Jackson Heights parent expressed concern over SEL "indoctrination"

Some parents in the Jackson Heights school district are seeking more “transparency” from district of­ficials and staff after raising concerns about “social-emotional learning” that a district parent claimed was part of requirements for district accredita­tion, the USD 335 Board of Educa­tion noted during its regular monthly meeting on Monday.

Board members met with district parent Mark Murnahan, who asked for “clarity” on how “social-emo­tional learning” (SEL) requirements reportedly part of the Kansas Educa­tion Systems Accreditation (KESA) process are handled in the district as well as the creation of a “volunteer parent advocate” position to monitor staff training pertaining to SEL.

“There are some parents who are very concerned with how that’s been interpreted by some of the teachers, as well as some of the board, and we want to make sure that this board is together on where it’s going and how we address it,” Murnahan told board members, adding his comment that as a district parent, it was more im­portant to have district teachers focus on “reading, writing and arithmetic” rather than SEL protocols.

District Superintendent Jim Howard said that SEL protocols were more about “soft skills” and “just an underlying part of what they want to focus on when we deal with the whole child” rather than a matter of supposed “indoctrination” on sub­jects that may give some district par­ents cause for concern.

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