Parents in Shaftsbury say they’re angry that students at the local elementary school are no longer saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
News of the change spread on Facebook Wednesday night and by Thursday morning, both parents and police were outside Shaftsbury Elementary School.
Michael Gardner, a Shaftsbury parent, said he found out Wednesday that the school had “banned reciting the pledge.”
On Thursday, he visited the school to talk to Principal Jeff Johnson. He said half a dozen parents said the pledge outside the school in protest, and about a dozen talked amongst themselves about the change, with multiple sheriff’s deputies also present at the school.
“It seems like this was a decision that should have been a discussion first,” Gardner said, citing First Amendment protections. “In my mind, this isn’t really any different than banning books.”
A phone call to Shaftsbury Elementary was directed to the school district’s central office.
In a statement, James Culkeen, Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union superintendent, said that for several years, individual school principals “have been empowered to decide if the Pledge of Allegiance would be recited in the individual buildings.”
The district itself had not banned the pledge, he said, and in the schools where the pledge is recited, students and staff have the choice not to say it.
“On its face, the ‘opt-out’ choice seems reasonable. But as we’ve learned, when students do so, it highlights differences between our kids. It disrupts the community and excludes kids who just want to be a part of their classrooms,” Culkeen said. “It is now clear that a consistent practice needs to be developed across our schools, to address all of the various points of view on this matter, while fostering a stronger sense of community among our students.”
Katie West, the district’s public information coordinator, did not respond to multiple questions as to when, or even if, Shaftsbury Elementary leadership decided to stop saying the pledge.
She did address the police presence, saying she was aware that the Bennington County Sheriff’s Department was at the school, but the school had not requested it.
In an interview, Bennington County Sheriff James Gulley said his department decided to have a presence at the school on Thursday after seeing the “disgruntled” chatter on Facebook.
“We went there just to make sure there weren’t any disruptions or outbursts,” Gulley said. “Everything went well.”
The sheriff said he heard from parents both for and against reciting the pledge, and noted that the school’s principal came outside to listen to what parents had to say.
Across Vermont, schools make individual decisions regarding the pledge, according to Jay Nichols, executive director of the Vermont Principals’ Association.
“Some schools will do it in the classroom, some will say it over the PA, some don’t say it at all,” he said. “It’s really all over the place.”
Nichols said he couldn’t estimate what percentage of schools recite the pledge, but called it “pretty common” in elementary schools.
Gardner, the Shaftsbury parent in favor of the pledge, said it would be a “reasonable compromise” if the school decided to use the “pre-1954 language,” which does not include “under God.”
During the tenure of President Dwight Eisenhower, the U.S. passed a law adding the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. The change occurred during the “Red Scare” of the Cold War, highlighting America’s differences from Communist nations.
Gardner pointed elsewhere in the country to Louisiana, where lawmakers decided schools are required to display the Ten Commandments.
“I find that to be equally reprehensible,” he said.
As for the pledge issue, Gardner cut Shaftsbury Elementary’s principal some slack. He said they had a “really nice conversation” Thursday morning, and he expects some sort of open discussion on the topic in the future.
“Jeff’s a super reasonable guy,” Gardner said, “and I don’t think he made this decision lightly.”
As for the future of the pledge at Shaftsbury’s school, the superintendent said the district would undertake the creation of a uniform practice for its seven schools.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Shaftsbury parents protest to reinstate Pledge of Allegiance at school.