Rockwood forum turns heated during discussion of race and class curriculum

ST. LOUIS — Tensions were high long before the man who asked the first question at the “community conversation” in Eureka on Friday afternoon was escorted out, shouting.

“Bye,” members of the crowd waved and called after him.

The Rockwood School District is one of the largest in the region, and it’s been a tumultuous year for families and leadership. Parents protested the plan to begin the 2020 fall semester online. More recently, administrators received blowback for removing the “thin blue line” altered image of the American flag from Eureka High School baseball hats.

Discussion of race in history and literature lessons upset parents as well — and the district confirms the hiring of at-home security patrols for some of their administrators who have received death threats. Superintendent Mark Miles and Director of Educational Equity and Diversity Brittany Hogan are both leaving their jobs at the end of the school year.

Most recently, parents have sounded the alarm in Facebook groups and pages about a leaked memo to teachers instructing them to alter or hide certain elements of the curriculum from parents.

Read more: https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/education/rockwood-school-district-forum-turns-heated-during-discussion-of-race-and-class-curriculum/63-c326d121-8ab4-4049-892d-86f1ba3b6094