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Following district-wide changes to Valentine’s Day events and traditions, some parents of Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) have been voicing dismay. SPS principals recently sent communications to parents indicating that they were doing away with the traditional card exchanges and implementing new activities that would vary by classroom and school building. Those activities were broadly oriented around themes of kindness and school values that align with Valentine’s Day. A message sent to parents of Peter Noyes students cited the district’s “ongoing commitment to equity and inclusion” as the reason for the change. Similar communications went out from principals at other school buildings.
Opposition to the changes initially bubbled up on social media groups, and eventually a Change.org petition was launched. That petition had 389 signatures when this story was published.
On Monday the SPS School Committee was inundated with public comments voicing frustration with the changes to the Valentine’s Day activities. The first 22 minutes of the meeting was filled with comments from parents who wanted to see the changes reversed, or a compromise struck.
Parents voiced concerns about potential negative impacts to children if fun traditions are altered or removed. Others shared research about what other area schools are doing for Valentine’s Day, including one commenter who claimed to have contacted 40 different schools and claimed all had a Valentine’s Day card exchange of some sort.
One parent noted that Israel Loring Elementary School doesn’t currently have a working playground, described recess at Loring as prison-like, and lamented the loss of the Valentine’s Day card exchange as further loss of joyful experiences at the school. Several parents voiced frustration that they weren’t getting direct answers to their questions and concerns.
The SPS School Committee does not engage in debate or deliberation with public comments, so there was no committee discussion about Valentine’s Day during the meeting. While the SPS School Committee’s roles and powers are finite, it’s open to interpretation if this is a matter that they would get involved in. Historically, in-building decisions made by Principals are matters for the Superintendent to deal with. As the Committee’s page states:
“In contrast to the Committee, which has budgetary, and policy-making authority, the Superintendent is charged with the day-to-day administration and oversight of the SPS.”
SPS School Committee Website
While several parents have been quite vocal about their frustration online and in meetings, others have voiced satisfaction with the changes on social media. We’re unaware of any indication that SPS will address Valentine’s Day on a district-wide level at some point, as it has largely been handled building-by-building so far. It does appear that significant planning went into various activities at the schools, in some cases month-long campaigns like the “Kindness Campaign” at Peter Noyes Elementary School, potentially indicating it may also be a logistical challenge to roll back any decisions this year.