More Information on Friendswood-CAIR Presentation

The following posting was made on the Houston Chronicle's Education Blog late Saturday night.

To me, it is an obvious attempt of a school trying to cover its tracks and get out of a sticky situation. It also shows the possible "misrepresentation" of CAIR.

Please read the following and post your comments and thoughts in the comments section regarding what you think about this.

It's Saturday, but Karolyn Gephart, Friendswood ISD's public information officer, apparently was working. She e-mailed me a copy of Superintendent Trish Hanks' letter to parents about the now-controversial presentation that students at Friendswood Junior High School received from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (earlier blog post).

Hanks said she signed off on the presentation for administrators and staff -- not for students -- but there apparently was a miscommunication between a deputy superintendent and the school's principal. Hanks also revealed that the presentation was prompted by an incident involving a student that the American-Islamic council considered a hate crime.

Here's the entire letter.

May 31, 2008

Dear Parents and Community Members:

In response to an incident that occurred between students at Friendswood Junior High School and the perception and fear that it caused to some involved, Robin Lowe, principal, was contacted by the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and told that they considered the incident a hate crime and had reported it to the FBI. Mrs. Lowe and Sherry Green, Deputy Superintendent, attended a meeting with representatives of CAIR. At the meeting, CAIR requested an opportunity to present factual and basic information about Muslims to students at Friendswood Junior High School since the school is predominantly Anglo Christian. Anticipating this request, I instructed Mrs. Green that the district would welcome the presentation to administrators and staff only, but not for a student presentation. This has been the way the District has handled other requests by groups interested in raising our awareness of the culture of our students who are minorities in Friendswood. After administrators have listened to others' concerns, we discuss the issues we are having in FISD schools and the appropriate way to address them for our students. After the meeting, I was told that a presentation would be scheduled with the administrative team. It is obvious now, that a misunderstanding occurred between two very competent and dedicated administrators.

In the midst of activities during the final two weeks of school, Mrs. Lowe was contacted by CAIR and asked to schedule the presentation. Mrs. Lowe hastily scheduled the presentation and notified me and Mrs. Green the day before the presentation by email. Neither Mrs. Green nor I saw the email until the following day when the presentations were occurring or had occurred.

From what I have been told, the content of the presentation was informational. My concern for our community and for our students is not as much with the content of the presentation as explained to me, but with the fact that a group had an audience with our students without consent from parents or this administration. I consider parental trust critical to our success as a district. This trust was violated and I deeply regret that.

I am not surprised by the community's reaction. Most of you receiving this letter have had years of experience with this district and know the kinds of activities your child has been exposed to in school. This was an isolated incident and a mistake. I am implementing corrective actions to ensure that a similar situation does not occur again.

Friendswood is a faith based community and founded on these principles. The school district has always and will continue to honor that heritage.

Sincerely,

Trish Hanks

"If a bird looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck."- British Standard Duck Test