where a key levy vote had to be made) and began rattling off questions in mock game show format.

First up was this: What is the gender and race of all members of the Reading Horizons board? 

The answer? All white males.

Another question: Is there any independent research that shows that Reading Horizons is a successful program? 

Answer: No! The research that proves Reading Horizons works was made by…Reading Horizons!

The board quickly voted to adjourn the meeting and retreat, with District 6 representative Tracine Asberry choosing to remain seated. Board members Rebecca Gagnon and Nelson Inz filtered in and out of the board room as well, with Inz eventually sitting down with the protesters to listen to their demands and concerns. (Goar also returned to sit on the edge of the protesters for a few moments, but made no public comment.)

804 signatures
A reference to a letter sent by protesters Shana Dickson, David Boehnke, and Chaun Webster. Click to access it.

As the board members shuffled out of the room, a stunned hush fell over the meeting room, with Minneapolis Public Schools staff members–some of them clearly outraged, and some of them intrigued–lingering on the fringes of the protest circle.

What happened next probably won’t make it to the evening news, but it should: the protesters sat together, introduced themselves, and explained why they were there.

One woman said her white children, who attend school in Minneapolis, have had “every privilege box checked” so far. They need anti-racist classroom books and curriculum as much as anyone else, she stated.

A current Minneapolis teacher was also there, and said she had just come from a Reading Horizons training session, where K-2 teachers were being shown how to use the company’s phonics curriculum. The teacher said she was not impressed with the training, and described another problem: some teachers at the training had to be called back to their classrooms, as MPS lacks enough subs to cover so many teacher absences at once.

Here is a snapshot of what the protesters were discussing (Including arts educator Barbara Cox’s input);

Further video from the disrupted board meeting shows why the Reading Horizons story has not just blown away with the reassurance that the offending books have been removed (and the accompanying consolation that no children were exposed to them):

The evening ended with board members pushing through their required levy vote, amid a screeching sound system and the further shouts of protesters:

The protesters dissipated long after the board members did, with promises to return for the next regularly scheduled board meeting on October 13.

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