School stirs backlash by dropping pledge
"Under God" - The Capitol Hill Elementary principal wanted an inclusive graduation
Thursday, June 12, 2008
KIMBERLY MELTON
The Oregonian
At Capitol Hill Elementary School in Southwest Portland, students recite "The Pledge of Allegiance" weekly. But for the fifth-grade graduation this year, officials at the school said they wanted to open the ceremony with something more inclusive for students and families who have different beliefs.
So Tuesday, kids began the program by singing the preamble to the Constitution -- something they learned during the school year.
But that decision and the explanation for the change angered a parent and incited a backlash.
"I know that for whatever reason some kids don't say 'under God,' " said Pam Wilson, Capitol Hill's second-year principal. "We felt there could be another way to honor our country -- the Constitution, 'Star-Spangled Banner,' 'America the Beautiful.' It would be a creative, clever way to honor our government."
One parent, Briana Reese, sent an e-mail to Wilson, requesting an explanation of the change. "Would any of you be able to tell me why this is, and why the Pledge might be offensive," she wrote. "Is this a school decision, or a district decision?"
Wilson, a 30-year employee of Portland Public Schools, said she made a mistake in hastily responding to Reese's e-mail.
In it, she said the pledge contained the words "under God" and that she wanted to be respectful of students and families who believe differently, such as those in the Muslim community. Though the ceremony has included the pledge in the past, Portland Public Schools has no requirement that students must say it at the graduation, district officials said.
"Let me be clear about this, I have some regrets," Wilson said Wednesday after the parent's complaint and her response got airing on television, radio and the blogosphere. "I get lots of e-mail. Parents are a priority. I look for parent e-mails first. I pull them out and respond. I was not tracking on how this could be a huge problem."
Wilson said she shouldn't have singled out the Muslim community and wasn't implying by her e-mail that Muslims don't believe in God.
"I don't believe that at all," she said. "It never entered my mind. . . . We are trying to work as a district to be authentically open, to be more conscious about our minority population. In the context of that, people are going to stumble."
About 30 percent of the school's enrollment is made up of minority students, she said, including some children from Africa who wear a hijab, a type of head scarf signifying the Muslim faith.
People of different religions or no religion have occasionally objected over the years to required recitation of the pledge in schools across the country because of its reference to God, but no one in this case objected at Capitol Hill, Wilson said.
She said she received another e-mail from Reese but hasn't spoken to her by phone. The Oregonian couldn't reach Reese for further comment.
Kimberly Melton: 503-294-5938;
kimmelton@news.oregonian.com