Parent addresses Board of Education with concerns of political ideology about race being taught in the school system (View video here)

November 11, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Is political ideology regarding race being taught in the local school system?

At least one parent apparently thinks so and he addressed the Board of Education with his concerns during Thursday night’s regular monthly meeting.

“I want to discuss what types of lessons are happening in our school system,” said Mark Steff, parent of a middle school student.

Steff said he decided to speak out after learning recently that one of his child’s lessons for an RLA or Reasoning through Language Arts assignment came with a follow up video “that was purely opinion based for the first minute and 20 seconds claiming that everything is racist”

Steff never described the teaching as “Critical Race Theory” but said it was political ideology that should not be taught in school. In a prepared statement, Steff said “I fail to see how this helps our children. School is for learning facts and not ideologies. I do not want either side of the aisle being taught in school,” said Steff.

“How many parents do not know what is going on in our school system currently?. The only way I knew about this lesson was the fact that my child was on quarantine and mentioned it to me,” Steff continued.

“I emailed the teacher about this and copies of the email have been handed out to the school board members. I will not out of respect for this teacher say who it is but the email chain clearly shows that the teacher knows this is an issue and admitted to it. Further on the email claimed that other parents have voiced concerns over what is being taught in the class and alternate lessons have been given”.

“Why is this teacher sending out information that is known to cause an issue? If the teacher knew it was a problem then why was the video attached in the first place?”

“Children in school take what our teachers say as fact when it comes to learning new information. Many of them never question a teacher and accept what has been said as fact. When the facts start to introduce harmful ideologies such as systemic racism this is where it becomes a problem”.

“I do not think this is an isolated issue within the DeKalb County School System and I hope more parents speak up about these types of issues”.

“I do want to take the time and thank all of our teachers for the hard word they put in everyday to help the future of our community and country”.

“Thank you for allowing me to speak today,” concluded Steff.

Neither Director of Schools Patrick Cripps nor any member of the School Board responded to Steff’s comments during the meeting but afterwards Director Cripps told WJLE that the school district is only following the curriculum approved by the state board of education and that when this issue with Mr. Steff arose he tried to contact State Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn. Cripps said she has not yet responded.

“The item in question was approved as part of the approved curriculum by the state board of education and state textbook commission. They vetted it and the teacher just taught exactly what was in the curriculum,” said Director Cripps.

“I contacted the commissioner by email and I tried to call her with the concerns that were brought up. I have yet to have a response from her. We will look into it but from what was taught, the item he (Mr. Steff) brought up, it was part of the state approved curriculum” added Director Cripps.

November 11, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Smithville Elementary students wore their red, white, and blue Wednesday, November 10 to pay tribute to veterans.

Music teacher Max Patterson has been working with the students to help them learn several patriotic songs, and on Wednesday groups of students were recorded singing in order to create a video to honor the veterans.

PreK  students recited the pledge, while kindergarten kids  sang and performed movements for The Army Goes Rolling Along. First grade students sang My Country ‘Tis of Thee, while second grade students sang 2 songs, the Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful. All of the videos were compiled to create one video to honor veterans on Veterans Day.

Students also learned about the importance of Veterans Day in their classrooms, and drew pictures and wrote messages to the veterans. Some of these are included in the video as well.

The faculty, staff and students of Smithville Elementary would like to express their sincerest gratitude to all veterans.  They greatly appreciate their sacrifices and their service to our country.

November 11, 2021
By:

Brandon Cox of Smithville has formally announced plans to seek the Republican Party nomination for General Sessions Judge in the May 3, 2022 Republican Primary. Brandon, a local attorney, is a lifelong resident of DeKalb County. He and his wife, Whitney (Rice) Cox are the parents of four (4) children, Cora (10), Clara (7), Carrigan (3) and Callahan (2).

Brandon is the son of Annette Cox and the grandson of the late Bonnie Howell. Whitney is the daughter of Brenda Rice and the late Bobby Dean Rice and the granddaughter of Ruth Rice and the late Bob Rice.

Brandon is a 2004 graduate of DeKalb County High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Tech University in 2009, before graduating from Nashville School of Law in 2013. Brandon has been practicing law in DeKalb County since 2013. His wife, Whitney is a realtor with Sunbelt Real Estate in Smithville.

When Brandon isn’t practicing law, you can typically find him out and about within the community. Brandon played youth sports here in DeKalb County throughout all of his childhood. It is truly his love and passion, which is why as he aged out of playing sports, he transitioned straight into coaching them. He has coached and assisted countless teams throughout the many years, and especially as his own children have begun playing them. Brandon attributes so much of who he is today to his coaches and teachers who helped mold him throughout his youth, therefore he jumps on any opportunity he can to give back to today’s youth, just as his mentors, teachers and coaches did for him.

Brandon was elected to the Board of Alderman for the City of Smithville in 2018 where he currently still serves in that role. In this position, he has and will always advocate for conservative values. While on the board he advocated for the new Smithville Police Department facilities, as well as the approval of the upcoming splash pad at Green Brook Park.

Brandon is a current member of the DeKalb County E-911 board. He is also a member of the LBJ&C Headstart Board of Directors that services the Upper Cumberland. In addition to those roles, he has also served on the DeKalb County Habitat for Humanity board and on the DeKalb County Republican Executive Committee as Secretary and Treasurer.

Brandon and his family have been members of Outreach Baptist Church since 2016, where Brandon and his wife, Whitney, have both served as youth leaders.

“I’m excited for this opportunity. I love DeKalb County and I love my job practicing law. The General Sessions Judge position offers the unique opportunity for me to advance professionally as well as the opportunity for continual service to this county. Being judge requires certain knowledge and experience. As an attorney, I have cases in general sessions court nearly every week and have done so since 2013. I regularly deal with every aspect from the simplest of civil actions to the most serious criminal cases and everything in between. I also understand that this position requires the ability to listen to each side, the ability to understand the circumstances and situations being presented, the patience to consider the cases and the fairness to make impartial decisions. I look forward to bringing that to the bench each and every day. I will strive to be firm, fair, and consistent while upholding the constitution and laws of this great state. As a lifelong resident of this community, my goals are the same as yours. I want a safe community in which to raise my children and I want to leave this county in a better place for our children. I will continue to advocate for and help grow the recovery court program in DeKalb as well as work toward expanding the reach of the court to programs such as mentoring for our youth. Not only am I prepared to do this job, I am excited to do it. I would be honored to have your vote to serve as your next General Sessions Judge,” said Cox.

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