PARKERSBURG - The decision to show President Barak Obama's address to students Tuesday will be left to individual schools and teachers, Wood County Schools officials said this week.
The president's address, planned for noon Tuesday, will be streamed through the Internet and on C-Span. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sent letters to the nation's public and private schools asking them to tune in and offering discussion materials to use before and after the president's speech. The event is expected to last 15-20 minutes and focus on encouraging students to take an active role in their educations and to set goals for the future.
"As we understand it, the address is about the importance of education and kids doing the very best they can in school," Superintendent Bill Niday said Friday.
On Thursday, Niday sent an e-mail to all district principals.
"Teachers may choose to show the president's address to their students," Niday said in the e-mail. "If teachers do choose to show the address, please notify parents in advance. Participation by teachers and students is voluntary."
In the e-mail Niday also added administrators should "work with your teachers to provide alternative activities if parents do not want their child to watch the speech."
Liza Cordeiro, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, said viewing of the Obama speech will be a local decision.
"The only guidance we have given counties specifically is it is a county-by-county decision," she said Friday. "It is not being mandated by the Department of Education, however it can be used as a learning opportunity."
The school system and individual administrators already have received numerous calls from concerned and sometimes angry parents concerning the address, Wood County Schools officials said Friday.
The president's planned address has generated controversy throughout the United States in part due to earlier mixed messages as to what topics Obama would address. An early draft of supplemental learning materials also asked students to find ways to "help the president," but later was changed to instead focus on students planning for their futures and looking at their academic goals.
Conservative media have argued Obama plans to use the address to further a liberal social agenda.
Obama is not the first president to reach out to students. President George Bush aired a similar address in 1991 and was criticized by Democratic opponents for using the school address as a campaign venue.
Niday said Friday the school system has aired presidential addresses as well as had visits from past presidents.
"President (George W.) Bush visited Parkersburg South High School several years ago" to speak about education, Niday said. "I know President (Ronald) Reagan addressed schools right after the Space Shuttle (Columbia) exploded with a teacher on board," in 2003.
"This isn't the first time," Niday said.
