ST. CHARLES COUNTY — The Francis Howell School Board voted Thursday to eliminate the elective courses Black History and Black Literature from the district’s three high schools.
The courses were first offered in 2021 at the high schools after Francis Howell students complained about discrimination against students and staff of color. The courses will not be offered in fall 2024 because the board rescinded approval of the curriculum, district officials said.
“What a dark day,â€Â board member Janet Stiglich said after the 5-2 vote against keeping the courses. Stiglich and Chad Lange were the opposing votes.
Several speakers at the meeting Thursday criticized the board for focusing on culture war issues this school year.
“Clearly none of you see that your actions say loud and clear to us that you don’t care about Black and brown families in our district,†said Harry Harris, a Black father and former school board candidate.
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There are 60 students taking Black History and 42 taking Black Literature this semester across the three high schools, according to district records.
The curriculum is based in part on the Teaching Tolerance project from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The proposal to drop any standards and curriculum linked to the center was added to the board’s agenda on Wednesday afternoon, just before the 24-hour deadline.
Adam Bertrand, board president, said that the change had to be decided before registration for fall 2024 opens in January.
During discussion of the proposal, Stiglich asked why the matter was not taken to a committee first.
“We have a curriculum committee for a reason. Was this brought up?†she asked.
Other board members made clear a committee review wouldn’t have mattered.
“To take this to a curriculum committee would not sway my vote,†said Randy Cook, board vice president. “I value the curriculum committee on a lot of things, but on this item, my mind is made up.â€
Jane Puszkar, board treasurer, said ultimately the board was in charge. “The committees and the superintendent and the administration work for the board, and the board has the final decision,†she said.
The Black History and Black Literature courses were targeted by political action committee Francis Howell Families, which says the curriculum is laced with leftist principles and critical race theory.
“Getting rid of these standards (and any curriculum using them) is a first step in removing ideological indoctrination from schools,†reads a statement on the group’s website.
Francis Howell Families supported Bertrand and four other members of the all-white board who have gained a conservative majority in the last two years.
The Black History and Black Literature courses were developed in the 2020-2021 school year and reviewed by teachers, administrators, the curriculum advisory council and the academic strategic planning committee before gaining board approval in July 2021. Both courses were scheduled to be evaluated in the 2024-2025 school year.
The curriculum was also created with the help of consultant LaGarrett King, former director of the Carter Center for K-12 Black History Education at the University of Missouri.
“When we think about social studies education, it’s teaching students who is human and how to treat people humanely. It’s not trying to make kids patriotic or make kids hate America, it’s to help kids see their humanity,†King told the Post-Dispatch in 2021.
The Black Literature course focuses on “contemporary and multi-genre literary works of Black authors and will celebrate the dignity and identity of Black voices†with a goal of allowing students to “further their understanding of their identity, as well as deepen their awareness and understanding of Black people’s cultures and identities,†according to the course description.
In the Black History course, “students will gain a Black historical consciousness and will become equipped as engaged citizens working toward an equitable democracy.â€
Other local school districts that offer Black literature or social studies courses include Clayton, Ladue, Parkway, Pattonville, Rockwood and ºüÀêÊÓƵ Public Schools, along with private schools Nerinx Hall, MICDS, John Burroughs and ºüÀêÊÓƵ University High.
After the vote, Superintendent Kenneth Roumpos said the Francis Howell leadership team is committed to bringing back the courses in a way that “hopefully the board would (support).â€
“We do value the courses and the content that is in those courses, and believe that they are important to continue to offer to our students,†Roumpos said.
Dropping the courses is the latest in a series of racial conflicts in Francis Howell. Earlier this year, the school board voted to rescind the district’s anti-racism resolution that was adopted in 2020.
The “Resolution in Response to Racism and Discrimination†called for “racial healing, especially for our Black and brown students and families.â€
The resolution was adopted about two months after thousands of protesters marched three miles down Mid Rivers Mall Drive following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The protesters called for changes to Francis Howell’s curriculum, hiring practices and discipline policies they said discriminated against students and staff of color.
Black students make up less than 8% of the enrollment across Francis Howell’s 19 schools. The district has drawn attention for racial issues at least since 2013, when residents bristled at the state-mandated transfer of students from the unaccredited Normandy school district. The curriculum for the Black History course includes the transfer law and its repercussions for Normandy students.
Eliminating the Black History and Black Literature courses “will leave students at a distinct disadvantage when they move on to higher education or enter the workforce,†said Zebrina Looney, president of the St. Charles County branch of the NAACP. “This is another example of how (the board) puts political ideologies above the best interests of the students, particularly Black students in efforts to maintain an archaic status quo.â€