ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — Revisions are underway of the Black History and Black Literature courses at Francis Howell School District that were removed and reinstated by the school board. The community will be able to review revisions, which eliminate social justice goals, and provide input later this month.

What You Need To Know

  • Hundreds of students walked out of Francis Howell high schools Thursday morning to peacefully protest what they say is the “ongoing discrimination and racism from school board members.” 

  • Dr. Lucas Lammers, director of curriculum and high schools, told the Francis Howell School Board Thursday night that he is working with teachers of the Black History and Black Literature courses and the academic department in the revision process

  • These two courses are a part of 15 other courses that are currently under review. The revised curricula for the 17 courses will be made available to the public Jan. 29 in the boardroom. Community members can ask questions and submit their feedback

  • The updated curricula will go before the school board in February for a first reading with a second reading and vote at the March meeting

Hundreds of students walked out of Francis Howell high schools Thursday morning to peacefully protest what they say is the “ongoing discrimination and racism from school board members.” 

The protest came after the Francis Howell School Board’s (FHSB) decision in December to remove Black History and Black Literature electives from the district’s three high schools that have been offered since 2021. The classes used curricula developed by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

FHSB reversed its decision, but board members want to approve a new curriculum “that is rigorous and largely politically neutral” for the 2024-25 school year.

At Thursday night’s school board meeting, Chief Academic Officer Dr. Connie Buckman said the removal of the Black History and Black Literature courses was because they had not been approved by the school board. The new internal change of only offering board-approved courses was implemented last spring.

“That decision had nothing to do with these specific courses,” she said. “This really is our first year operating under our updated practice.”

“Based on the direction from the board, our plan is to remove the social justice standards from our current courses and bring the revised courses to you in the next couple of months for approval.”

Dr. Lucas Lammers, director of curriculum and high schools, told the Francis Howell School Board Thursday night that he is working with teachers of the Black History and Black Literature courses and the academic department in the revision process.

“As we complete these updates, our team is ensuring that both courses continue to be fully aligned with the Missouri Learning Standards for social studies and English language arts (ELA) and provide a rigorous learning experience,” he said.

Once the curriculum documents are revised, Lammers said the content of both courses will be reviewed by other ELA and social studies teachers. At the same time, the community also will have a chance to review them and provide input.

These two courses are a part of 15 other courses that are currently under review. The revised curricula for the 17 courses will be made available to the public Jan. 29 in the boardroom. Community members can ask questions and submit their feedback.

All input from teachers and the community will be taken into consideration by the curriculum writers as they make final modifications for all of the courses, according to Lammers.

The curriculum council will then review and vote on all of the final curricula versions for the 17 courses.

“This group of volunteers will ensure that we followed our process and didn’t miss any steps along the way,” Lammers said.

If approved, the updated curricula will go before the school board in February for a first reading with a second reading and vote at the March meeting.

“I would really like to hope that this new curriculum is going to honor the intention and the spirit of the original elective courses that we had going,” board member Janet Stiglich said.

“I treasure every single one of our students and will always do what’s best for them.”

The audience applauded and cheered her comments.

Superintendent Kenneth Roumpos commented on the student protest.

“I do want to recognize that our students’ behavior at all three high schools during today’s walkouts sets an example for all of us,” he said.

During public comment, students, parents and community members spoke on both sides of the issue, which led to audience members cheering, applauding and booing the speakers.

“While I respect and value everyone’s first amendment right to be heard, the hooting, the hollering and the personal attacks that take place in this room during patron comments is disappointing,” Roumpos said.

“To be clear, I welcome discourse, I welcome disagreement, but if we have any hope of engaging in meaningful work to move forward as a district, it needs to be done in a respectful manner.”

The audience applauded his remarks.