Residents Demand D-205 Back York Teachers

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst School District 205 officials have yet to speak up for York High School's teachers amid criticism that they are teaching with a liberal bias.

Some residents, however, want the board to step up. At Tuesday's board meeting, they demanded the school board issue a statement standing up for York's teachers.

The board did not respond.

During public input, a dozen residents spoke in defense of York's teachers. Another person representing the teachers union gave a statement discouraging personal attacks on teachers.

They were responding to resident Tom Chavez and others, who have criticized York's social studies lessons. In particular, Chavez has denounced teacher Lindsey DiTomasso, alleging she is part of a greater effort toward Marxist indoctrination at York.

Chavez, who is considering running for the school board in 2023, has provided no evidence that teachers are promoting Marxism, which is the theory that serves as the basis for communism.

But he has complained that DiTomasso and others are using the Zinn Education Project curriculum. Howard Zinn was a liberal historian who once told a biographer that he was "something of a Marxist." He said he is asking for "fairness and balance, and an ideologically neutral learning environment, where both sides are heard and respected" and "an environment where all students feel safe to learn."

At the board meeting, Elmhurst resident and York graduate Clara Lewis said she was speaking on behalf of more than 400 York alumni who had signed a petition asking the board to publicly defend the high school's teachers.

"We are asking you to support York faculty who are under attack in the local press and on social media for teaching a high-quality, Illinois state standards-based curriculum," Lewis said. "The teachers deserve public support not only from the community, but from the school board. We ask the school board to make a public statement in support of York educators and faculty."

Joan Davis, a retired York social studies teacher, said the school's faculty has pursued a curriculum encouraging critical thinking for more than three decades. She said teachers must force their students to use evidence to support their viewpoints.

Raising her voice, Davis urged the board to issue a statement backing York teachers.

"When teachers are baselessly, publicly attacked and names smeared in the press, using addresses where people live, this must not be tolerated, and the board must publicly condemn it," said Davis, who was once Superintendent Keisha Campbell's teacher.

Before public input, board President Kara Caforio acknowledged inquiries have increased in the last few months about curriculum and political bias in schools. She cited a board policy that requires lessons about controversial issues be age appropriate, serve an educational purpose and present a balanced view.

"However, the opportunity to study controversial issues does not constitute endorsement of either side of an issue by the district," Caforio said. "This policy reflects our belief that lessons should be balanced and focused on teaching analytical thinking, which helps students understand how to engage in a rich dialogue aligned to the Illinois learning standards."

She said the board encouraged a "constructive dialogue, even when the issues become difficult." Residents, she said, should set a good example for students when discussing such topics.