The Advocate - A Household word for 30 years! Vol.30, No.30 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net School Committee tussles over Dr. Seuss By Adam Swift T he culture wars came to Revere last week at a School Committee subcommittee meeting, as several committee members raised questions about a move to de-emphasize the place of Dr. Seuss during Read Across America Day in March. The debate over Dr. Seuss came during a joint meeting of the Policy and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Subcommittees. The subcommittees were discussing recommendations made by the district’s Equity Advisory Board. Among the recommendations were removing six Dr. Seuss books from classrooms that have already been marked for removal by the Seuss estate itself, as well as putting a focus on more diverse authors and books in the Read Across America school displays. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dianne Kelly said the district has never called the day Dr. Seuss Day, but it has in the past used things like the Cat in the Hat for the symbol for the day. “One of the things that we can look at, because it is Read Across America, is that it doesn’t have to be a Dr. Seuss book we are using,” said Kelly. “A lot of the people, when they are guest readers, often use ‘The Places You’ll Go.’ We don’t all do Dr. Seuss and we can do Read Across America without the Dr. Seuss symbols and still use Dr. Seuss’ great books, but the ones the Equity Advisory Board pointed out have been identifi ed for bias.” School Committee Member Stacey Rizzo pointed to the Beachmont School and some other elementary schools using a Dr. Seuss display in their lobbies for Read Across AmerFree Every Friday 781-286-8500 Friday, July 30, 2021 ica, and said she did not want to see those displays go away if they do encourage reading for younger students. Lourenço Garcia, the district’s assistant superintendent of equity and inclusion and a member of the Equity Advisory Board, said the board recommended moving away from making Dr. Seuss the centerpiece of Read Across America. “The Equity Advisory Board believes that if we continue to use the Dr. Seuss images, especially the clothing and the hats, if they don’t go away, it is like masking the problem,” said Garcia. “We are not cancelling him; he is a great writer and many people in this country and throughout the world love Dr. Seuss books.” But, Garcia said, the six books earmarked by the advisory board and the Dr. Seuss Foundation do need to be removed because of bias and racist images. School Committee Member Frederick Sannella took issue with the recommendation from Garcia to totally do away with the Seuss imagery throughout the schools for Read Across America. “It seems like we are on the road to sanitizing everything, and I don’t think that is what education is about,” said Sannella. “If one group feels offended by something, I don’t think that should be a priority for the generalization. It’s not in my lifetime, but I hate to think what is coming down the road; it’s who makes the most noise and who wants to be politically correct, and I think that’s doing more damage. That’s my opinion.” Kelly said she believes what the Equity Advisory Board is recSCHOOL | SEE Page 19 D’Ambrosio kicks off campaign for State Senate State Senate candidate Anthony D’Ambrosio with his proud parents, Gerry and Michelle during his campaign kickoff event on July 27 at Cut 21. See pages 12&13 for photo highlights. (Advocate photo by Tara Vocino) Art mural, sand sculpture and sand walking track unveiled at Suffolk Downs With the mural and sand sculpture behind them, from left to right: Mayor Brian Arrigo, Artists For Humanity (AFH) Assistant Mentor/Graphic Designer Jordan Nelson, graphic design team member Albert Pimentel, design team member Luis Torres, design team member Gigi Greene, design team member Adrianna Acosta, AFH Design Director Kelsey Arbona (in front), AFH Director of Program Operations Lorraine Johnson, design team member Bernisha Pierre-Louis, AFH Social Media Coordinator Fred Plowright, AFH Co-Founder/Special Projects Director Jason Talbot, sales/community outreach associate Cam Lane, AFH Marketing Director Richard Frank and The HYM Investment Group Founding Partner Thomas O’Brien. See pages 10&11 for photo highlights. (Advocate photos by Tara Vocino)
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