Here is the press release from the district. You are correct there was nothing in the book about Senator McCain. The rational is in the district response in the press release..

I hope this helps answer your question. I think an article is in the Racine Journal Times Website as well.

Thank you for sharing your concern and your comments.

Sincerely,

Julie McKenna

RUSD School Board Member

Office of Communication

Summary
o The Racine Unified School District had not been contacted by any parents regarding concerns with the 8th grade literature textbook.
o The book was adopted in 2007 and was used during the 2007-2008 school year.
o The book was chosen by a group of teachers and was chosen because of its explicit alignment of the Wisconsin State Standards.
o This textbook is one of the most popular in the nation and is used by all 8th grade students in the Racine Unified School District as well as other students throughout the country.
o The selection that a parent expressed concern to an online blogger, “Dreams of My Father” by Barack Obama, fits into the curriculum through the community unit.
o The choice of this selection was to provide a contemporary and multicultural figure to explore the unit on community.

Rationale:
The 6th – 8th grade English/Language Arts 9 year book adoption rotation cycle took place in 2007. The textbook was chosen from 6 different publishers because it is based on Instructional Process and Understanding by Design pedagogy. Its remedial program, Bridges, allows for flexible grouping in reading and more fully be integrated into the language arts program. All levels – remedial, regular, and advanced – sequence more smoothly from the K – 5 programs. With the 2008 edition, McDougal Littel is providing the Interactive Reader that coordinates with Bridges as well as an Advanced Interactive Reader that provides Pre-Advanced Placement and Pre- International Baccalaureate books and materials. Furthermore, writing, grammar and vocabulary study are embedded in the reading selections. There is a separate and consumable grammar workbook, which will be free for the life of the adoption. Study guides and study kits in Spanish are provided.

Flexible, ongoing assessment options in both print and electronic formats are integrated with the selections to help assess student learning using a variety of strategies.

The 2008 McDougal Littel series has the Wisconsin State Standards noted in the columns of the teachers’ editions. This alignment is a major strength of the program and a valuable resource for teachers.

Selection:
The selection committee consisted of 6 teachers presently teaching middle school reading and/or language arts at our middle schools. Three Central Office staff members were also part of this committee. Teachers were asked to notify parents so that any parent or guardian was able to join the committee. The committee made the selection in April of 2007. The recommendation to adopt this series was made after a series of meetings that reviewed our present program, examined local and state standards, and reviewed the programs presently available for adoption. The committee used the Tregoe Decision Process to eliminate four of the six different series. The final two were the Holt Elements ofLiterature and the McDougal Littel Language of Literature. The committee’s Tregoe scoring unanimously chose the McDougal Littel series because it had the best transition from elementary to middle school, supported Instructional Process/Understanding by Design, allowed for Continuous Progress, had texts available online, and offered Pre AP and IB programs. The embedding of skills in the thematic approach is considered the best instructional practice at this time.

RUSD Position:
The Racine Unified School District DOES NOT endorse any candidate or political party. The choice of this selection was to provide a contemporary and multicultural figure to explore the unit on community.

Unit in Question:
The Racine Unified School District is a multicultural school district with 49% of our student body comprising students of color. Identifying materials that reflect our student population is a priority. The selection in question is part of a larger unit centered around the question, “If the people within a community accept each others’ difference, how do individuals and their community benefit and prosper?” The selections, “Dreams of My Father” and “Out of Many, One”, fit into the curriculum by requiring students to engage in the central question around these and other selections. Other selections that are part of this unit are the novel, 145th Street Short Stories and other selected poems from the Literature by McDougal Littel anthology.

2220 NORTHWESTERN AVENUE, RACINE, WI 53404
262.631.7057 tel | 262.631.7016 fax
stephanie.hayden@racine.k12.wi.us | www.racine.k12.wi.us

Only in the educational bureaucracy could you belch out 700 words to answer an inquiry and not answer the inquiry. I wonder which community organizing group/BO coven Julie McKenna belongs to.

The Racine Unified School District is a multicultural school district with 49% of our student body comprising students of color.

Now it makes sense to me, since 0bomba is a multicultural body that is comprised of 50% white and 50% black colors.

The textbook was chosen from 6 different publishers because it is based on Instructional Process and Understanding by Design pedagogy.

This is how things like this happen. Someone (dare I say an Obama supporter?) creates a detailed and restrictive "standard". Then one publishing company (dare I say controlled by an Obama supporter?) fully meets that standard, so the book gets chosen (MUST be chosen) regardless of the actual content. The school buying authority (dare I say an Obama supporter as well?) has plausible deniability to the public because they are only buying the book that happens to fully meet the standard as defined.