By JAMIE del FIERRO ALLARD
Americans are tired of politicians shouting “racism” to stir up emotions and create a scapegoat for their failed policies. It’s a card some politicians play just before elections.
Anchorage is in a politician-manufactured war over race again, just as the April municipal election approaches. If you thought we had moved beyond labeling people and judging them on the color of their skin, think again. If you thought we had agreed as a society to value people simply because they are people, the race racket promoters have news for you.
Recently, Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel accused the Anchorage School District, its principals, vice principals, and safety resource officers, of being racist toward “black and brown” children.
Zaletel wondered out loud if school resource officers target “black and brown” children. She claimed, “ASD has disproportionately disciplined black and brown children, low-income children and children with disabilities for years…” She implied that SROs are the tools these allegedly racist adults use to discriminate against children, funneling them into the school-to-prison pipeline.
These comments are confounding, because Zaletel has voted for funding the SRO and Anchorage Police Department programs; she apparently supports our police officers through these votes.
She is also an outspoken supporter of the current far-left school board members, the very people who have been running the school district for years, choosing its leaders and defining its policies. These are the very same people she now accuses of treating students unequally based on skin color.
So which is it? Are her leftist buddies on the school board directly responsible for addressing the racism she claims is being carried out by the officers? Does she still support the safety resource officers through her funding votes?
It is a mistake to cling to an ideology so fiercely that you are unable to change. As we have seen with the progressive mindset, especially when it comes to accepting new information about Covid-19, they are more interested in dog whistles and emotionally manipulating voters before elections than they are in seeking truth and working together to solve problems.
This problem is not a racial problem. This is a racket that is determined to destroy and deny the importance of the family unit. This problem is a parenting problem. We need to support parents, teach parenting skills, build community where students have mentors and role models, not depend on government institutions to raise our children. And we certainly should not make race a scapegoat for a society that lacks the family values that grow healthy, successful people.
Zaletel says “SROs exist for the comfort of adults, not students.” She implies that nurses and counselors could handle the infractions of students. She asks, “What can they do that a nurse or counselor cannot?”
How about break up gang fights between 20-30 students at West High School? How about apprehend a 21-year-old suspect after he assaulted a female student on school property? How about respond when an elementary student brings a knife and a loaded gun to school?
School resource officers keep students safe. Schools are safer places because of them. They are not racist sharks out to get black and brown kids in trouble. They are there to hold criminals accountable for their actions, and prevent harm from happening to students.
I do not understand how the Assembly’s biggest champion of worthless face masks would mandate masks on our students just for the illusion of safety, but would attack school resource officers who provide actual safety. This is what “woke” thinking looks like.
It’s a simple ask: Quit playing the race card. Look beyond the color of skin and address the real problems. Start with the financial hole that is the bloated, top-heavy Anchorage School District budget that produces some of the worst student scores in the nation. Start with the mental health crisis that two years of abusive Covid policies have created. Start with curriculum that pushes these woke ideologies on students to the detriment of society. Let’s start there.
Jamie del Fierro Allard, who is of Latina heritage, is on the Anchorage Assembly, representing Chugiak-Eagle River.
Just one more reason to #FliptheAssembly.
The left will quit playing race when white conservatives stop reacting to it.
It’s only effective because the right reacts to it. Virginia’s last governor was caught in black face. He refused to quit and the story ran out of steam.
Learn from that.
Jamie, our representative. I am so proud of her, standing up for what is real, instead of the woke dogma. The nasty nine would have us believe that there is a faction in our community that is against people of color or of gender conflict. This has never been the case here, as most of us have served in the military and accept people by what they can contribute. It is one of the reasons for making Alaska my home 40 years ago. People up here have always been judged on their merits, and their ability to survive and contribute to the community. Just the thought that someone might be judged by their color, religion, or even sexual preferences are outrageous to most Alaskans. We are a people that will always lend a hand to someone in need, because we may be in need ourselves someday. Just the thought that a real Alaskan would not offer a hand to someone in need based on preconceived notions is ludicrous. I do not see color, and these idiots that are pushing this agenda are creating their own shitty world in a place that has always been exempt from such notions. They need to keep their bullshit ideas in the lower 48 where they all came from. If you want to be successful in Alaska, be productive. In a real way. Or go back to the land of injustice. Don’t push your agenda on us, and make us question reality. I personally don’t think anyone should be allowed to vote in this state until they have spent five winters. And have seen how much we truly care for one another. No injustice here, just what is being imported.
We have an election in April to determine if voters want to retain current ASD Board and MOA Assembly Members. The incumbents gain votes everytime Ms. Allard tweets, or opines.
What is your logic as to why incumbents gain votes because of Allard’s input?
Frank, the incumbents are unrepentant Marxist sociopaths, and quite simply evil. If they are not thrown out of office, kiss what remains of this degenerating city goodbye. But then again, that IS what all your radical leftist nihilists worship: decay, destruction and death.
Frank: agree. Allard is the best player on the progressive team.
Well said
I can’t imagine there pets would vote for these oath breakers although these oath breakers know all about rigged elections and cry out for the name of brown and black citizens wronged. I can’t imagine there own family members voting for them. Mock GOD your oath is nothing but a stepping stone ENOUGH shameless cowards. Time to scat and beg GODs forgiveness. Alaskans oath integrity needs it’s voters this time here.
