This is a petition in support of increased transparency between the Webster Groves School District and parents/guardians of the students enrolled in Webster Groves schools. Currently the school district makes curriculum and training materials available upon request. This petition asks that WGSD begin sending instructional materials proactively under specific circumstances.

The goals and benefits of adopting a proactive, versus reactive policy are to be the following:

1. Eliminating the time gap between parent/guardian request and receipt of instructional material or survey content resulting in more time for review ahead of delivery to students.
2. Reduction in teacher/administrator/counselor time responding to individual requests for instructional material or survey content.
3. Busy parents can more easily review instructional material or survey content without engaging in an extra step of requesting the material.
4. Most Importantly: Increased likelihood that parents/guardians will engage with their students on important topics, supplementing and reinforcing the information being presented by the school district.

The circumstances under which this policy would be adopted include:

• Instructional materials that may be considered sensitive or controversial.
• Topics for which parents/guardians routinely opt-out their children from instruction.
• Non-anonymized student surveys/questionnaires for which the answers are kept on file by WGSD or third party and/or may trigger an action towards the student by administrative or counseling staff based on student answers.

In the coming weeks, WGSD Superintendent John Simpson will convene a District Team meeting to review the merit of adopting a more proactively transparent policy. Your support as a parent/guardian, or simply as a taxpayer in the district, will be submitted for consideration to that review process.

Thank you!