On Friday, May 16, 2025 at 11:39:13 AM EDT, LaMae de Jongh <lamae.dejongh@successacademies.org> wrote:

Dear Families,
Thank you for your email which was forwarded to me. Thank you also for your continued partnership and support throughout this school year.  We acknowledge your concerns regarding the reading of “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie. We select books responsibly and thoughtfully, ensuring alignment with our academic standards and learning objectives.

While this book addresses mature themes, it importantly explores topics such as race, poverty, and identity. We know that scholars are exposed to strong language and tough topics on TV, in the news, on public transportation. When scholars see these issues addressed responsibly in a book, and with adult guidance, it helps them make sense of them. Our approach ensures that scholars do not navigate texts alone; their educators are on hand to answer and address questions, helping make sense of them in a caring, constructive manner. We believe it is crucial for students to learn how to engage with such content constructively within our classrooms, rather than in unsupervised spaces. This award-winning book is heralded by educators and beloved by students. We don't think it would be fair to deny our students the opportunity to read this coming-of-age novel because of its language and a few harmless sexual references.

As always, we welcome and take parent feedback seriously as we continuously strive to create meaningful and appropriate learning experiences for our scholars. Thank you again for reaching out to share these concerns.

Warmly,
LaMae

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It is very disappointing to see that this is her response to the petition. Please continue to share and spread awareness. It's important to take a stand against harmful curriculum material. To generalize and dictate what our scholars are "exposed" to is a poor excuse for introducing a young adult book to adolescents.