“There are lots of complexities to determining whether or not to include this particular book,” she said. Saksa said people all over the country have grappled with this issue in a changing landscape. In late spring 2019 several building administrators had heard from four or five students objecting to offensive language and themes that were included in the novel. The notes from the teachers, which were released with the approval of the administration, indicated there were four to six meetings with Sage Wellness, which according to the company website is committed to using a trauma-informed and responsive lens to assist agencies in improving services provided to children or families. Haverford School Board member Danielle Vitale from a screengrab of the committee meeting video on YouTube.Īt Thursday’s meeting Vitale referred to notes she had just received that morning from teachers about their interactions with Sage Wellness meeting from 2019-2021, calling them “quite shocking.” The consultant firm, Sage Wellness, said that the evaluations of those sessions by the teachers involved were generally complimentary of the back and forth between the facilitator and the educators.īoard member Danielle Vitale had requested the review of the role of the consultant, Sage Wellness Group, at last month’s board meeting focusing on why the district was not assigning the book in the past couple of years.

One school board member and an administrator said they were shocked at what went on in sessions involving teachers and a consultant, including heavy racial overtones, during those meetings in 2019 through 2021 that were only now coming to light.

The input an outside consulting group had around decisions to pause the use of “To Kill a Mockingbird” for the eighth grade by the School District of Haverford was the main topic of discussion at a recent Curriculum and Pupil Services Committee meeting.

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