A Idaho teacher is in a confrontation with her own school district after officials ordered him to eliminate the classroom signals, including one that says: “All are welcome here.”
Sarah Inama, sixth grade history teacher in Lewis and Clark Middle School in Meridian, Idaho, says he will not comply with the order, arguing that the message is a fundamental part to guarantee a positive learning environment for their students.
Inama, who has taught at school for five years, says that his commitment to inclusion is not about politics. It is his passion for education and students.
“I love the area I teach,” he says in an interview with Today.com. “It is really something valuable for people to know our human history, things that humans have achieved, our time on this earth, things that have overcome, patterns that exist.”
Five years ago, when he presented both signs for the first time, it was to make sure the students knew they were in an open and cozy space. Now, she says she is risking her work on behalf of those values.
A notice from your school district
Inama says that the controversy began in January when its director and Vice Director reached his classroom to inform him that two posters on their walls were controversial and needed to be eliminated, a detail that the district verified in an email at Today.com. Inama says that other teachers received similar instructions, but the directive caught him off guard.
The photos of the two posters show that one presents the phrase “All are welcome here”, with an illustration of hands in different skin tones. The other says that all in the classroom are “welcome, important, accepted, respected, encouraged, valued and” equal. “
“I was so confused,” he recalls. “I still can’t understand what they mean in why it is controversial.”
Inama says that the director cited the district policy that classrooms must respect the rights of people to express different opinions and that the decorations must be “neutral in the content.”
“There are only two opinions about this sign: all are welcome or not all are welcome here,” she says. “Since the sign emphasizes that everyone, in regards to the breed or tone of the skin, are welcome here, whatever happens, immediately, I thought, the only other vision of this is racist. And I said: ‘That sounds like racism.’ “
A change of heart
Feeling pressured, Inama eliminated the signs, but reconsidered when the decision weighed on it in the next weekend.
“I told my husband: ‘I have to put that signal again,” he recalls.
That Saturday, she says that her husband accompanied her back to school where she hung the signs again and sent an email to her director to let him know.
“I was simply not interested in eliminating it,” she says. “I did not agree with why they asked me to tear it down. And for that reason, I was again. “
According to Inama, the director warned him that his rejection constituted insubordination and could result in additional action.
Today.com communicated with the director to comment on Inama’s accusations, but did not receive an answer.
A commitment
A meeting was organized soon with the district staff, including the academic director of the West Ada school, Marcus Myers, and a representative of the West Ada Education Association.
In his email to Today.com, the West Ada School District states that the meeting was organized to “provide more clarifications and support” to Inama and “discuss concerns about the poster and how it violates the 401.20 policy.” The policy says that the banners in the classroom must be “neutral in neutral to the content and conducive to a positive learning environment.”
Today.com communicated with Myers to comment on the decision of the district and its role in the discussion with Inama, but has not yet received an answer.
Inama says that officials offered to buy any alternative signal for their classroom during the meeting, provided they did not have the same messages as their current posters. Challenging the application, Inama said that the district policy classifies motivational posters as learning aid, which argued that it should be allowed under the current rules.
Inama says that the conversation intensified when Myers tried to justify the request to eliminate his posters saying that “the political environment flows and flows, and what could be controversial now might not have been controversial three, six, nine months, and we have to follow that.”
The more the discussion continued, Inama says that it was increasingly convinced that what the district was asking him to do was wrong.
“The more we talk about it, the more it solidified,” she says. “It seems so disgusting what they are asking me to commit. I mean, there is no way to convince me that the different opinion tried to protect from that sign is not racist. “
She says that the meeting ended without resolution and another warning, this time it could be necessary an additional action if she did not meet.
The legal advisor intervenes
After its meeting, Inama says that the district offered that the legal advisor review his position, but that he would have to present an email explaining why he believed that the poster did not violate the policy.
“I wrote a large and long email and sent them to why it was important for me to maintain this poster and why I can’t find it in rape,” explains Inama.
A week later, the district responded, maintaining that the signs violated politics. Inama says they told him that he has until the end of the school year to eliminate them.
In a statement issued to Today.com by email, Niki Scheppers, head of communications personnel in the West Ada school district, explains the decision of the district to enforce its policy.
“The West Ada School District has committed and will always commit to promoting a cozy and support learning environment for all students while defending the district policies,” says the statement.
“Classrooms are places where students learn to read, write, think critically and develop the necessary skills for future success. While classroom decorations can contribute to the atmosphere, a truly cozy and support environment is built through significant relationships and positive interactions between staff and students, not posters on the walls. Our approach is to promote friendly, respect and academic performance so that each student can prosper in a distraction -free learning environment. “
According to the statement, the approved class screens include the flag of the Idaho state, instructional materials such as the periodic table or the constitution of the United States, the works of art of the students, the approved information of the club and the achievements sponsored by the school. Other allowed articles include temporary exhibitions of world flags for educational purposes, family photos of employees and promotional materials of universities or professional sports teams.
“This policy is designed to maintain consistency in all classrooms while guaranteeing that no group is directed or offended by the exhibition of certain elements.”
The district stressed that its policies do not intend to limit freedom of expression, but to guarantee equity in classroom materials.
“While we respect the rights of people to express their perspectives, it is important to reaffirm that this situation is not about limiting speech or expression, but also guaranteeing consistency in our classrooms and maintaining a distraction -free learning environment,” the statement said.
The district confirmed that the legal advisor determined in the poster of Inama must be eliminated and that she has done so until the end of the school year to find an alternative that meets the policy.
Fighting for your students, regardless of the cost
Despite the district failure, Inama refuses to eliminate the signals, even if that means risking his work.
“I would feel very sad because I like my students before the end of the year, and financially, it would be difficult, but I feel that his work, as his specific workplace, is not like all his identity,” he explains. “There is no way that I can allow me to tear it down and turn what I feel they are asking me to do.”
Inama says that what helps it now is to know that it is not alone in its resistance. She says that hundreds of people, including teachers throughout the district, have communicated to extend their support since their history became public.
“I would say that at least half of them are from other teachers in this district and in some of the other Idaho districts and in other states,” she says.
Above all, Inama says that it will prioritize students sitting in their classroom and maintain what you think is right.
