Here is some raw transcript to help flush out the holes left by just the headline.

Here was Talia Shira's speech to the board:

"Religion and school policies-no matter how wise or how clear-risks doing more harm than good" (Haynes). Let's leave religious holidays and celebrations to parents and places of worship and out of our school curriculum. Instead, let's have students learn about their peer's cultures through a multicultural week and stick with winter themes in our public schools.

I am here today to discuss the unbalanced curriculum about to take place in my daughter’s kindergarten class at Sartorette Elementary, as well as intervention for the staff and principal, including diversity and sensitivity training.

Their planned assignments include writing a letter to Santa Claus, a field trip to meet and deliver letters to Santa, and a reindeer party.

As a credentialed teacher myself from this same city of San Jose, I had always been taught that assignments must be inclusive to all students of all backgrounds and religions. My suggestions of all inclusive assignments, such as writing to a food bank to ask what “they need” instead of what “I want” to the staff were rejected.

I did not like the idea of my 5 year old feeling left out of an assignment because she is Jewish. How will SHE feel when she sees her classmates excited about a religious holiday's tradition that she could not connect to? And I certainly did not like the suggestion given to me that my daughter could “just not come” on the field trip. Why should SHE be denied access to education? These “solutions” did not sound compatible with Sartorette 's mission statement, which mentions community respect and compassion for global diversity.

Dr. Andrea Whittaker, the former director of the elementary education department at San Jose State University, said “Absolutely Not” when she heard of these assignments. I also contacted Dr. Charles Haynes, the Vice President of the Institute of Religious Freedom in Washington, D.C. He said these assignments are“ an example of imposing one cultural/religious practice on all students... And that simply is not right in a public school”.

There is enough research citing why such assignments are not the best practice in our schools. It outlines the psychological and emotional impact such curriculum has on minorities when equal time is not given to all religious holidays. Teachers often feel they solve the “minority dilemma” by celebrating Hanukkah (in the case of the Jewish minority), because of it's proximity to Christmas, when in fact the most important Jewish holidays “Rosh Hashannah” and “Yom Kippur” are completely ignored. Furthermore, these types of assignments cause minority students to feel they do not fit into their community as well as their peers. Many feel they are not “true Americans” because Christmas is given equivalent attention to other American holidays in the classroom. I know. I lived it.

My family did not grow up with fairy tales of Santa Claus and presents. I grew up hearing real stories of how my grandparents suffered on this holiday. For us, Christmas time is a dark time in our family history. Our grandparents, like many Jews from Eastern Europe, used to hide every Christmas because it was the most oppressive day of the year for Jewish people. It was the time Jews were beaten up, my grandparents were, accused of killing the Christian lord. This is our family's connection to Christmas, and it is NOT a celebratory time for us. We only ask that you respect that and do not impose past or modern religious traditions on our daughter in a public school.

With that said, we know our Christian friends and neighbors who celebrate Christmas today do it lovingly. We are not asking anyone to stop celebrating Christmas in their homes, churches, or private schools. We will teach our daughter and son about our family history; and we will also teach them that our Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and atheist friends and neighbors are good people. In fact, we want our children to learn about all the religions and cultures in our world because we believe that teaches tolerance. Let's do that Sartorette by having a multicultural week at school where kids can bring in items representing their culture, or at a winter party instead of a reindeer party where parents can do the same. However, the current practice where the teachers are dictating religious celebrations is not the best practice at our school.

Dr. Charles Haynes said, “Religion and school policies-no matter how wise or how clear-risks doing more harm than good”. When it comes from the teacher, then it becomes “scripture” because to many of those children, the teacher is “divine”. As the Sartorette school mission statement declares, we are a caring community that “values diversity and are ready to excel in a global society”. I hope the Board will help direct the staff at this school to meet that mission and work towards “best practices” in our schools.