Thank you Ms Allard, I think you are a good representative for our community. You are awake, not “awoke”. I enjoyed reading your comments. I wish we had a wider range of awake candidates for our assembly and school boards.
Since the “beginning of the end”
By this I mean the mailing of ballots as if it were confetti.
The incumbents find new ways of stockpiling piles of the now near meaningless “ ballot”
The fix is………. Well, we all know.
Good job throwing shade. Now I want to hear her plan to “to support parents, teach parenting skills, build community where students have mentors and role models.” Shade is easy. Planning is hard. So where’s the plan Jamie? How do you break down the top heavy bloated school district and simultaneously develop the resources needed to support struggling parents? How do you cut budgets yet develop programs? Will you divert pay from the “top heavy” group to these programs? Then who runs them? Who monitors the performance metrics? What, if any, is the measure of success here and how do you obtain it? If you plan to vote for her, you should at least expect real answers to these reasonable questions.
Frankly the people to address should be the school board. They spend like drunken sailors, run the budget into the ground with all those social engineering programs and then demand more money because the kids can’t even read or write or heaven forbid do math. “Word’s Aren’t Actions”, you should really ask all those incumbents on the school board, who pass a $40 million deficit budget and hope that the state will bail them out. Clearly they are okay with under-performing students, as long as their ideology is bowed to.
Here are a few ideas that have been suggested:
Help change the Anchorage Charter to have school board members elected by district.
At the constitutional convention get rid of the Blaine amendment and have the money follow the child, giving parents more choices.
Demand a financial forensic audit of the school district to see where the funds really go.
Stipulate that the majority of funds MUST got to the classroom and set parameters for student to staff ratios.
Demand performance standards at each school and display them prominently, so parents are informed about their school performance on standardized national tests.
Just Saying, I may not agree with your ideas — for example, I like the Blaine amendment for basic economic reasons (ie, too many people moving away from public schools means you lose economies of scale and start further circling the drain) — but at least you put out ideas. And that I can respect. I would vote for you over Allard. I would note that the state is already required under the Every Student Succeeds Act to identify at risk schools. So if you aren’t getting that info, talk to the governor. I would also note that the districts aren’t perfect, but we’ve decided as a state to minimally fund schools. And then we test the heck out of the kids, forcing teachers to teach to the test rather focus on broader skill development (the tests are narrow), so we minimally fund then restrict available time with high teacher-student ratios. My wife was a teacher here, but left the profession after experiencing the failing formula bad state policy, bad funding, and bad management for village school districts imposed on the classroom.
Words aren’t actions, respectfully I disagree with your premise that the state minimally funds education. At $16000-$20000 a student that is a very large chunk of change and should be more than adequate to educate any child. The city of Anchorage contributes last I checked over 60% of all property taxes to the ASD. In essence it takes more money to run a school district of 43,000 students, than a city of 282,000 inhabitants.
The fundamental problem is the varying school districts decide to allocated funds primarily for highly paid administrators and their support structure. Then they change curriculum on a frequent basis adding confusion for teachers and students, to hide the ineffective/inadequate means provided to the classroom to teach the kids. There are times I wonder if the ASD spends more money on lobbying and social engineering programs, then what actually reaches the classroom to educate kids per student.
The removal of the Blaine amendment will give parents a choice and force school districts to take a hard look at their infrastructure to make them more efficient. Private schools do it all the time, having to stay within a limited budget and their students consistently do very well.
I agree with you that with common core, the testing has become the purpose of teaching. That needs to change.
There is a reality to look at that I wish commenters would realize and understand. Two out of three people of voting age in spite of ballots being mailed to their address do not even care enough to educate themselves and do a ballot! It is a sad reality but it is unfortunately true. There was just enough rally the troops to get our current mayor elected…..just barely!! The progressives have played their strategy well and have been able to get enough people to support them. Conservatives are currently competing from a ‘reactive’ position rather than proactive. This coming election is a very much a ‘determining factor’ on the future of this city. We can demonstrate as an ‘outlier’ of the ‘left coast’ or fold and conform as the west coast has. Ideally, I want every conservative to replace someone to their ‘left’. At least 1 if not all!
My boy was SRO at Clark Jr High for several years and he went toe to toe with the toughest kids in that place. He learned quickly you’re not going to beat them through confrontation. You build bridges, you are approachable and you never ever stop the gentle pressure of turning them toward the right path to walk. You expect them to do the right thing, because they’re honorable young people that know how to do so.
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By the end of the school year every one of those “troublemakers” made time during the day to come see him, and they’d talk. He built an incredible amount of bridges.
Mrs Allard, what happened to the freedom convoy??? I’d argue with you but you have zero substance so have a good day
Skinny Dude, first check out “Hundreds turnout for trucker convoy from Anchorage to Eagle River” article on this site from Feb. 6. The picture has Jamie front and center in the midst of the action. There is your answer and since you clearly can’t be bothered to inform yourself before making a statement, the “zero substance” seem clearly self-descriptive.
The Anchorage School District has produced some of the worst educational experiences in the world. Yes. People barely read and can’t do arithmetic. The natives of Alaska still have the worst experiences among these. Johnny come latelies can refute all they want. I know exactly what I experienced and by whom and it was race based. And no I don’t forgive. I hold to account. If you value your potential put it to work elsewhere for maximum return on investments.
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