{"id":133,"date":"2018-03-28T18:56:18","date_gmt":"2018-03-28T18:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/burn.coplacdigital.org\/unca\/?page_id=133"},"modified":"2018-04-27T13:38:20","modified_gmt":"2018-04-27T13:38:20","slug":"eric-grant-interview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/burn.coplacdigital.org\/unca\/eric-grant-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Grant Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Interview of Eric Grant, Head of 6-12 English Language Arts Curriculum for Buncombe County Schools, March 6, 2018. Interviewed via E-mail by Rosanna Garris.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>RG: We are mostly interested in the process that a book goes through when being challenged, and specifically what that looked like in the case of <i>The Bluest Eye<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>EG: Here are the steps as outlined in Board Policy 3210:<\/p>\n<p><i>If a complaint is made on a material other than a state adopted text, the procedures are as follows: <\/i><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><i> The principal shall inform the complainant of the selection procedures and request that the complainant file his\/her objections in writing by completing the Request for the Reconsideration of Instructional Resources form (see Administrative Regulation 3210R). The complaint shall be forwarded to the school&#8217;s Media\/Technology Advisory Committee [MTAC] (&#8220;Building Level Committee&#8221;). The Committee shall consist of at least the following individuals: a site based administrator; a parent; a teacher; and a Coordinator. <\/i><\/li>\n<li><i> Upon receipt of a complaint, the Building Level Committ<\/i><i>ee shall conduct the following review: <\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li><i> examine the item and the objection; <\/i><\/li>\n<li><i> survey reviews of the item in professional reviewing sources when possible; <\/i><\/li>\n<li><i> determine the extent to which the item supports the curriculum, weigh the merits against the alleged weaknesses and consider the whole item instead of isolated passages; <\/i><\/li>\n<li><i> discuss the item and prepare a written report of the findings and determination; <\/i><\/li>\n<li><i> send copies of the report to the school principal and complainant; and <\/i><\/li>\n<li><i> The report shall be issued no more than fifteen (15) school days from the time the written objection is filed with the principal. <\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><i> If the complainant is not satisfied with the Building Level Committee&#8217;s determination, within ten (10) school days of receipt of that determination, the complainant may appeal to the Board of Education by filing a Request for Review of Building-Level Recommendation (see Administrative Regulation 3210R). Following the steps outlined in Section Two, the Community Media\/Technology Advisory Committee (&#8220;Community Committee&#8221;) will re-examine all documentation from the Building Level Committee and conduct any further investigation as it deems appropriate. Within fifteen (15) school days following receipt of the complainant&#8217;s appeal, or unless additional time is needed based on further investigation, the Community Committee will prepare a written report of its findings and recommendation and report directly to the Board of Education. <\/i><\/li>\n<li><i> The Board of Education shall review the Community Committee&#8217;s report and conduct any further investigations as it deems appropriate. The Board of Education shall make a final determination within thirty (30) business days after receiving the Community Committee&#8217;s written report. <\/i><\/li>\n<li><i> Unless otherwise stated by the Board of Education, determinations regarding challenged instructional material shall be limited to the individual school and not across the entire school system. Policy Code: 3210 {CS: 00020365.DOC} BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY MANUAL Page 3 of 3 6. No instructional materials shall be removed from the classroom or media collection until the appeal procedure is completed<\/i>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>In the case of <i>The Bluest Eye<\/i>, the school MTAC Committee met and reviewed the complaint and the materials. They decided to leave the text intact for classroom use for a 12th grade English Advanced Placement course only. That decision was supported by the complainant so the challenge stopped at the school level.<\/p>\n<p>RG: We&#8217;d also like to know about your role in this process \u00a0as well as other people who played instrumental roles.<\/p>\n<p>EG: My role proved to be fairly limited. I met with the school to outline the process prior to the school MTAC committee and to answer any questions that they had. Because the first step is for the school-based committee to meet, I did not participate in that meeting. Since it did not reach the county level, I did not need to get further involved.<\/p>\n<p>RG: We&#8217;d also love to hear your opinions on the book, the challenge, and the process.<\/p>\n<p>EG: As with much great literature, this book provides students the opportunity to understand a culture and an experience different from what most of them have experienced. Certainly, there is some difficult content that can be a challenge for some students and families.<\/p>\n<p>In general, the process has been effective in allowing a school-based committee determine what is appropriate for their students. The process allows for a thorough and fair opportunity for parents to have their voices heard while providing opportunity for schools to apply their educational expertise to such decision.<\/p>\n<p>RG: We&#8217;d also be very appreciative of any materials or paperwork related to the case that you could give us copies of.<\/p>\n<p>EG: I think that you would have to go through the school and\/or BCS Communications for that.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Further questions from March 9, 2018.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>RG: Have you read\u00a0<em>The Bluest Eye<\/em>?<\/p>\n<p>EG: Yes, I have read\u00a0The Bluest Eye. It&#8217;s themes around power and around how society defines beauty are very powerful.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Interview of Eric Grant, Head of 6-12 English Language Arts Curriculum for Buncombe County Schools, March 6, 2018. Interviewed via E-mail by Rosanna Garris. RG: We are mostly interested in the process that a book goes through when being challenged, and specifically what that looked like in the case\u2026 <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/burn.coplacdigital.org\/unca\/eric-grant-interview\/\">Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-133","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/burn.coplacdigital.org\/unca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/burn.coplacdigital.org\/unca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/burn.coplacdigital.org\/unca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/burn.coplacdigital.org\/unca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/burn.coplacdigital.org\/unca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/burn.coplacdigital.org\/unca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":358,"href":"https:\/\/burn.coplacdigital.org\/unca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/133\/revisions\/358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/burn.coplacdigital.org\/unca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}