The first Parents Bill of Rights discussion was held on Monday, March 20, 2023 with a special Zoom call, and parents overwhelmingly agreed the District needs more clarity around the word, “controversy” and “controversial topics” as they appear in current district parental rights policies.
Dr. Stephen Phillips, Newberg Superintendent, hosted the Zoom call with about 57 parents joining in to discuss parental rights and policies. He was joined by members of his executive team, who each served as moderators of five breakout rooms.
Given the District’s tumultuous recent past, parents at the meeting from all five groups listed the definition of “controversial” or “controversial topics,” as being problematic. The discussion focused on who makes the determination what is controversial - the superintendent, or the school board?
One topic that was discussed in at least one of the breakout sessions, was the idea behind the Parent Bill of Rights in the first place. Dr. Phillips fielded the question, answering that developing the Parents Bill of Rights was not only a directive given to him by the Newberg School Board, but also an opportunity to bring parents and community members together for a collaboration. Board members who joined the call were asked not to participate in discussions. Shelly Kolb was one school board member who chose to listen in.
“It’s always healthy to hear from the community, and this helps bring in many different voices into the discussion,” Dr. Phillips said.
Dr. Phillips also took time to explain how people were selected to be part of this committee. One person mentioned a friend of hers had never been contacted. Dr. Phillips apologized for that one instance, not knowing the details of what had happened right then. He assured the group whoever reached out to him to serve was invited to participate.
“Everyone who reached out to me was included. Everyone whose email we received,” he said.
Despite some uneasiness with supporters and critics of the district sitting down together - in some cases for the first time in years - this group avoided any personal attacks at this meeting. Most in attendance agreed with Dr. Phillips that reviewing school policy takes “a lot longer than an hour,” the superintendent said.
The District will take the notes it has gathered from the discussion, and parse the data into a report. Dr. Phillips and his team will present the report to the Board at its April meeting. Another work session to finalize that report is being planned and participants will be notified of the date and time. There’s a good chance it will be a live, in-person meeting.
For more information, contact Dr. Stephen Phillips, Newberg Superintendent, at phillipss@newberg.k12.or.us