Credit: Office of Alabama Governor/CNN Barbara Cooper, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (ABCDE), was force...
Barbara Cooper, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (ABCDE), was forced to resign after Alabama Governor Kay Ivey discovered the department was handing out a woke pre-k book to Alabama teachers according to Al.com.
Ivey’s office said in a press release that the content was “not in line” with her administration nor the people of Alabama. She also ripped the book’s contents as “divisive to the core.”
It was brought to the Administration’s attention that there was concerning content in a pre-K educator resource book, content that is simply not in line with what the Ivey Administration or the people of Alabama stand for or believe.
The education of Alabama’s children is my top priority as governor, and there is absolutely no room to distract or take away from this mission. Let me be crystal clear: Woke concepts that have zero to do with a proper education and that are divisive at the core have no place in Alabama classrooms at any age level, let alone with our youngest learners.
Once Ivey learned the woke garbage was being taught to Alabama preschoolers, Fox News reported she demanded Cooper “send a memo to disavow this book and to immediately discontinue its use.”
Cooper evidently did not heed the warning because she was soon out of a job.
Ivey made the following statement after Cooper’s resignation:
Alabama’s First Class Pre-K is the best in the country, and those children are at too critical of a juncture in their educational journeys and development to get it wrong. I remain confident in the wonderful teachers we have in pre-K classrooms around our state and in the necessity of our children receiving a strong start to their educational journeys in our First Class Pre-K program. I thank Dr. Cooper for her service, but I believe it is best we continue this historically strong program on its forward trajectory under new leadership.
Ivey’s office told Fox News the book in question is a pre-K educator resource book called the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book, 4th edition.
The book specifically mentions “systemic and structural racism … has permeated every institution and system through policies and practices that position people of color in oppressive, repressive, and menial positions. The early education system is not immune to these forces.”
The book also says that children from LGBTQ families “need to hear and see messages that promote equality, dignity, and worth.”
The NAEYC released a statement defending the book:
While not a curriculum, it is a responsive, educator-developed, educator-informed, and research-based resource that has been honed over multiple generations to support teachers in helping all children thrive and reach their full potential.
Ivey’s office said Dr. Jan Hume will serve as interim secretary of the ADECE while the governor weighs an official replacement.
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