Santa makes a comeback to Valley schools — sort of

Religion policy due for vote Dec. 17

By Ruth Luse, Managing Editor
   The banishment of Santa Claus from the Hopewell Valley Regional School District has been overturned and the Bearded One may once roam the halls, but only under certain conditions.
   Ever since guidelines banned displays of Santa at the Bear Tavern Elementary School last December and caused some public displeasure, an ad hoc committee has deliberated on how religion should be presented in schools, how religious holidays should be observed and what religious displays should be allowed.
   Its recommendations were accepted by the school board earlier this month. A policy based on those recommendations was introduced Nov. 12 and is expected to get a final vote at the board’s next meeting on Dec. 17.
   Santa, the committee said, can come out as long as he is in a display representing other religions and is surrounded by secular items, such as snowflakes and evergreens. The same goes for a menorah or a Christmas tree. The idea being that it is the season that is celebrated, not any one particular religion.
   District staff and ad hoc committee members have been working to get the message out about the policy’s basics to teachers and the community, now that the holiday season is close at hand.
   The basics — things that affect students and their schools and focus on what may and may not be done — can be found in a Q&A section of the report. This section is on pages 9, 10 and 11 of the report posted on the district’s Web site: www.hvrsd.k12.nj.us.
   The section lists questions parents and community members are likely to ask. Answers to those questions (www.hvrsd.k12.nj.us/district/news/religionreportappendices.pdf) are provided by the ad hoc group. They can be found at the end of this account.
   ACCORDING TO JOANN MEYER, district director of communications and development, efforts to get the word out are under way.
   On Sunday at the Pennington Presbyterian Church, ad hoc committee members Kate Napolitano, director of curriculum and instruction, and Aida Valcarcel, a parent, met with members of the church adult education class and discussed the report’s recommendations.
   ”There were about 30 people in attendance and Kate said the response to it was very, very positive,” Ms. Meyer said. The Rev. Paul Rhebergen, interim pastor at Pennington Presbyterian, also served on the ad hoc committee.
   After school on Monday, the ad hoc group’s PowerPoint presentation was shared with the faculties at all elementary schools by members of the committee. Ms. Napolitano went to Hopewell. Superintendent Judith A. Ferguson went to Bear Tavern. Principal Steve Wilfing shared the report with his faculty at Stony Brook, and staff member Jack Wolff went to Toll Gate Grammar.
   Presentations to faculties at Timberlane Middle and Central HIgh schools will be made in December.
   ”Everybody will eventually hear the messages from the report,” said Ms. Meyer, who noted that delivering them to the elementary schools as soon as possible was important because that’s where “these issues are more likely to bubble up.”
   Ms. Napolitano said last week that a parent/community night, on a date yet to be set, is being planned where “we will discuss aspects of the report.”
   THE Q&A, in addition to educating parents and students, is intended to help teachers and administrators “make legal and appropriate decisions regarding the upcoming December holidays,” the report says. For this reason, the committee prepared the Q&A, which follows:
    Question: May teachers teach about religion and religious holidays in the classroom? Answer — Teachers may teach about multiple religions, but must not proselytize or promote any given religion or nonreligion. Such teaching must be secular, i.e. neither religious in character nor devoted to religious ends, and should have a basis in the approved curriculum. Teaching about religion should be balanced over the course of the school year.
   Question: May teachers include religious art, drama, music or literature in their lessons? Answer — The use of art, drama, music or literature with religious themes is permissible if it serves a sound educational goal in the curriculum. Such themes should be included on the basis of their academic or aesthetic value; not as a vehicle for promoting religious belief.
   Sacred music may be sung or played as part of the academic study of music. School concerts that present a variety of selections may include religious music. Concerts dominated by religious music, especially when they coincide with a particular religious holiday, should be avoided.
   Question: May teachers display religious symbols in their classrooms and on bulletin boards and other display areas? Answer — Provided they are used only as examples of cultural or religious heritage, religious symbols are permissible to use as teaching aids or resources. Absent such purpose, religious symbols are not permissible as seasonal or permanent decorations.
   Students may choose to create artwork with religious symbols, but teachers should not assign or suggest such creations.
   Symbols mean different things to different people; what appears secular to some may be perceived as religious by others. Symbols depicting religious holidays are most appropriate when accompanied by both secular objects and symbols from holidays of other religions. This combination of faiths and of secular and sacred helps to neutralize messages of favoritism and concerns about religious coercion. Displays should serve a legitimate educational purpose without causing students to feel excluded.
   Ornamental displays that are predominantly secular, e.g. snowmen, reindeer and sleigh, snowflakes, stringed lights, are permissible. A Giving Tree that serves a charitable purpose is acceptable. Displays of a Hanukkah menorah, Santa Claus or Christmas tree have not been invalidated by the courts, but are of a more sensitive nature. At this time, they will be permitted in a HVRSD school if they are included in a display representing a variety of religious holidays and secular items such as snowflakes, candles, and evergreen trees. The overall message should be a celebration of the season; not the promotion of a particular religion.
   Question: Can a PTO decorate hallways and lobbies with seasonal displays? Answer — Schools are not “open public forums” where any and all members of the public can act to decorate them. However, a PTO, with the approval of the principal, may provide materials and assistance in much the same way as would a volunteer. In doing so, the PTO is constrained from promoting or celebrating religion in the same manner as the public school.
   Question: When may student be excused for religious reasons? Answer — Students may be legally absent from school or school activities to observe religious holidays within their traditions. Individual students may also be excused from classroom discussion or activities and/or from school events related to particular holidays based upon their personal religious beliefs.
   Question: What about holiday parties and gift giving in December? Answer — While parties that do not relate to the curriculum should be limited in number and scope, a December party that is secular in nature is permissible. Teachers should avoid excessive loss of academic time due to parties and should inform the principal of plans for such parties.
   Gift giving among students is permitted. A classroom or schoolwide charitable gift campaign is an appropriate alternative. Parents who wish to recognize a teacher may do so through inexpensive gifts or through contributions to the HV Education Foundation and/or the HV Recreation Foundation in the name of the teacher.
   Question: May employees wear holiday garments and/or jewelry that indicate their religious affiliation? Answer — Yes, both are permitted expressions as long as neither is used to inappropriately promote any one religion.