Earlier this week I was reading articles on the Pacific Justice Institute and various Fox News channels, reporting that Springs Charter Schools have been removing Christian books from shelves, including Hiding Place a book written by Corrie ten Boom.
After doing a lot of research several parents that have children in the charter school advise that the statements made by Pacific Justice Institute and various news organizations are false. Some parents are using Christian text books in their curriculum and advise that the book, Hiding Place is still on the shelves as well as books written by CS Lewis, Tolkien and tons and tons of Christian authors. See all the comments for yourself on the Springs Charter public facebook page.
In a letter to the parents and media, the Springs Charter Schools Superintendent, Kathleen Hermsmeyer Responds to Query by Pacific Justice Institute
TEMECULA, CA, September 24, 2014 – Kathleen Hermsmeyer, Superintendent of Springs Charter Schools, released the following statement regarding an August 22nd query by the Pacific Justice Institute:
“On August 22, Michael Peffer of the Pacific Justice Institute contacted my office at Springs Charter Schools about a conversation that had occurred last summer between a parent of a Springs Charter Schools student and an employee of Springs Charter School, neither of whom were identified. The conversation took place in the Springs Resource Library, which is a warehouse for textbooks we use in our school programs (it is not actually a library, in fact, we have since renamed it the Curriculum Warehouse to eliminate any confusion). Due to the fact that our schools are independent study charter schools, we do not maintain traditional lending libraries. According to the letter, the unidentified Springs employee told the unidentified parent that he/she was instructed to “remove all books with a Christian message, authored by Christians, or published by a Christian publishing company.”
At Springs Charter Schools, we’re pleased to welcome families of a variety of religious backgrounds, including many Christians, and do not discriminate against or disparage anyone because of their religious beliefs. We can and do provide educational novels with religious perspectives, including Corrie ten Boom’s The Hiding Place. However, like every other public school in the State of California, we cannot legally maintain religious textbooks on our warehouse shelves for distribution to our families. Donated items are made available to our families at no cost. Any and all donated items are not incorporated onto the shelves of our Curriculum Warehouse. The only materials we maintain on the shelves of our Curriculum Warehouse are items we have purchased ourselves in accordance with the laws of our State
Springs Charter Schools are tuition-free, public schools of choice serving more than 6,000 California school children and their parents. Many Springs parents choose to homeschool full-time, while others choose two to five days per week of a blended model that includes classroom instruction with home study. Springs serves students with 14 student centers in the Counties of Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles. Springs Charter Schools’ administrative offices are located at 43466 Business Park Drive, Temecula, CA 92590. Phone: (951) 252-8800. Website:www.springscharterschools.org.
After extensive research and reading the feedback from various parents with children at Springs Charter School. it’s our opinion that the articles on Fox and Pacific Justice websites are false.
Eva Smith
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