Keep It Local: Maintaining the Focus on Forest Hills Public Schools

Our amazing and award-winning Forest Hills Public Schools district is unfortunately the latest to be targeted by a concerted effort among independent (but sometimes national and state-level third party) groups to disrupt schools and their Boards of Education. Sadly, we are not alone – the same groups are attempting this disruption in Lowell, Rockford, Grandville, Byron Center and all over the state.

Over the past year, our Forest Hills Public Schools Board of Education meetings have been visited by traveling speakers who do not have children in the district. They speak about divisive topics irrelevant to FHPS, attempt to drive fear with stories from other cities, and interrogate the Board on subjects they have no authority to address at the school board level. These groups also take turns visiting each other’s districts to speak on tactics like how to attempt to recall a board of education out of turn.

For them, our district and these meetings serve only as a personal platform – not as the once-respected channel to genuinely advocate for the wellbeing of our children specifically in Forest Hills Public Schools with tangible or relevant suggestions.

This attack is not something we ever would have envisioned happening in society, let alone here in Forest Hills. Truthfully, we will never understand why this is happening.

“No Thank You” to Scare Tactics and Buzzwords in Forest Hills

With this new reality comes a challenge from Support FHPS: despite the national influences, increasing mainstream media stories and the agenda-driven motivations of these external parties, let’s remember to look at Forest Hills Public Schools as its own district where we can choose to “opt-out” from this disruption.

Forest Hills Public Schools is a destination for many families who relocate to Michigan and within the lines of Grand Rapids to give their kids the opportunity to attend. For most, this isn’t just the neighborhood school for which there may be no other choice.

This is a place people seek out to get involved and set their kids up for the best and brightest futures. Hundreds of thousands of private dollars flow into the district through fundraisers because families are so willing to do whatever it takes to protect and support Forest Hills Public Schools.

Other districts around the country have their own issues and areas of focus.

For example, as the national conversation grows about potentially polarizing topics arising in schools, it is an easy first reaction to wonder if it’s happening locally. In particular, any parent or guardian of a FHPS student will want to ensure our kids are maintaining a standard of excellence with their academics. Those critiquing FHPS have begun to point fingers at conversations happening in the mainstream media about other divisive topics or curriculum and may wonder if these are also happening in our district. Superintendent Behm has reassured families they are NOT.

The district’s diversity-centric program is opt-in, not opt-out, for students who are interested in exploring their education from a supplementary global perspective. This can be helpful for students who have plans to study abroad or work in a corporate setting with a broad employee base.

Forest Hills Public Schools Promotes Academic Excellence

We are a proud bunch in Forest Hills. We are proud of our kids and the opportunities for them to learn and grow here.

Balancing a rigorous academic program with opt-in ways to find a “spark” through clubs, athletics and 21st Century learning techniques, Forest Hills Public Schools graduates go on to top colleges and careers. An earlier blog post speaks to the ways Forest Hills Public Schools stands out. 

Nothing is getting in the way of Forest Hills Public Schools maintaining its top ranking. What IS jeopardizing the stellar Forest Hills Public Schools’ reputation are attempts to introduce these tactics or fabricate scares about matters that our district has many checks and balances to alleviate.

Therefore, as tempting as it may be for those challenging our school district to keep pointing outward about what’s happening elsewhere, Support FHPS believes in keeping the conversation and focus on Forest Hills Public Schools.

Let’s help our leaders and educators get back to business. Join us in Supporting FHPS.

Support FHPS Editor’s Note: FHPS petitioners raised personal funds to audit the district’s communication and content around a popular mainstream media buzzword about curriculum. The publicly visible data provided by the district reaffirms what we already knew – that while trade articles and academic e-newsletters delivered to district e-mail addresses contain content about this divisive topic in the context of keeping educators informed of the national debate, the data did not produce any evidence of this topic occurring at FHPS. The petitioners’ own inquiries into the school also produced a significant number of those mentions. Please continue to turn to SupportFHPS.org for the facts.