Parents upset over school’s canceled trip to see Santa
District halts annual visit for class after mother’s complaint
SAN JOSE — A Santa storm is brewing in San Jose.
After a field trip to visit Santa Claus by kindergarten students at Sartorette Elementary School was canceled by administrators on the heels of a complaint by one Jewish mother, things are getting ugly down on Woodford Drive.
Angry parents plan to descend on the board meeting Thursday, threatening a student walkout Friday if the Cambrian School District’s board fails to reinstate the annual Santa trip.
The woman who made the complaint, who identified herself only as Talia and declined to be interviewed Wednesday evening, stood by her claim that having kids write or visit Santa unfairly imposes one religion on all students.
She fired off an angry letter Dec. 7 to fellow parents at the charter school, alleging she was “ambushed by a group of moms from Ms. Kay’s class” who she said yelled at her for “ruining Santa for the kids.”
Talia has released emails of support from a few fellow parents, including one named Katie who wrote: “You didn’t ruin Santa for anybody. If parents want their kids to see Santa, they should be doing it on their own time, not on a school field trip.”
Meanwhile, her opponents have unfriended her on Facebook and accuse Talia of starting “the war on Christmas.”
Several parents reached by this newspaper expressed strong opposition to both Talia’s position and the district’s decision to support her.
“It’s very upsetting that the district would act after taking one person’s opinion and not talking to the 500 other families at the school,” said Melanie Scott, mother of a first-grader who took the field trip last year. “But we’re not fighting this woman, in particular; we’re against the school board’s decision.”
In an email exchange with Scott, Talia wrote that “the ‘Dear Santa’ assignment, field trip, and reindeer party included 1 religion that does NOT represent all of the children in the class. As a result, the children who do not celebrate end up feeling left out.”
Talia’s emails suggest that she believes having the entire class meet with or write to Santa would be unfair to those children who may see him as a symbol of a Christian holiday they don’t believe in.
“I realize that you don’t know how it feels, but I do because I lived it,” Talia wrote to Scott. “Maybe you should ask around. Speak to the nanny of the girl from Ms. Kay’s class who grew up a Jehovah’s Witness, or a religious Christian who finds the secular Christmas offensive, or a Muslim. Let the classroom be the one safe place where everyone feels included.”
Efforts late Wednesday to reach the district’s superintendent, Carrie Andrews, were unsuccessful.
She had previously responded to Talia’s complaint, calling it “very concerning” and “quite valued.” But on Tuesday, Andrews wrote an email to parents suggesting there may be a workaround coming that might defuse the situation.
“As you are aware a decision was made to cancel an upcoming kindergarten field trip,” Andrews wrote.
“I acknowledge we failed as a District to provide adequate information as to the change in the field trip. I am working directly with the site administrator to find optimal solutions as we move forward. Cambrian School District is committed to working with staff and families to meet the needs of all of our students and their diverse values and traditions.”