September 03, 2009 03:33 AM UTC

It MAY Be Your School District

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• by: Aristotle

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Douglas County Schools are allowing principals to decide whether or not their students can opt out of an upcoming speech from President Obama that’s addressing America’s schoolchildren, per Westword.

Last week, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sent a letter to principals across the country, on view later in this post, informing them that President Barack Obama would be delivering a speech to the nation’s schoolchildren on Tuesday, September 8. Duncan wrote, “The President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens.”

Shockingly controversial, right? But apparently the very thought of Obama speaking to their kids without someone nearby to tell them not to pay attention to the bad man trying to bankrupt the treasury, undermine our healthcare system and coddle terrorists determined to destroy the American way of life has caused consternation among numerous parents in Douglas County.

Susan Meek, spokeswoman for the Douglas County School District, confirms that her office received enough complaints on the subject that staffers eventually issued a communique to schools on the subject. Meek says the decision to show the speech, and to whom, will be “site-based,” meaning each principal can determine his or her own policy. In the case of Staci McCormack, principal at Arrowood Elementary in Highlands Ranch, she sent an e-mail to parents earlier today (it’s reproduced in its entirety below), acknowledging that she’d also heard from some parents unhappy at the prospect of their children seeing the Obama speech. To address their concerns, McCormack went on, “only a few classrooms at AWE will be offering the children an opportunity to view the President’s speech” — and anyone who doesn’t want them to participate can opt out, just as they can when the topic is sex education.

Poll follows.

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