An Atlanta school said they will no longer have their students say the Pledge of Allegiance to start their school day. But after some major backlash, they changed their minds.
Here’s what happened:
A report from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says that the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School had announced the change in a news release on Tuesday.
Elementary campus president Lara Zelski told parents it has become “increasingly obvious” during the past couple of years that more people were choosing not to stand or recite the pledge.
The Neighborhood Charter School officials said the students will still continue to be asked to stand to participate in the school’s Wolf Pack Chant each morning.
Also, teachers will work with students to create a new school pledge that will focus on civic responsibility to the students’ “school , community, country and our global society.”
However, The decision was met with major backlash from politicians and the public.
The school then issued another statement saying while its policies were in line with the Georgia Department of Education, it has decided it will return its morning meeting to its original format and allow the pledge to be recited.
“It appears there was some miscommunication and inconsistency in the rollout,” of the new policy, said Lia Santos, Board Chair of the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School’s Governing Board. “Starting next week, we will return to our original format and provide our students with the opportunity to recite the pledge during the all-school morning meeting.
“We are working together with the school administration to ensure we address concerns and feedback from our school family while continuing to uphold and support the rights of every member of our school community,” she added.
The Georgia Department of Education requires “schools to set a time for the Pledge of Allegiance, either at the beginning of the school day or in homeroom. Students are not required to recite the pledge.”
Any and every school that receives a dime from the taxpayers/government should be required to teach the Constitution and allow the pledge to be recited each morning.
We do not pay taxes so that people from other countries can draw on government-provided services while simultaneously forcing their language and customs on our citizens. Every state should be reminded it is the immigrant, not the native born citizens, who must assimilate and participate in our customs/practices. I would recommend President Theodore Roosevelt’s wise words re immigrants be posted in every classroom and government office throughout the U.S.