Funds for "Flocabulary" Frozen While Concerns Investigated

An educational program used for at-risk students in the Oklahoma City Public School District is drawing criticism over content. Now top school district officials said funding for the program will be frozen while the concerns are investigated.

Wednesday, September 29th 2010, 11:21 pm

By: News 9


By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- An educational program used for at-risk students in the Oklahoma City Public School District is drawing criticism over content. Now top school district officials said funding for the program will be frozen while the concerns are investigated.

Concerned teachers spoke out about the content saying it was inappropriate for students. The program is called Flocabulary and features books for vocabulary, math, and social studies. The focus of the program uses hip hop and rap music to help students remember content.

A teacher who wished to remain anonymous said a lot of the content is disturbing and offensive.

"One of the chapters is called 'O.D.W.M,' 'Old Dead White Men.' It's about our founding fathers. They deserve more respect than that," the teacher said.

That was just one example of the concerns teachers have about the product. Based on the recommendation of a trusted area director of education, the school board approved $95,000 of federal funds for the program. District leaders said about $10,000 of the appropriation has been spent.

Rodgers Middle School Principal Mike Brown said he is considering the program for the school.

"If I had books that were inappropriate that found their way into this library, we would remove the book. Not the entire library," Brown said.

Principal Brown said the early math and vocab books and their corresponding raps appear to be positive teaching tools, but he said the school will not be using the history material.

Oklahoma City Public School Superintendent Karl Springer said he's putting the breaks on the rest of the funds as an investigation launches. He said some of the material offended him.

"When we start talking about the President Of The United States. My president right now is Barack Obama, and I am offended when people talk about my president, our president in any way that is disrespectful. And in this country we seem to be getting to a point where you can say anything about anyone you want and that's wrong. Whether you are a Democrat, Republic, or Independent, when it comes to basically name calling of our president or being disrespectful of any president, you've started a war with me. I'm against that, and I think any person that is respectful of the United States of America would be equally offended," Springer said.

Springer said the program was recommended by a regional executive director. Springer said he believes the materially was not thoroughly read over before it was approved.

"Part of that was missed. No doubt about it," he said. "There is a lack of sensitivity. We've already got enough of that in this community and in this country."

District leaders plan to review the material. They said good parts of the curriculum will be kept, but anything inappropriate will be deleted from use. The program is currently being used at Seeworth Academy and the district's Extended Educational Services school, which teaches students at places like hospitals, the county jail, and juvenile detention.

The founders of New York based Flocabulary, Blake Harrison and Alex Rappaport, said they have only received a handful of complaints about their teaching tool. The two had agreed to a Skype interview with NEWS 9 on Wednesday, but canceled it. Instead, the founders issued the following statement:

"Flocabulary is committed to producing learning programs that engage students with academic content and increase achievement. We strongly believe that a motivated student is a more successful student, and we feel we have a responsibility to help students make meaningful connections in the classroom. The programs, which use music and a research-based lesson sequence, are supplemental; they don't replace the textbook, but simply provide teachers with another tool they can use to reach students, especially those who aren't succeeding with traditional methods. We are committed to making our programs thought-provoking to encourage students to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and develop critical thinking skills that will serve them throughout the rest of their lives. Our programs are proven to help close the achievement gap and increase scores on state tests."

More:

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

September 29th, 2010

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024