Scott Clifthorne: Mom slams Washington school board for ousting music lessons for fourth graders
OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON: A mother of three from Washington criticized her local school board for terminating music classes for fourth graders after one of the board members claimed that the cancellation was due to "institutional violence" and "white supremacy culture." Following their vote last week to cancel band and orchestra lessons due to a million-dollar budget shortfall, Olympia School District members received harsh criticism from Alesha Perkins.
At a gathering of worried parents last week, Perkins criticized School Board Director Scott Clifthorne for asserting that the school system was "entrenched in... surrounded by white supremacy culture."
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Anderson University professor defends SEGREGATED classes, slams White students for opposing it
Who is Scott Clifthorne?
On the Olympia School District school board in Washington, Scott Clifthorne represents District 5. On November 7, 2017, the by-district general election resulted in Clifthorne winning a first term. Professional background of Clifthorne involves running a small company. Additionally, he formerly held the position of president of the parent-teacher association at Lincoln Elementary School, as reported by Ballotepdeia.
He received his bachelor's degree in international political economy from the University of Puget Sound and his master's degree in political science from the University of California, San Diego. Clifthorne completed high school at Mt Rainier, as per reports.
'We have reached a level of absurdity'
Talking about the case, Clifthorne contended that while music lessons are advantageous, they are inequitable since some pupils may lose out on "core instruction" at particular institutions. Perkins countered that Clifthorne's story was untrue and devoid of supporting data. Perkins told Fox & Friends, "We have reached a level of absurdity in our school district, among our school board, and among our leadership that is just hard to ignore at this point."
Wind instrumental music is inherently White racist
Several youngsters showed up at the conference with their instruments and dressed in band uniforms. White supremacy is similar to how music classes are taught, according to Clifthorne. Although he acknowledged the value of music courses, he asserted that the way they are provided causes some students to miss class. Nothing about string or wind instrumental music is inherently White racist, according to Clifthorne.
Clifthorne said, "However, the ways in which it is and the ways in which all of our institutions, not just schools — local government, state government, churches or neighborhoods — inculcate and allow White supremacy culture to continue to be propagated and cause significant institutional violence are things that we have to think about carefully as a community." He added, "And I think that we have to do that interrogation. And we have to address the ways in which it creates challenges for administering the educational day for our elementary learners while we retain the program," as reported by NewYorkPost.
In an interview with the news source, Perkins claimed that certain rules were driving families away and that the fourth-grade music courses were a "target." She said, "We are losing students in huge numbers, I'm not talking about a handful of students. I'm talking about hundreds and hundreds of students that are exiting the district, and they are virtually all citing these results. You cannot sustain a school district with a mass exodus of students."
There will be an influence on the district's 12 elementary schools. The district's $11.5 million budget hole will be partially filled by eliminating the music course. The Olympian reports that the school district could save $530,000 by removing band classes for fourth and fifth graders.
In the end, however, only the fourth graders were impacted, and the district preserved the $350,000 budget for the fifth-grade band kids. As a result of the district's anticipated announcement of more layoffs to address the budget gap, some parents are concerned about their children's education, as per reports.
'Build community, connections and confidence'
According to 770 KTTH, Centennial Elementary launched a brand-new club earlier this year for fifth-grade children that were only for persons of color. According to Representative Jim Walsh in an email, the students involved get together once a week to "hang out, check-in and possibly talk about their experiences as a student in the minority as they build community, connections and confidence,." There was even talk of starting a group like this for fourth graders, as reported by DailyMail.