RIVER FALLS – Several parents spoke out against a book for its profanity, vulgar language and sexual references taught in ninth grade English at the April 17 River Falls School Board meeting.

The book in question, “The Poet X” by Elizabeth Acevedo, is about a young girl in Harlem who discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion (Catholicism) and her own relationship to the world, according to the book’s description on Good Reads.

One mother made a formal complaint to the school district to have it removed from the curriculum entirely. She said the book, which is more than 300 pages, contains over 30 curse words and references such language as “Show me your D-cups, man whores, put out or get out.”

Per School Board Policy 871 Rule, a committee was appointed to review the submitted “Request for Reconsideration of Instructional/Library Media Center Materials” form since a resolution was not reached between parent and teacher(s). The committee must be comprised of the building principal, the staff member(s) to whom the complaint was made, an appropriate department representative, the director of academic services, a student of appropriate age (if applicable), a staff member at large, and a parent selected by the principal.

If the parent doesn’t agree with the decision made by the committee, they can request in writing an appeal to the school board.

“A parent/guardian may request that his/her child not use specific instructional or library

media center materials or participate in certain instructional programs,” the policy states. “Alternative assignments or programs shall be made available in such cases that meet the instructional learning objective, at the discretion of district staff.”

Eleven out of the 12 committee members voted to make it a “choice book,” rather than an “anchor book.” With a choice book, parents have the option to opt out of their student reading it.

“River Falls is a Character School of Excellence and this is not commensurate with our values,” the mother said. “I’m pleased with the rigor with which the committee thought about this process. I think the inappropriateness makes this completely unacceptable to be in our schools.”

The woman said Scholastic lists the book as fourth-grade reading level. She wasn’t pleased with an English teacher’s response to her concerns, prompting her to file the formal complaint.  

“The English department has lost my trust,” the mother said. “The specifics of the book, when I said please could we have a letter depicting, let’s say, the letter about masturbation, which is graphic in detail to the protagonist, I was told by a teacher that that’s ‘taking words out of context and we want to have the literature speak for itself.’ And I don’t think there’s a parent that is comfortable with the school teaching masturbation and sexually explicit material in an English class.”

She said during the committee meeting, she was told a poem about masturbation is “good because it removes the stigma from masturbation, that it’s a good and okay thing to do.”

“Again, I don’t think it’s the school that needs to be teaching morality,” the mother said. “I think we need to let the parents decide.”

A North Carolina couple filed a lawsuit in 2021 to have the book banned from their son’s school for being “overtly anti-Christian” and violating “the constitutional safeguards against government endorsement of religion.” The court dismissed the lawsuit, at which time they filed a federal lawsuit, which was also dismissed.  

“This year our children were made to read sexually explicit material without parental consent or notice. This is wrong, this is unlawful,” she said to applause.

Another parent, Veronica Sparling, asked for the names of the committee members who voted to keep the book in the curriculum. She requested more transparency about who is making curriculum decisions.

“I think when kids are sent to school, I really hope that a classroom is a place to inspire young people to be their best…” she said. “This book is not part of that endeavor.”

She went on to read a poem found in “The Poet X” that talks about masturbation.

“In bed at night, my fingers search a heat I have no name for.

Sliding into a center, finding a hidden core, or stem, or maybe the root

I’m learning how to caress and breathe at the same time

How to be silent and feel something grow inside me

And when it all builds up, I sink into my mattress, I feel such a release.

I feel such a shame.

I sink into my mattress, I feel such release

To make myself feel this way is a dirty thing, right?

Then why does it feel so good.”

“This has no place in curriculum, in school,” Sparling said. “When kids are introduced to something like this in mixed company, suddenly it’s like, ‘Oh, this is a topic we can talk about and explore together. We can have sex and we can masturbate. This is so out of line with anything that should be in curriculum.”

Melody Boersma, a teacher (in another district) and the parent of a senior, said she was disturbed, disgusted and disappointed to learn “The Poet X” is part of the English 9 curriculum.

