WRMS (LGBTQ) Acceptance Week Starts Tomorrow- TAKE ACTION

Supporters - Thank you for your support of the ACCEPTANCE OF DAY OF SILENCE; HIGHLY CONCERNED ABOUT ACCEPTANCE WEEK DEDICATED TO LGBTQ Petition. We have successfully heightened the awareness among parents and community members regarding WRMS's Acceptance Week, which concentrates lessons on acceptance for one group rather than "acceptance for all.” With over 750 supporters we are thankful that many understood our mission to raise our concerns for a singling out of one group during a week called "Acceptance Week." WRMS and SRVUSD continue to stand behind their decision to promote a week-long focus on a single group within our community. We are very disappointed to learn that after in-person and written communication about our concerns, Principal Bolin clearly has misunderstood the intent of our petition. He recently posted the following comments on the Change.Org Petition, "Let Students Know their tolerance for LGBTQ and others is appreciated." On April 2, 2016, Principal Bolin posted, "To be fair, there should be one week dedicated for Acceptance and Respecting those not in agreement with the LGBTQ lifestyle." In contrast to Principal Bolin's perception of the intent our petition does NOT oppose the LGBTQ community. We do, however, hold fast to our position that Acceptance Week needs to promote "acceptance for all,” including BUT not limited to LGBTQ. We believe this even more strongly as we are firsthand experiencing the divisiveness that naturally results when concentrating on one group exclusively rather than being inclusive of all groups. WRMS LGBTQ Acceptance Week more accurately describes the focus of the activities for the week of April 11th. Providing clarity in the title of the week will allow parents to better prepare their children and discuss the "opt out" in all, or part of, the school day in order to make the best decisions for their child's personal situation. WRMS Parents: “OPTING OUT” ON MONDAY, APRIL 11th BY WITHHOLDING YOUR STUDENT FROM ATTENDING SCHOOL WILL SEND THE STRONGEST MESSAGE TO THE ADMINISTRATION. We hope that this petition and the discussions surrounding this situation will generate positive changes for SRVUSD where:  Parent and Community voices are heard and acted upon; and  Acceptance, anti-bulling and Respect not be reserved for any one group. We encourage each of you to respectfully voice your concerns to the San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education. See below for contact information: Greg Marvel, President 925-837-9443 gmarvel@srvusd.net Mark Jewett, Vice President 925-262-9810 jewett4srvusd@yahoo.com Ken Mintz, Clerk 925-718-5384 kmintz@srvusd.net Rachel Hurd, Board Member 925-833-9455 rmshurd@sbcglobal.net Denise Jennison, Board Member 925-648-1141 cmjenn@pacbell.net