[lg policy] Charter school administrator is ‘praying for a wall’ to stop illegal immigration, while her diverse students must speak English and learn Western manners

Fri Mar 23 14:35:58 UTC 2018

 Charter school administrator is ‘praying for a wall’ to stop illegal
immigration, while her diverse students must speak English and learn
Western manners
[image: Charter school administrator is ‘praying for a wall’ to stop
illegal immigration, while her diverse students must speak English and
learn Western manners]
(Steve Griffin | Tribune file photo) The American Preparatory Academy
campus in Draper, as seen in 2017. The network of charter schools is facing
controversy over a top administrator’s use of social media, including a
February post objecting to illegal immigration.
<https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2018/03/22/former-teacher-says-utah-charter-schools-racist-policies-include-punishing-students-for-speaking-their-native-languages>
56
<https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2018/03/22/former-teacher-says-utah-charter-schools-racist-policies-include-punishing-students-for-speaking-their-native-languages/comments#disqus_thread>
By Benjamin Wood <https://www.sltrib.com/author/bwood>
 ·  Published: 16 hours ago
Updated: 13 hours ago

A network of Utah charter schools is facing backlash over its top
administrator’s use of social media, including a February statement that
criticized illegal immigration for fueling a drug “scourge.”

Students at American Preparatory Academy, or APA, in West Valley City
protested last week, partly in response to a since-deleted Facebook post by
Carolyn Sharette, executive director of American Preparatory Schools.

“Yes let’s offer the dreamers a future,” Sharette wrote, “but let’s not
forget the lost futures and dreams of families and young citizens who have
been devastated by the drug trade that has been fueled by illegals pouring
into our communities.”

Her series of posts between Jan. 30 and Feb. 2, which included a link to
news coverage of law enforcement activity in Salt Lake City, concluded with
Sharette writing, “WE MUST SECURE OUR BORDERS and carefully vet those who
want to come be our neighbors. Praying for a wall.”

Tayler Khater, a former APA teacher who now works at Skyline High School,
said he was “disgusted” by the immigration-related post. But he said it was
indicative of longstanding attitudes by Sharette toward racial and cultural
diversity.

“In terms of top-down attitude, it was easily the most racist place I have
ever worked,” Khater said of APA.

The former teacher said APA students who are not native English speaker are
prohibited from using their birth language on campus. And violations of
that policy, he said, can carry academic consequences.

“I had multiple students who were suspended from my class just for speaking
Spanish,” he said.

Khater also took issue with an etiquette program at the school, which
culminates in a celebratory ball where students are instructed to address
each other as “miss” or “master.”

“It’s just like a 1950s debutante school,” Khater said. “It encourages a
very particular Western, Anglo-Saxon approach and they sell it as getting
[students] ready for the business world.”
English only
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American Preparatory Academy operates seven charter schools in Utah. One of
its West Valley campuses is known as “The School For New Americans,” and
the majority of its enrolled students are members of racial or ethnic
minorities.

The public charters are run by Sharette’s private company, American
Preparatory Schools, with Sharette filling a role analogous to that of a
school district superintendent.

In emails to The Salt Lake Tribune, Sharette and Brad Findlay, the school’s
governing board chairman, confirmed the school’s English-only policy and
the content of its etiquette lessons, described by Findlay as an
“ambassador” program.

Sharette disputed Khater’s characterization, describing him as a
disgruntled former employee. If a student is overheard speaking their
native language on campus, she said, the worst sanction they might receive
is a verbal reminder to converse in English.

“It is not something that we give referrals or consequences for,” Sharette
said, “because once students understand the rationale, it usually ceases to
be an issue.”

The English-only policy is meant to prepare students for higher education,
Sharette said. She compared it to immersion instruction — in which students
learn a new language by using it for large portions of their school day —
and said it has contributed to the academic success of APA’s English
language learners.

“Our standard at school is that everyone speaks English at school,
regardless of a student's home language,” Sharette said. “This is part of
our academic curriculum.”

And the intent of the ambassador program, she said, is to ensure that
students are comfortable in a variety of educational, professional and
social settings. The event includes lessons on navigating a five-course
meal, proper use of utensils, greeting guests and appropriate business
attire.

“Professional dress instruction is part of our academic curriculum,”
Sharette said. “Some of our girls are Muslim, and their professional dress
incorporates appropriate religious garb.”

The program begins in fifth grade and is required for all students, Findlay
said, and culminates at a dinner at the upscale La Caille restaurant in
Sandy for ninth-graders.

“It truly is a highlight evening in their year,” Findlay said. “The evening
ends with the opportunity for each student to dance a waltz with his or her
mom or dad or guardian.”

Khater, who left the school in 2014, said he did not recall the lessons
being adapted to the culture or religion of individual students.

“I never saw that,” he said. “Maybe that’s something they say now.”
Other controversies

In addition to her statements on illegal immigration, Sharette has raised
eyebrows for online posts that object to school breakfast programs for
low-income families and question whether Islam is a peaceful religion.

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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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