In an e-mail to WFAA, the district mentioned there have been two situations the place a guide was “mis-merchandised” and college students purchased books that had been “not age-appropriate.”
GRAPEVINE, Texas — Students within the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District will not have the possibility to pick books at a Scholastic Book Fair this 12 months, because the district has pulled the plug and is looking for one other vendor.
The district mentioned Scholastic did not present a full record of each guide it could promote on the truthful.
In an e-mail to WFAA, the district mentioned there have been two situations the place a guide was “mis-merchandised” and college students purchased books that had been “not age-appropriate” throughout a earlier truthful.
“In working with the vendor, we made requests to ensure that this would be avoided in the future. Those requests included that the vendor provide a comprehensive list of the books that would be for sale at the fairs 14 days in advance, and at this time, the vendor has not offered assurances that they could comply with our expectations,” mentioned the district in an announcement. “We believe the book fair is a positive experience for students and will continue working to ensure that we have book fairs on our campuses this year.”
In an announcement to WFAA, Scholastic mentioned it was solely conscious of 1 occasion the place a scholar bought an grownup guide, however mentioned it hopes it could possibly companion with the district sooner or later.
“For decades, parents teachers and educators have trusted us to curate the best age-appropriate, high-interest books for kids at Scholastic Book Fairs. Every title found in a Scholastic Book Fair has been curated by a team of experts to ensure it meets the highest standards of our school communities,” mentioned Scholastic in an announcement.
“I mean, even as a child in the seventies, I remember the Scholastic book fairs and it’s always been an exciting thing. So, I find the timing suspect,” GCISD guardian Laura Leeman mentioned.
Leeman has two boys in GCISD. She can be a co-administrator of a gaggle known as, Protect GCISD.
“To me, it’s a very clear message that there are politically driven groups who want to control our public education system,” Leeman mentioned.
Leeman mentioned she participated within the district’s guide critiques, which she believes had been performed effectively and transparently.
She mentioned she agrees some books ought to solely be accessible to age-appropriate college students, however these books ought to not be fully faraway from faculties.
“For me, it’s an opportunity to have discussion. That’s the whole purpose of reading, right? It’s to learn things. But also ask questions,” Leeman mentioned. “I might not agree with something. I might read something. It might educate me a little bit more.”
“We are disappointed that GCISD chose not to host Scholastic Book Fairs this fall, but hope to serve their students again in the future,” Scholastic mentioned in an announcement. “Scholastic is excited to begin another year of hosting fairs across Texas, and we are as deeply committed as ever to work with our school partners.”
Leeman and different mother and father level to the politics at play, urging different mother and father to concentrate to what’s happening of their college boards.
“I think we’re teetering down a very difficult path right now and it greatly concerns me, which is why I have no problem speaking about it, because I know we need to do that.”
GCISD’s subsequent college board assembly is Monday.
The district mentioned in an e-mail to oldsters it was looking for different choices.
story by The Texas Tribune Source link