WE NEED YOUR HELP

For many months, Gorham Schools have been defamed and attacked by an extremist group. These attacks falsely and negatively represent the education that is actually being offered to our students. The Gorham Community Action Committee is focused on our grassroots effort to demand that these attacks against our children stop. We implore any and all of our local businesses, elected officials, or community members to join us in standing up against these ongoing efforts that do no more than distract and demoralize our teachers and students.

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What does their effort look like? 

 

• Calls for banning of books

• Weaponizing the Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) process

• Demands to remove posters related to gender and sexuality

• Attacks on social emotional learning techniques in use in the curriculum

• Demands to hang religious scripture in schools

• Intentional hindrance of any anti-racism efforts within the district

• Personal attacks on our educators, calling into question their reputations, ethics, and motivations

• Cultivating a climate of fear and mistrust through the spread of sensationalized misinformation

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Let's amplify our collective community voice! Speak out against these vulgar attacks on our teachers, librarians, principals, superintendent, social workers, school counselors, school committee members - and most of all OUR INNOCENT CHILDREN.

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We need you to be willing to take the following steps to stand up against this behavior in Gorham, and our surrounding towns. You can do as many of these things as you feel comfortable!

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1. Report any and all social media accounts and posts that make direct attacks on children, educators, and administrators, or share misinformation about Gorham Schools. 
 

2. Email our local representatives and tell them that you do not support the type of behavior listed in the infographic in our town, and urge them to pass legislation that is fair, inclusive, and in support of teachers.
 

• Rep Mo Terry: maureen.terry@legislature.maine.gov

• Sen. Stacy Brenner: stacy.brenner@legislature.maine.gov

• Rep Jim Boyle: James.Boyle@legislature.maine.gov
   

3. Do your own research before sharing information on social media or engaging in debate about a curriculum or books - all Gorham library catalogs are public and searchable. Many of the books these extremists target as part of their scripts are not offered in our libraries. Gorham has publicly published policies that outline how curriculum is selected, as well as established processes for how you can raise a concern properly. See Gorham IJJ policies here.  
 

4. Make sure your friends and neighbors are aware of the level of the attacks on our Schools. At minimum, let them know - it's okay to agree or disagree on issues but that it is NEVER ethical to defame our educators or School Committee members, share their private photos online, or distribute images of our children without parental consent.   

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5. Attend Gorham School Committee meetings. Presence alone is support to our educators and our schools. The meetings are held the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month at 7PM. Meetings are also televised via www.gocat.org, and recorded meetings are made available to the public. More info can be found here: www.gorhamschools.org.

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6. THANK AN EDUCATOR. Our teachers are coming out of a pandemic. They need our support, and they deserve our trust. Tell them how much they mean to you and your child - a quick email or note can make a world of difference.