{"id":1839,"date":"2022-04-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/?p=1839"},"modified":"2022-04-01T03:48:34","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T03:48:34","slug":"acps-school-board-members-address-media-gag-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/2022\/04\/01\/acps-school-board-members-address-media-gag-order\/","title":{"rendered":"ACPS School Board Members Address Media Gag Order"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ethan Gotsch<\/p>Editor<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On March 14, Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Gregory Hushings, Jr. advised members of the ACPS School Board against talking to media outlets, citing instances of comments being taken out of context that may mischaracterize the intentions of the school board as a whole. Hushings said all media questions should be forwarded to the communications team and other staff members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this warning, Theogony <\/em>invited School Board members to participate in a panel discussion to get their opinions on this new media prohibition as well as other ACPS topics. Surprisingly, many members agreed to participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theogony<\/em><\/strong>:<\/strong> Thank you all for being here today. I\u2019d like to start with School Board Member Will E. Bailey. What is your opinion about the new media policy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bailey:<\/strong> I\u2019m not taking questions now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theogony<\/em><\/strong>:<\/strong> Then why are you here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bailey:<\/strong> Can\u2019t answer that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theogony<\/em><\/strong>:<\/strong> Okay, let\u2019s move on to School Board Member Tammy Ignoringyou. We often hear the statement, \u201cOnce a Titan, always a Titan.\u201d What do those words mean to you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ignoringyou:<\/strong> That\u2019s a slippery slope. No comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theogony<\/em><\/strong>:<\/strong> Well, I see some of you are taking this guidance from Dr. Hushings quite seriously. School Board Member Abdel-Rahman Elyesbi, I know you had some concerns about this media guidance from Hushings because, as an elected official, you have a responsibility to communicate with your constituents. So let me ask you this: \u201cSecret Garden\u201d or \u201cOld Hollywood\u201d for this year\u2019s prom theme? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elyesbi:<\/strong> [consulting his ACPS policy guide<\/em>] While I cannot answer decisively at this time, know that equity continues to play a pivotal role in the decision-making process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theogony<\/em><\/strong>:<\/strong> That sounds like a vote for Secret Garden. Let\u2019s try a real softball question and see how that goes. School Board Member Jacinta Greene. Your last name is Greene, and you often wear the color green. Is it safe to say that you are a fan of green?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greene: <\/strong>Please don\u2019t put words in my mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theogony:<\/em><\/strong> My apologies. Let\u2019s move on. School Board Member Muffled Rief. What are your goals for the 2022-2023 school year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rief:<\/strong> That has been asked and answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theogony:<\/em><\/strong> Could you briefly review your plans for those who aren\u2019t aware?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rief:<\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>You\u2019re playing a semantics game, and I\u2019m not playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theogony<\/em><\/strong>: <\/strong>Wow, we are really striking out today. School Board Member Ashley Silent Baird, you\u2019re new to the school board, and I\u2019m sure you have a lot to say. What advice do you have for ACPS students?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baird:<\/strong> I will not cut corners in the interest of public curiosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theogony<\/em><\/strong>: This is getting ridiculous. Chairwoman Meagan Stallderton, how can you allow this kind of gag order to stand? You all are elected officials, and ACPS parents and students have a right to know what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stallderton: <\/strong>I understand your frustration. I really do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theogony:<\/em><\/strong> Finally, thank you Chairwoman Stallderton. So here is my question: Does ACPS believe in equity for all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stallerderon:<\/strong> I can neither confirm nor deny that information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theogony<\/em><\/strong>: <\/strong>Well, I guess that concludes our School Board, or should I say our Silent Board, panel discussion.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On March 14, Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Gregory Hushings, Jr. advised members of the ACPS School Board against talking to media outlets, citing instances of comments being taken out of context that may mischaracterize the intentions of the school board as a whole. Hushings said all media questions should be forwarded to the communications team and other staff members.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[549],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-april-fools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1839"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1840,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1839\/revisions\/1840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}