Any US Schools Opening on MLK Day?
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 8:31 am
I know most schools and colleges are closed on the Martin Luther King Holiday, but Wylie ISD opens that day. Here's the full story:
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Wylie ISD halls won't be empty on MLK Day
Decision to hold class upsets some parents; district blames calendar
By KIM BREEN / The Dallas Morning News
WYLIE, Texas - It will be school as usual for Wylie students Monday, as their peers across North Texas get the day off in honor of a civil rights icon, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Officials in the Collin County school district said the decision to hold class on the national observance of Dr. King's birthday was based on calendar constraints alone. The issue has upset several black parents in the fast-growing, increasingly diverse district.
"I don't think they put much thought into it," said Regina Francois, who will be keeping her 14-year-old son home so they can commemorate the holiday together as usual.
"He led the way for us to have so much freedom," she said of Dr. King. "This is the one day out of the year for him."
The Wylie school district has for years named the MLK holiday and Presidents Day as teacher in-service days – teachers come in, but students stay home. This year the district needed just one in-service day in the second semester, and school trustees who picked the calendar did not want to decide between those two holidays, Superintendent John Fuller said.
So they gave students neither day off and instead lengthened winter break. No one on the all-white board intended to offend parents, Dr. Fuller said.
"Both of these days are important," Dr. Fuller said. "We don't want to choose which is more important than the other."
He said the district would commemorate Dr. King during class time. That "may be of greater value," he said, than the way some students might otherwise spend the day, without observing "what Martin Luther King Day is all about."
Bob Lydia, president of the Dallas NAACP, said he was not surprised.
"Some of the suburban schools, they just don't have the respect for some of our leaders as they should," said Mr. Lydia, who has fielded a complaint from a Wylie parent.
"Martin Luther King Day is not just a holiday for African-Americans, it's a holiday for all Americans."
Mr. Lydia, who is also first vice president of the state NAACP, said that before the civil rights organization can step in, parents must voice their concerns directly with the school district. If they don't get a satisfactory response, then the NAACP can assist in working toward a "peaceful solution."
In Dr. King's spirit of nonviolent resistance, state Rep. Lon Burnam, a Democrat from Fort Worth and director of the Dallas Peace Center, encouraged Wylie students to stage a protest at the next school board meeting.
"I think it's really unfortunate that the school district fails to recognize the importance of commemorating this day," Mr. Burnam said. "However a lot of people don't commemorate it the right way, so maybe these kids will do a sit-in and not go to school or have a teach-in about the nonviolent struggle for peace and justice."
The Dallas Peace Center, which calls itself North Texas' oldest and largest peace and justice organization, is having an MLK program Sunday afternoon at the Dallas public library, and Mr. Burnam encouraged Wylie students to attend.
"I hope every kid, in every classroom, all day long is asking the teacher why they're in school today," Mr. Burnam said. "I think it's outrageous."
All of the Wylie calendar options that will soon be up for a trustee vote include student holidays for both MLK Day and Presidents Day next year, Dr. Fuller said. They would be teacher in-service days.
School districts set their own calendars, and the Texas Education Agency does not track which schools are open or closed on the holiday, spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe said.
Many schools to close
Most schools throughout the Dallas area reported that both students and teachers have the day off. But several districts will be open to teachers but not for students, including the Keller school district in Tarrant County, the Ponder school district in Denton County and the Celina school district, which is mostly in Collin County.
At least two other public school districts in the state are open to both students and teachers Monday, according to their district Web sites: Valley View school district in Pharr, Texas (near McAllen), and Jarrell school district near Austin.
The Plano school district, which holds one of the largest community celebrations of Dr. King in the area, is closed Monday. Spokeswoman Nancy Long said that reflects the desires of district and community members who want time to commemorate Dr. King on their own. Students also learn about Dr. King in class.
Dr. Fuller said Wylie does not base decisions on what other districts do but instead reflects what its community wants. "Every district should consider what the local patrons request," he said. "I'm a strong believer in local control."
Through the complaints the district has heard about this year's calendar, he said, it is clear that several residents want the day off for students.
"It's been certainly an awareness for us that there are certain holidays that different individuals view more important than others," he said. "You're going to have more of that when you get to a larger district, because you're going to be more diverse," he said.
A growing district
The Wylie school district has about doubled in the past five years to 9,027 students, and district demographics have shifted.
The district's black student population grew from 2.2 percent in 1999-2000 to 13 percent now, according to Texas Education Agency and district data. One-half of 1 percent of the district's teaching staff was black in 2004-05, the latest year available.
Wylie parent Veronica Jordan, who is black, said she was stunned to learn Monday was not a holiday for her 15-year-old son.
"My son is very privileged, relatively speaking," she said. "He needs to know that our forefathers fought and were killed for him to be able to go to school with those white children."
Ms. Jordan said that each year in honor of the slain civil rights leader she and her family spend some time in the library, might watch a video related to Dr. King and talk about their own family tree.
Without a day off from school, fitting those activities into one day is difficult. So Ms. Jordan does not plan on her son being at Wylie High School on Monday.
"They are not giving the kids the time to take advantage of all of the wonderful things going on in the metroplex that day, because they will be in school," she said.
The district will grant excused absences to students who commemorate the holiday out of school with parents, Dr. Fuller said.
Parent Jay Whitlow, who is white, said his daughter would be in class Monday. He said he understands the district's scheduling conflicts.
"It would be one thing if it was Christmas or Easter," he said. "I might raise my voice a little bit more. Nothing against the holiday," Mr. Whitlow said, adding that his family would recognize Dr. King on its own that day.
Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968. Within days of his death a congressman attempted to name a federal holiday in his honor, but legislation to create the holiday did not pass until 1983. The federal holiday was first observed in 1986.
