Darien School Board Looks To Craft Policy On Challenging Materials

DARIEN, CT — In the wake of the controversy surrounding "Julián is a Mermaid," a picture book that was read to Darien second graders earlier this year, the Darien Board of Education has decided to pursue a formal policy that would establish a process in which community members can challenge materials in the classroom.

The board of education voted last week to have the board's policy committee work on the matter. The board's curriculum committee originally discussed the idea during a Dec. 8 meeting.

Board Secretary Sara Parent brought the matter forward during last week's full board meeting.

Parent noted that over the past few years, there have been instances in which instructional materials were questioned by parents or members of the community. Such instances were dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and complainants were told to go through the school district's chain of communication.

"I think that the lack of current formal process has led to some communication issues and a lack of understanding on both sides, on both the teacher and administration side, as well as the people who are making the challenges as to what to expect in that process," Parent said. "I think coming out of this most recent instance where we're still receiving emotional public comment on all sides, having a more formalized, efficient and streamlined process delineated within our policies would be very helpful."

Superintendent of Darien Public Schools Alan Addley agreed.

"I think it's a good idea. It's always better to have the policy as opposed to being reactive to a lack of procedure," Addley said. "In all likelihood, a policy would come out that will allow any individual to review the material, or ask for a review or challenge the material, but that remains to be determined by the policy committee."

The school district has gone through a turbulent few months after members of the community voiced concerns over the book "Julián is a Mermaid."

Parent Megan Watros, who has two children at Royle Elementary School, first mentioned "Julián is a Mermaid" to the board of education during its regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 25. She said she was concerned that the book was read to her daughter's second grade class.

The book is written and illustrated by Jessica Love, and depicts a young boy, Julián, who, while riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, notices three women spectacularly dressed up as mermaids.

"When Julián gets home, daydreaming of the magic he’s seen, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a butter-yellow curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for his headdress," the book's description says.

"But what will Abuela think about the mess he makes — and even more importantly, what will she think about how Julián sees himself?" the description continues. "Mesmerizing and full of heart, Jessica Love’s author-illustrator debut is a jubilant picture of self-love and a radiant celebration of individuality."

Following a review from the school district's curriculum team, the book was found to be appropriate and will stay in circulation.

Addley told Patch last month that the book is used and selected to support the district's social emotional learning curriculum, and it supports concepts of diversity and unconditional love. It also supports overall district goals, the strategic plan and vision of the graduate, he added.

Objections to the book have made national news. The CT GOP tweeted about the book, and the Proud Boys of CT, a right-wing extremist group whose Twitter account has since been suspended, also commented on the matter.

Much of the public comment period during last week's Board of Education meeting focused on the the book and its impact on the school district.

Barry Palmer, president of the Darien Education Association, the union that represents over 470 teachers in the school district, agreed that there should be more stakeholder voices in the curriculum review process.

He said the last two months have been damaging.

"The recent national publicity regarding our curriculum has acutely impacted staff morale. Misinformation and fear mongering associated with this public conversation has been damaging to the educational process," he said.

Palmer criticized Watros for appearing on FOX News last month.

"I cannot for the life of me understand how someone can go on national TV to complain about a board curriculum policy before they have ever attended a board curriculum or board policy subcommittee meeting," Palmer said. "At best, this represents poor judgement. At worst, it is exploiting our children's education in order to score political points or raise public profiles. Regardless, this behavior should be called out for what it is, and not be tolerated."

Watros spoke during the public comment period, and reiterated that she's not anti-teacher. She said she has a responsibility to protect her children from inappropriate material, and said middle school would be a better age for students to be introduced to "Julián is a Mermaid."

Parent Jon Dunn also said he supports teachers and students, but said the administration is "continuing to use a book with some of our youngest students that unequivocally promotes gender identity themes while telling parents it's not used to teach gender identity."

"Why does this administration have so little respect for concerned parents' intelligence and basic common sense?" Dunn added. "If this administration is going to continue to push its gender identity curriculum on 7-year-olds, I ask them to be honest and transparent while doing so."

Darien resident Alicia Johnson said Darien has been dragged into a national conversation about materials and banning books. She hoped to redirect the conversation "back to our schools away from the right wing echo chamber about banning books, and get back to supporting our teachers and education for our students."

Parent Cathrin Bowtell said she supported the inclusion of "Julián is a Mermaid" in the curriculum.

She said "echo-chamber critiques and politics have escalated all the way up to national media and right wing terrorist organizations" over the last two months.

"A few minority critical voices have dragged our community into the limelight, and have taken the time and goodwill of many of you, our teachers, our school administrators, our PTO members and leaders, to really focus on a view that is not represented by the majority of parents living in Darien today," she said.

"Surely, teaching acceptance to our young children is more important than drawing a critique from the Proud Boys. How can we not agree on that?" Bowtell said. "It's time to say thank you, and frankly it's time to say enough."