Principals and teachers will decide if President Barack Obama's second annual back to school speech will be aired this week in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks classrooms.
Obama gave a similar speech last fall, telling students to study hard, stay in school and take responsibility for their own education. But controversy preceded his remarks, and some critics worried his speech would be political.
Grand Forks School District officials decided to not allow any live broadcasts of the speech in the city's 18 schools, a move that caused several teachers, former teachers and area residents to criticize the School Board for possibly opening the door to future censorship.
But the district is leaving the decision up to officials and teachers at each school this year when Obama speaks at noon Tuesday from Philadelphia's Julia R. Mastermann Laboratory and Demonstration School.
"You and your teachers may decide how to incorporate this address into instructional lessons and daily activities," wrote Assistant Superintendent Jody Thompson in a Friday e-mail to principals.
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"Essentially, what we're just telling them is do what you normally would do," Superintendent Larry Nybladh told the Herald.
The memo also tells teachers to follow the normal "opt out" policy that allows parents to keep their children out of the classroom during the speech, if that's what they prefer.
Nybladh said last year's message was "very encouraging to students," but the district prefers to leave the decision up to individual teachers and principals this year.
"It's in the best interest of our educational system and the students we serve to allow our educators and building education leaders to determine how to incorporate this," he said.
West Fargo, Fargo and Moorhead schools are taking a similar approach this year, allowing teachers to make the decision but also allowing parents to choose if their child will watch it.
East Grand Forks also will let parents opt out, a policy Superintendent Dave Pace said is common around the country. He doesn't expect problems because last year's speech didn't cause much of a stir in his district.
But he worried the timing of the speech -- which is being broadcast at noon -- will be inconvenient for airing it live Tuesday.
"There's probably going to be very, very few classes going on at that time," he said. "There's a lunch hour in every building."
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The speech will be archived on the White House website and Grand Forks School District website. Pace said teachers could always show it at a later time if it works better for their schedule and fits with their curriculum.
"If it's appropriate in the classroom, the teacher's going to show it," he said.
Online
View President Obama's speech at www.whitehouse.gov/back-to-school
Reach Johnson at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or send e-mail to rjohnson@gfherald.com .
