A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Shanda Tice / For the Sherwood Gazette
Sherwood Middle School drama students hug after performing the play "Higher Ground" Sunday at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts.
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Two key Sherwood Schools administrators have apologized for their role in a censorship saga that garnered national attention.
Sherwood Middle School Principal Anna Pittioni and Sherwood School District Superintendent Dan Jamison told community members they were sorry for the way things were handled at the middle school last month, after Pittioni cancelled a student production of a play she believed was too mature for her students.
“Cast members and their families were shocked and angry about the timing of the decision,” Pittioni said at the March 5 Sherwood School Board meeting.
Pittioni postponed the play — written by Jennie Brown, a sixth-grade teacher at SMS and the school’s drama coordinator — just three days before its opening and said the script’s treatment of bullying, racism, homophobia, physical intimidation and verbal harassment was inappropriate for middle school aged students.
An uproar ensued as people both for and against Pittioni's decision weighed in on the issue, and the New York City-based National Coalition Against Censorship sent letters to Pittioni and Superintendent Dan Jamison asking them to reconsider.
Given the choice to censor the play and still perform at the middle school or to not censor and go elsewhere, the Sherwood Middle School drama students rallied behind Brown’s script and voted to keep the play in its original form.
When the community learned what had happened, a call went out to theater people throughout the region and offers for alternative venues poured in.
The Sherwood students performed this weekend to a packed crowd at Portland Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Portland.
At the March 5 School Board meeting, Jamison and Pittioni apologized for the way the situation was handled, and nearly a dozen members of the audience spoke for and against the cancellation of the play.
“As adults, we need to acknowledge that the events of the last two weeks have not served our kids well,” Jamison said. "There are also several breakdowns in (the) process that we must correct in the future. Our principal, Anna Pittioni, has openly acknowledged she should have reviewed the script prior to students auditioning for the play.”
Jamison noted that topics in the play “are not taboo.”
He added, “We should all recognize these topics deserve to be addressed in a thorough manner that reflects teamwork, planning and excellent communication by all staff before they are addressed with students. It is this larger team approach, coupled with strong parental involvement and support, that guarantees a successful learning experience for all students.”
Jamison said that he is “personally committed to guaranteeing this improvement in our performance.”
Pittioni said there was a communication breakdown at the school level.
“Our staff did not follow the review process that is established in both board policy and our student handbook,” Pittioni said.
She added that she is working with colleagues to improve the checks and balances currently in place.
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