School district newsletter omits Christmas from list.
Hanukkah, Human Rights Day, winter break, the Islamic holy day Eid al-Adha, first day of winter and Kwanzaa all made the list, but Spokane Public Schools snubbed Christmas.
Yuletide was left off a list of “important dates” in a December newsletter sent to elementary school students’ families, drawing complaints from some parents that in an age of political correctness, Christians are being overlooked in favor of other cultures and beliefs.
As the response started coming in, the district’s community relations department began damage control, sending out e-mails to school staff accepting responsibility for the “Bulletin Board” newsletter blunder and calling it “an honest, unfortunate mistake.” Christmas had been added to the “important dates” section of the online version of the school district’s newsletter by Thursday afternoon.
It was absolutely an error of omission,” district spokeswoman Terren Roloff said. “In our efforts to be inclusive, we missed the obvious.”
The district would not have included Hanukkah and Eid al-Adha if it had intended to avoid religious celebrations, Roloff said.
She said her office has been fielding calls about the newsletter from concerned parents, and that most have been understanding about the mix-up.
“I’m glad Christian parents are upset. They should be upset,” said Finn Laursen, executive director of the Ohio-based Christian Education Association International, which represents Christian educators in both private and public schools. “There has been thinking in this country – that has been rammed down people’s throats – that we have to stay away from anything related to Jesus.”
Laursen said he doesn’t buy the district’s explanation. “That’s what they’ve got to say now,” he said.
In Spokane, Greater Spokane Association of Evangelicals Executive Director John Tusant said he was surprised by the exclusion of Christmas from the calendar.
“The stores have been decorated for the last month. How do you overlook that?” Tusant asked.
Christmas isn’t just an American and Christian celebration, it has become a global holiday, he said.
Hutton School parent Jane Harper noted the absence of Christmas but didn’t think the omission was meant as a message to Christians.
“Christmas is so dominant in our society. I don’t know that anyone should feel slighted,” Harper said.
Spokane Public Schools has no policy barring Christmas references at school, and Christmas decorations are permitted. But Roloff said the holiday is not the school’s focus. “Our focus is education,” she said.