Parent group wants OPSB to remove controversial concepts from school curriculum

MONROE, La. (KNOE) – Some parents in the Ouachita Parish school system are raising questions about a new curriculum the school board has adopted for elementary students. They believe the program is based on the concept of social-emotional learning and will change students’ attitudes, values ​​and beliefs, but educators say this is not true.

Ouachita Parish Principal of Elementary Schools, Curtis Pate, says the newly adopted curriculum is called Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) and he says it’s not social and emotional learning (SEL).

“Core Knowledge Language Arts is a K-5 language arts program specifically designed to help students from all backgrounds become confident readers and build a shared cultural understanding of the United States and the world,” did he declare.

Pate says some parents worried that social-emotional learning was part of the curriculum, but he says it’s not.

“We’ve adopted a curriculum that includes a very solid foundation in phonetics and it’s based on the latest research that involves the science of reading,” he said.

Pate says the board reviewed the program and voted to approve it in May and he explained the courses to the community so everyone knows exactly what they teach in the schools. Ouachita Parent Choice LA founder Tiffany Hatten says she found a researcher who believes social-emotional learning is built into these classes.

“Courses are no longer academic, they revolve around social and emotional learning. Social-emotional learning is psychological manipulation and that is according to Dr. Haynes. Psychological manipulation is found in the core competence of self-awareness Awareness of beliefs, biases and how they implement one’s behaviors,” she said.

Hatten says she wants the board to reconsider new programs and get rid of any courses that might include what she considers offensive concepts.

“None of these programs brought into the classrooms has improved the education of our students, in fact it has caused more chaos and mass confusion and we are now seeing these effects from previous generations,” he said. she declared.

“They’re not here to discuss social and emotional learning. I don’t know how many classes Mrs Hatten has been in lately because from what I understand her own children don’t attend our schools,’ Pate said.

He says the new language arts curriculum will be introduced to Ouachita Parish classrooms this fall.

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