<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0ql5Ib_0lcHGQA700" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0ql5Ib_0lcHGQA700" width="640" height="360" ><figcaption>The Pinellas County school district has been in the spotlight this week following a parent complaint that the "Ruby Bridges" movie was inappropriate for second graders at North Shore Elementary in St. Petersburg. [&nbsp;LUIS SANTANA | Times&nbsp;]</figcaption></figure>As Pinellas County attracts international attention for banning the Disney movie “Ruby Bridges” from an elementary school after one parent’s complaint, officials this week have offered shifting stories about how the decision came about.They’ve struggled to explain their action, which appeared to go against long-standing school district policy. Now district officials are blaming a miscommunication, and some school board members say they are upset at the way district officials allowed the controversy to play out.<nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate>The policy, reauthorized this year by the school board, states that any challenged materials “will remain in use” until a review committee issues its recommendation on what to do with the items.That’s not what happened at North Shore Elementary in St. Petersburg, where a parent, Emily Conklin, claimed the movie about a girl who integrated a New Orleans school teaches students that white people hate Black people. The vast majority of North Shore second grade parents agreed to let their kids watch the movie, which contains racial slurs and scenes of white parents threatening violence against 6-year-old Ruby. Conklin and another parent opted out.Soon after, Conklin filed her formal challenge. A day later, area superintendent Michael Vigue told her via email that North Shore “will no longer be using this video to support the K-5 curriculum.”<nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate>Vigue added that he talked with the principal about the need to “update the school’s process for vetting instructional related movies for content relevance, age appropriateness and overall appropriateness of content moving forward.”The school-based review of “Ruby Bridges,” which the district has used for years in teaching Black history, has not yet been scheduled.As word of the district’s response circulated, criticism followed. And so, too, did changes in the district’s narrative.Officials pushed back against the notion that the movie was banned, using terms like “pause” and “temporary hold” while stating it remained available for use at other elementary schools — just not North Shore. A few days later, they revised their explanation, saying teachers at North Shore could still use “Ruby Bridges” in lessons, so long as they followed the parental permission procedure required for movies rated PG and higher.<nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate>The reason it wouldn’t be shown any longer this year, they said, is because all classes that had the lesson planned had already completed it. The idea that the movie wasn’t available was a miscommunication, district spokesperson Isabel Mascareñas said.That’s what they told School Board Chairperson Lisa Cane, who had not seen Vigue’s email. She said she understood how the public might be confused over mixed messages coming from the district.“The school district needs to be faster responding, and I think that the processes need to be followed moving forward that we have put in place,” Cane said.She was not alone in that assessment. Board members Eileen Long and Laura Hine also had tough words for the administration’s handling of the situation as it blew up in news reports and social media across the globe.<nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2d6I5S_0lcHGQA700" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2d6I5S_0lcHGQA700" width="426" height="284" ></figure>“If they’re saying it can’t be shown at that school for the rest of the year, they’re not following school board policy and they’re wrong,” Long said, challenging the interpretation in Vigue’s email.She said she’s received several calls and emails from parents and other residents opposing the notion that the movie espouses negative lessons. It depicts history accurately, Long said, and children and parents alike can learn from that.<nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate>Hine, whose children attend North Shore, said the district had an opportunity to be clear about its values.“I will be very clear about mine,” she said via email. “I believe in teaching all of American history to include Black history and Ruby Bridges to our children. I believe in developing, investing in, then trusting our teachers as committed professionals to make age-appropriate decisions for their specific classrooms. I support our district’s policy that requires parents to be notified if teacher-selected content might be strong, and allows for an opt-out.”When challenges come in, Hine continued, the district must inform the public about its rules and adhere to them, and facilitate parent and community feedback.“I also feel that we must move thoughtfully and more swiftly, though never compromising quality,” she said. “Did we do all of that well in this case or in case of ‘The Bluest Eye’? No, we did not.”<nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate>The district banned Toni Morrison’s first novel “The Bluest Eye” from all high schools in January after a Palm Harbor parent complained. That move drew criticism, too, as critics accused the district of veering from its policy.The board’s newest members, Stephanie Meyer and Dawn Peters, stood by the district’s decision on the “Ruby Bridges” movie.“I believe the district made the correct decision because of the language, to have this film reviewed by the media specialist in which a recommendation will be made for age appropriateness for future viewing at school,” Meyer said on Facebook. “I have always and will continue to support and advocate for parents who raise concerns over content, instructional and supplemental materials shown or used at school.”The school’s review of the film is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Monday at North Shore Elementary, 200 35th Ave. NE in St. Petersburg. The public can attend but will not be allowed to comment.Ric Davis, president of Concerned Organization for Quality Education for Black Students, said he met with Superintendent Kevin Hendrick on Thursday to let him know that the community he represents seeks strong and dependable leadership.He said he empathized with Hendrick for being in a tough position, but said Hendrick has to “stiffen up.”“I tried to impress upon him, sometimes things are just right or wrong, and you can’t stand on the fence,” Davis said.There’s been plenty of confusion, he added, because of the district’s inconsistent explanations of what has happened and what might occur next.“They’re trying to change the story on us, but we’re not going to have it,” he said.Hendrick did not respond to requests for comment.Former St. Petersburg deputy mayor Goliath Davis, who first wrote of this issue in his Weekly Challenger column, said the online version has seen an unprecedented number of reader hits for the usually quiet internet site. Davis, who also met with Hendrick on Thursday, said he was willing to give the district the benefit of the doubt that it had miscommunicated its action and intent.But the result doesn’t change, he said. “As soon as you pull it out of circulation, you’ve in effect banned it.”• • •<h2>Sign up for the Gradebook newsletter!</h2>Every Thursday, get the latest updates on what’s happening in Tampa Bay area schools from Times education reporter Jeffrey S. Solochek. Click here to sign up.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

As Pinellas County attracts international attention for banning the Disney movie “Ruby Bridges” from an elementary school after one parent’s complaint, officials this week have offered shifting stories about how the decision came about. They’ve struggled to explain their action, which appeared to go against long-standing school...