Staff writers Linda Stewart Ball and Tiara M. Ellis contributed to this story.
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Wylie ISD halls won't be empty on MLK Day
Decision to hold class upsets some parents; district blames calendar
By KIM BREEN / The Dallas Morning News
WYLIE, Texas - It will be school as usual for Wylie students Monday, as their peers across North Texas get the day off in honor of a civil rights icon, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Officials in the Collin County school district said the decision to hold class on the national observance of Dr. King's birthday was based on calendar constraints alone. The issue has upset several black parents in the fast-growing, increasingly diverse district.
"I don't think they put much thought into it," said Regina Francois, who will be keeping her 14-year-old son home so they can commemorate the holiday together as usual.
"He led the way for us to have so much freedom," she said of Dr. King. "This is the one day out of the year for him."
The Wylie school district has for years named the MLK holiday and Presidents Day as teacher in-service days – teachers come in, but students stay home. This year the district needed just one in-service day in the second semester, and school trustees who picked the calendar did not want to decide between those two holidays, Superintendent John Fuller said.
So they gave students neither day off and instead lengthened winter break. No one on the all-white board intended to offend parents, Dr. Fuller said.
"Both of these days are important," Dr. Fuller said. "We don't want to choose which is more important than the other."
He said the district would commemorate Dr. King during class time. That "may be of greater value," he said, than the way some students might otherwise spend the day, without observing "what Martin Luther King Day is all about."
Bob Lydia, president of the Dallas NAACP, said he was not surprised.
"Some of the suburban schools, they just don't have the respect for some of our leaders as they should," said Mr. Lydia, who has fielded a complaint from a Wylie parent.
"Martin Luther King Day is not just a holiday for African-Americans, it's a holiday for all Americans."
Mr. Lydia, who is also first vice president of the state NAACP, said that before the civil rights organization can step in, parents must voice their concerns directly with the school district. If they don't get a satisfactory response, then the NAACP can assist in working toward a "peaceful solution."
In Dr. King's spirit of nonviolent resistance, state Rep. Lon Burnam, a Democrat from Fort Worth and director of the Dallas Peace Center, encouraged Wylie students to stage a protest at the next school board meeting.
"I think it's really unfortunate that the school district fails to recognize the importance of commemorating this day," Mr. Burnam said. "However a lot of people don't commemorate it the right way, so maybe these kids will do a sit-in and not go to school or have a teach-in about the nonviolent struggle for peace and justice."
The Dallas Peace Center, which calls itself North Texas' oldest and largest peace and justice organization, is having an MLK program Sunday afternoon at the Dallas public library, and Mr. Burnam encouraged Wylie students to attend.
"I hope every kid, in every classroom, all day long is asking the teacher why they're in school today," Mr. Burnam said. "I think it's outrageous."
All of the Wylie calendar options that will soon be up for a trustee vote include student holidays for both MLK Day and Presidents Day next year, Dr. Fuller said. They would be teacher in-service days.
School districts set their own calendars, and the Texas Education Agency does not track which schools are open or closed on the holiday, spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe said.
Many schools to close
Most schools throughout the Dallas area reported that both students and teachers have the day off. But several districts will be open to teachers but not for students, including the Keller school district in Tarrant County, the Ponder school district in Denton County and the Celina school district, which is mostly in Collin County.
At least two other public school districts in the state are open to both students and teachers Monday, according to their district Web sites: Valley View school district in Pharr, Texas (near McAllen), and Jarrell school district near Austin.
The Plano school district, which holds one of the largest community celebrations of Dr. King in the area, is closed Monday. Spokeswoman Nancy Long said that reflects the desires of district and community members who want time to commemorate Dr. King on their own. Students also learn about Dr. King in class.
Dr. Fuller said Wylie does not base decisions on what other districts do but instead reflects what its community wants. "Every district should consider what the local patrons request," he said. "I'm a strong believer in local control."
Through the complaints the district has heard about this year's calendar, he said, it is clear that several residents want the day off for students.
"It's been certainly an awareness for us that there are certain holidays that different individuals view more important than others," he said. "You're going to have more of that when you get to a larger district, because you're going to be more diverse," he said.
A growing district
The Wylie school district has about doubled in the past five years to 9,027 students, and district demographics have shifted.
The district's black student population grew from 2.2 percent in 1999-2000 to 13 percent now, according to Texas Education Agency and district data. One-half of 1 percent of the district's teaching staff was black in 2004-05, the latest year available.
Wylie parent Veronica Jordan, who is black, said she was stunned to learn Monday was not a holiday for her 15-year-old son.
"My son is very privileged, relatively speaking," she said. "He needs to know that our forefathers fought and were killed for him to be able to go to school with those white children."
Ms. Jordan said that each year in honor of the slain civil rights leader she and her family spend some time in the library, might watch a video related to Dr. King and talk about their own family tree.
Without a day off from school, fitting those activities into one day is difficult. So Ms. Jordan does not plan on her son being at Wylie High School on Monday.
"They are not giving the kids the time to take advantage of all of the wonderful things going on in the metroplex that day, because they will be in school," she said.
The district will grant excused absences to students who commemorate the holiday out of school with parents, Dr. Fuller said.
Parent Jay Whitlow, who is white, said his daughter would be in class Monday. He said he understands the district's scheduling conflicts.
"It would be one thing if it was Christmas or Easter," he said. "I might raise my voice a little bit more. Nothing against the holiday," Mr. Whitlow said, adding that his family would recognize Dr. King on its own that day.
Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968. Within days of his death a congressman attempted to name a federal holiday in his honor, but legislation to create the holiday did not pass until 1983. The federal holiday was first observed in 1986.
Staff writers Linda Stewart Ball and Tiara M. Ellis contributed to this story.