President’s Message By Nancy McCabe

The Jan. 31 email from AAUW California Public Policy News outlined the basic tenets of the new School Board Project. This involves monitoring local school board meetings to determine whether they are adhering to the state’s 2016 framework in history and social sciences, which requires schools to strongly emphasize student inquiry and reflects on the contributions of many diverse groups.

“Effective school boards are equity driven, making intentional governance decisions that combat institutional discrimination and bias (both explicit and implicit) and eliminate disparities in educational outcomes based on socioeconomic status, gender orientation, disability or family background.” These are a lot of governmental words that spell out problems that you basically “know them when you see them.”

We are being asked to monitor school board meetings in our area for adherence to these policies, which in common parlance are banning books, and gender or racial discrimination. We share with CHAR seven school districts in our county — Elk Grove, Folsom-Cordova, Natomas, Robla, Sacramento City, San Juan and Twin Rivers. We need a member to pick a district where you have an interest — where you live or have a child or grandchild — and attend their meetings and report issues to our contact person Sue Miller, a member of the Roseville branch.

Anne Just, who has a lot of knowledge of school boards, has agreed to chair this project, but she needs a co-chair, as she is a traveler. If you are concerned about the direction that some groups are attempting to take public schools, please read the above referenced article and contact Anne with your interest. Be assured that California AAUW has assembled a toolkit for us to use — we aren’t reinventing the wheel! You can find the latest AAUW California Public Policy News <here>.

Thank you for your interest and involvement in the education of our children. Let’s give them an equal start in their educational journey.