Metro Family blank pages: The story behind the OKC magazine’s decision

Oklahoma City publication, Metro Family Magazine, recently published several blank pages in the place where the magazine’s “What’s Right With Our Schools” column was.

The article focused on OKC-area schools that are teaching students social-emotional learning. 

What is Social Emotional Learning?

According to this document from the Oklahoma State Department of Education, “The importance of social and emotional learning (SEL) cannot be overstated. These skills are critical to maintaining healthy lifestyles, enabling children and adults to identify and manage their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.”

In 2022, Oklahoma State Senator Shane Jett filed a bill proposing to bar public schools from using federal, state, or private funds to teach concepts about social-emotional learning.

Metro Family said in a statement that right before the issue was set to publish, the article “had to be removed. Publishers chose to leave blank pages where the article would have been.

“Unfortunately, in our current climate, schools fear backlash and removal of funding for sharing their success stories in social-emotional learning. Those who were quoted in this issue’s article asked for the piece to be removed due to recent directives, and we respect their wishes,” Metro Family Magazine’s statement, attributed to the CEO/Publisher and COO/President.

Why did Metro Family Publish Blank Pages?

Griffin Media's Political Analyst Scott Mitchell conducted this interview with Erin Page, CEO and Publisher of Metro Family Magazine, as part of Mitchell’s Hot Seat series, which airs every Saturday morning on News 9 and News On 6.

The following is a transcript from that interview:

Scott Mitchell:

Erin, you've left those pages blank. People are going to be hearing about why you did that, but that's just for today. You're going to do another episode, and one after that, and one after that. So, what are you thinking about in your next episode? And the second thing would be what call to action? What are you wanting people to do? You see this and identify with what you've done at Metro Family magazine. 

Erin Page: 

We are going to continue to hold space for the good because we know there are lots of wonderful stories to tell about our public schools. 

So we want folks to share with Metro Family their stories about a wonderful teacher or a program who has made a difference for their students and their families. And we also would like for people to be watching Metro Family to see the next installments coming out. 

We'll be talking about workforce development. We'll be talking about teacher recruitment and retention. We'll be celebrating the local nonprofits and corporations who are supporting public schools and inviting the community to find those ways that they can plug in and support public schools as well. 

Scott Mitchell:

My last question would be, is this story begins to circulate, and I understand you've had some feelers from national publications and broadcast networks. How is it being received by people in Oklahoma that have seen what you've done and wanted to reach out to you so far? 

Erin Page:

Scott. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. We have heard from parents, from educators, from business and community leaders who have thanked our team for lending a voice to this topic that, where teachers feel like they can't. Again, the topic in this article was to be social emotional learning, and this is a research-backed, nonpartisan program that teaches children about empathy, about conflict resolution. How to listen to others who have different viewpoints from them. 

So there's nothing wild in the story that we were looking forward to sharing and there's no reason that teachers should not be able to share the good work they're doing in social emotional learning or any of the other programs or curriculums that they're working hard on in the classroom. 

Scott Mitchell:

So where do people contact you how do they find Metro Family Magazine? 

Erin Page:

Metrofamilymagazine.com is where they can read a whole host of positive stories about education. You can find out some of the challenges that we're facing in education in Oklahoma, but more importantly, see how some of our teachers, our districts, and our schools are rising to those challenges and making positive strides in the face of those. 

Scott Mitchell:

Erin Page is the CEO and Publisher of Metro Family magazine. Erin, thank you for coming in and visiting with us on this issue. 

Metro Family Magazine’s Full Statement about the unpublished article:

This issue’s What’s Right with Our Schools article had to be removed immediately before press. The article was to cover local public schools making positive strides in social-emotional learning, which is an educational approach that focuses on teaching students essential life skills like self-awareness, empathy, emotional regulation and relationship-building. We intentionally incorporated this focus area into the series because local business leaders told us these are the skills they’re seeking in Oklahoma’s future workforce. And we covered this issue three years ago, with much support from the parent and education communities.

Unfortunately, in our current climate, schools fear backlash and removal of funding for sharing their success stories in social-emotional learning. Those who were quoted in this issue’s article asked for the piece to be removed due to recent directives, and we respect their wishes.

While we could have filled these pages with alternate content or sold advertising space, we’ve made the choice to keep them blank to make a statement.

This is the direct result of our educational system having to be so cautious in the present atmosphere that even sharing success stories about critical, non-partisan programs like social-emotional learning has become too risky. This is not a political issue; it’s a fundamental challenge to how we support and nurture our future generations. It’s a threat to local schools’ ability to share the positive, proactive work they’re doing. And that impacts everyone in the community.

We remain committed to celebrating all the good happening in our public schools, and we’d love for you to join us in that mission. Send us a message about the positive things happening in your child’s school, an impactful teacher or a district program that’s made a difference for your family. Email erin@metrofamilymagazine.com with the subject line “What’s Right with Our Schools.”

We will continue our What’s Right with Our Schools series in the next issue. For now, read past articles about all the positive things happening in our public schools.