TRANSPARENCY IN ROCKWOOD

TRANSPARENCY FROM ROCKWOOD IS LACKING.

Missouri statute statute 170.231 says any one of us can go and inspect instructional materials used in Rockwood.

But, parents have been told to pay money and file Sunshine Law Requests to see what the law says we're supposed to be able to access.

Our tax dollars pay for these materials in the first place, they pay the salaries of the employees buying and using the materials. And, then, we are also supposed to pay the people, again, for their time to gather the information we requested.

If every teacher posted a list online of every lesson material, every resource, every book, every article and video that they are using in their classes, Rockwood employees wouldn't have to gather it. And, the onus would be on parents to check it out or not.

This is not about trying to give more work to our already often overworked teachers.

It's a response to a culture that told teachers to hide controversial lesson content from parents.

If you're not familiar with that, here's the infamous email that started it all.

Library books? You have to know the title to search.

Classroom books? Up to the teachers to tell you what they have.

What materials are being used in class lessons? 
Again, a list. Not just a syllabus, which is not always on Canvas, either. (Ask parents. They'll tell you.) We're talking about the items that never get posted on Canvas.

If it's all posted online, even administrators and school board members will have easy access. As it stands now, administrators have had to tell teachers to stop what they're doing because parents brought the items to their attention. 

Parents should not be in the position of telling the people in charge what's going on in our classrooms. 
It should be the other way around.

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