“I have loved this district but I am so glad that she (her daughter) is leaving, I’m sorry,” Boersma said. “We don’t need to be teaching that stuff in school. I’m not for getting rid of books or anything like that. If my daughter wanted to read this book, I would let her. But not in school.”

The themes raised in the book should be discussed as a family, within a family’s moral code, Boersma said. She also questioned why ninth graders were reading a fourth-grade reading level book.

District resident Sara Bocklund said she homeschools her kids for reasons such as this.

“I hope it made the board uncomfortable listening to what was read,” she said. “If not, that is questionable.”

She called the book “word pornography” and asked why the English staff feel it’s important to require this material.

“The public school system seems to have taken a sharp left in the past few years. Instead of focusing on reading, writing and math, it seems to be focusing on social issues, sexual topics that should have no place in schools in my opinion,” Bocklund said.

When President Stacy Johnson Myers asked her if she had read the book, Bocklund said no.

Another resident told the board she’s read 90% of the book because it is on author and social justice activist Ibram X. Kendi’s recommended books list. She said as a teacher and reading interventionist, she found it to be inappropriate.

“You can teach kids how to think critically with almost very little controversy in anything you give them to read,” she said. “Exposing kids to this kind of material can cause mental stress as well.”

Parent Carmen Gilles said she has lost trust in the ninth-grade English teachers.

“Garbage in, garbage out. That to me really sums it up,” she said.

Johnson Myers made sure to stress that the decision before the board that night was not whether or not to allow the book to remain in the curriculum, but to determine if Policy 871 had been followed.

“Our school board is committed to policy governance, which means the school board sets the policy for the district by taking into account state statutes, needs of the district, best practices and community values,” Johnson Myers said. “Once the board establishes a policy, it’s up to administrators to implement the policy. The school board monitors the implementation. In regard to the Poet X complaint, the parent properly followed School Board Policy 871. Administration conducted a review process, made a determination and then the parent asked for it to be taken back to the school board for our review. The only available option is for the board to uphold or question the process that administration went through in implementing Policy 871. It is not our place to make curriculum decisions, that’s administration’s responsibility. Our job is to determine if the process was properly held.”

The board voted unanimously to uphold the decision the review committee made because the proper procedure was followed.

“When we’re looking at policy governance, trust and transparency is really important at all levels,” Johnson Myers said. “The community needs to trust that that board is carefully considering community values and expectations for education.”

The community needs to trust that the board has complied with the law and best practices, she added. And the board needs to trust that administration and teachers will carefully implement policies.

“We need to think about how we are not only implementing this policy, but also Policy 381 related to controversial issues and materials. A key component in that policy is that parents will be communicated with well ahead of time so that parents can make informed decisions about a course of study or curriculum resources and how it fits their students. So it is this board’s expectation that Policy 381 is carefully implemented,” Johnson Myers said.

She plans to request a review of Policy 871 to ensure the policy is strong enough to address parental concerns. She also asked that parents trust that administration has a rigorous process for selecting curriculum.

Superintendent Jamie Benson reiterated that the board’s job that night was to determine if the policy the board created was followed, whether there was some fidelity and a comprehensive approach taken.

“Regardless of what the board determines in this vote that is on the table, the administration is going to follow this vote whatever, regardless of what the vote is, by having a full review of the books that are currently used in our classrooms,” Benson said.

He promised to engage staff and wants to build and promote transparency.

“I think the trust factor is at play here and we need to be very mindful in how we address that issue, so for deep clarity, let me try to resay it another way,” Benson said. “The board is only voting on whether or not their policy was followed … After that vote, regardless of the outcome, what I’m indicating as the superintendent, I’m telling you that we’re going to re-engage in the process of determining what books we will or will not have in front of our kids in our classrooms, and we’re going to forge that decision around one of our more recently board adopted strategic plan values which includes integrity.”

Lack of transparency or trust speaks to integrity and we can’t have our community wondering about that, he added.

Board member Lindsey Curtis thanked the people for expressing concern. Johnson Myers said families should be informed why teachers think certain content is important. Alan Tuchtenhagen opined that parents should be able to opt out.