Higley board reviews district's novel selection process again

By Tom Blodgett
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The Higley Unified School District Governing Board reviewed yet again its novel selection process at a board study session Oct. 15.

Though the novel selection process was just revised in July, Vice President Anna Van Hoek had requested a study session in the wake of a book dispute at Williams Field High School.

The district has fielded a complaint and Gilbert Police are investigating a police report filed about  Williams Field teacher Brittany O'Neill's assignment of "Homegoing" from Ghanian-American author Yaa Gyasi to her Multicultural Literature dual-enrollment class with Chandler-Gilbert Community College. 

A parent complained that the book, which has passages depicting sexual assault, is "pornographic."

The book is on the district's approved novel list as a result of Chandler Gilbert Community College's approval of it for use in the course. The district has backed O'Neill as having followed district policy, and CGCC also has expressed support.

Mary Davis, the district's professional development director and chair of the novel approval committee, outlined for the board how the revised process has worked to date.

The application process for the novel review committee was conducted from Aug. 1-21 through school newsletters with a reach of more than 15,000 people and resulting in 94 applicants.

Eligibility criteria included being an HUSD teacher, district office staff member, administrator or a community member within the district's boundaries.

Applicants also had to commit to reading a novel every four to six weeks.

Due to the high number of applications, a blind draw was used to select members, ensuring equal representation between community members and district staff.

The committee comprises 28 members, including a chair and co-chair.

Initial meetings were held in September to review committee purposes, norms and the rubrics used for novel evaluation.

The committee is actively reviewing materials and will discuss recommendations in upcoming meetings.

Van Hoek expressed concerns about the proportion of staff versus community members, but Davis confirmed an equal split of 14 each.

State laws relevant to book selection were reviewed in the first training session. Meeting information is available on the HUSD website and board docs.

At the meeting's conclusion, Van Hoek requested another study session to review the applicable state laws.

We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).