Teach Not Police!

RALLY organized by San Leandro Students and Families for Education

Tell the school board to teach, not police our kids! Last Tuesday, the San Leandro School District curriculum committee met and put forward to the board a proposed new curriculum funded and created by national law enforcement agencies that will put police officers on San Leandro elementary school campuses to teach a “gang prevention” curriculum during 5th grade class hours, thus taking away time from actual academic teaching. If approved, police officers will be treated as faculty members (not guests), have complete run of campus, be allowed to stop and interrogate children about any matters and attend parent and faculty meetings.

If adopted, the curriculum will set a new precedent of removing curriculum control from our community: it is a strictly controlled federal curriculum that the district cannot amend to adapt it to our children; and in fact, the curriculum is not supported by our community – not one parent spoke out in favor of the curriculum at last week’s meeting!

This curriculum constitutes a taking from our children’s education and our community’s right to control our children’s education. And we don’t need it! Our elementary schools have strong multi-year anti-bullying and conflict resolution training; we offer safety training in middle and elementary school; what we have is much more comprehensive than what is being offered. In contrast, many of our children need real help in core curriculum courses. And we need full reinstatement of programs cut due to budget cuts.

In this moment when there is so much conflict with police, we need real solutions for police accountability and responsiveness to community needs, not a PR campaign targeting our kids.

This curriculum is not how San Leandro should make a name for itself. According to the police presentation at the curriculum meeting, the Alameda County Sheriff wants to roll this curriculum out to all elementary schools in the county! Berkeley police are being trained, even though we confirmed this week that the Berkeley school board has not heard of the program. This new curriculum is being pushed not by parents, but by police despite parents, to open East Bay Schools to surveillance and policing.

Please come on out and tell the school board what our community values. Stop San Leandro from being an early adopter that could influence school boards through the East Bay. Teach not Police!