What’s it like to be on the front lines of the school board culture war?

School Board members face threats, insults, intimidation [View this email online]( [NPR]( Johnathon Kelso for NPR Happy Sunday, Anya here. Lately, I’ve been speaking with school board members across the country, including Karen Watkins in Georgia. She works in supply chain management and has two children in public school in Gwinnett County, Ga. She's one of those moms who has always been very involved in her kids' education. So much so that local officials urged her to run for school board last year. "They said, 'This is probably going to be a good thing for you and you can probably make a difference.' ... But I didn't realize it came with a package, a big package," she says with a rueful laugh. She wasn't prepared for the blowback that set in as soon as she put up her Facebook page to announce her campaign. She was inundated with messages like: "You have sold your soul to satan .. you are greedy and deceitful ..you have no part with the truth!" And: "Karen here some news for you the DEMOCRATIC COMMUNIST BABY KILLER PARTY doesn't have any values !!!" "I knew we were in a heightened political era where there's a lot of divisive issues … I just didn't realize that it would impact the local school board,” says Watkins. Watkins, who is Black and Flipina, helped flip the school board of the 13th largest public school district last November to be majority-Democratic and majority-people of color. Since then, the school board has been battling with mini-insurrections and threats over mask mandates and anti-racist school curriculum. “"I don't want our kids to get hurt or other people to get hurt because of me,” she told us. “​​I didn’t sign up for that.” This week, I dove deep into the latest target of the culture wars: school boards.She spoke to school board members in five different states to get a sense of what school board officials are dealing with--at meetings and behind the scenes. She found right-wing activists targeting board members over mask mandates and the way that race and American history are being taught in schools. You can find the [full story here]( and hear more on the [NPR Politics Podcast](. [Read More Here]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- Now, let’s get into some news this week… 1 in 3 parents have been struggling to find childcare in the pandemic. 34% of families with young children are facing serious problems finding child care when adults need to work. NPR Ed spoke to parents like Natalie Saldana, who is juggling work, online college classes and taking care of her eighteen-month-old daughter because she can’t find affordable, quality child care. [Check out the full story here!]( — Mansee Khurana, NPR Ed Intern The White House drops free community college from its spending bill. The Biden administration's program to make community college tuition-free will not become a reality in this round of the president's spending priorities, leaving progressive groups disappointed. [Read more here](. — [Elissa Nadworny]( NPR Ed Correspondent Teachers and civil rights groups sue over Oklahoma's ban on critical race theory. A group of educators and civil rights groups is challenging Oklahoma's new law limiting public school teachings on race and gender issues in court. [Read more here.]( — [Jaclyn Diaz]( NPR Breaking News Reporter Student loan forgiveness is a lot closer for some borrowers, and they are pumped. The U.S. Department of Education has begun sending emails to thousands of teachers, nurses and other public servants to tell them they could have some of their federal student loan debts erased months — and even years — earlier than borrowers had expected. [Read more here](. — [Cory Turner]( NPR Ed Correspondent And before you go, a moment of zen... Tired of hearing what adults think of masks? Talk to the kids! Our producer, Lauren Migaki, brought us this [super cute Morning Edition postcard]( from elementary schoolers in Montana. See you next week. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Facebook]( [Twitter]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [npred@npr.org](mailto:npred@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Code Switch and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Education emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]