Letter to the editor

Academic Transparency

As part of our “All ‘A’s” for Chariho” School Committee platform, we were purposeful in including ACADEMIC TRANSPARENCY as one our campaign pillars. In criss-crossing Richmond speaking face-to-face with voters, our commitment to transparency has been validated time and again. We have heard at nearly every door from nearly every voter, that ACADEMIC TRANSPARENCY holds equal value among parents with children in the district and to taxpayers without kids in school.    

To support our vision of being THE BEST SCHOOL DISTRICT IN RI, we must be transparent, encouraging parental involvement at all levels.  As Districts nationally and locally have been distracted by the development of divisive curriculum and the inclusion of age-inappropriate topics, more parents have opted for homeschooling, charter schools, and private schools.  Unfortunately, there’s a crisis of confidence in public education and consequently, our District is down 1,000 students from its peak enrollment. To realize our vision for Chariho - to be the best District in Rhode Island - we must rebuild trust within our community. And to rebuild that trust, we must foster a level of academic transparency at every level. 

In addition, our curriculum must be designed to promote success. It is important for us as leaders to avoid distractions and focus on educational outcomes that create opportunities for our children. To that end, we will advocate for full and open transparency of all books, lesson plans and other digital materials in the Chariho District.  We know that when all members of the community can view curriculum and lesson plans online, we can quickly identify and remove any impediments to learning.

We believe in the rights of parents to direct the values of their children. Parents are the key decision makers in their children’s lives, and are important participants in their education.  Parents must be involved at all levels in order to achieve our vision of academic excellence and accountability. 

Moreover, parents should be informed of all aspects of their children’s education, including their social and emotional well-being.  Parents have the right to know if their children are struggling, questioning their sexual identity, asking to be called by a different pronoun at school that doesn’t reflect their biological sex, engaging in behaviors that distract them from learning, or are facing a physical or mental health crisis. 

We have an Academic Transparency petition that we intend to submit to the School Committee.  To view and digitally sign our petition, go to www.DinsmoreJohnson.com.  View all of our campaign videos while you’re on our website that correspond with our “A’s” in our “All ‘A’s” for Chariho” platform.

Richmond, we have been transparent in outlining our bold vision for Chariho. We’ve personally knocked on over 1,500 doors.  We’ve done our best to communicate with you in-person, by mail, by email and by text. Our campaign has been positive and forward-thinking.  We have done our personal best to earn your vote.  We humbly ask for your support for Louise Dinsmore & Clay Johnson for School Committee representing Richmond. 

Sincerely,

Louise Dinsmore & Clay Johnson