The wife (Sharon) of Nate Owen, WPEA president and fantastic math/science high school teacher, posted this to Facebook today:

Dear WPSD community,

This week, our family begins saying goodbye to the Woodland Park School District. We’ve been part of WPSD for 12 years. A lot of our core memories have been tied to Woodland Park starting with Nate beginning to work for WPSD when our oldest child turned 1. All four of our children learned to walk in the halls of the high school. They had their first trick or treating experiences and Santa visits in this community. This district was our choice for our children’s education, and has seen them through first days of preschool, kindergarten, and middle school. We had looked forward to continuing to experience milestones with our WPSD family, like my husband giving our children their high school diplomas at their WPSD graduations, but this is no longer an option for our family. This community has shown their care through life’s toughest moments. They saw us through children being diagnosed with epilepsy, autism, and Weil-Marchesani Syndrome. The community rallied behind us when we had a kitchen fire and Nate broke his leg. Regardless of what life threw at us, we always knew we were surrounded by a caring community that has offered us support. Our children have grown up with this community as their family. They will always have memories of the high school students who walked them to and from Gateway, the amazing staff who played a part in their education, the high school teachers who welcomed them into their classrooms after school to draw or have a snack, and the high school admin who made sure they felt welcome in the high school. Woodland Park will always hold a special place in our family’s memories.

Sadly, we now need to leave this district due to a school board and superintendent, who appear to not care about the students or staff of the 5 traditional public schools. Their number one priority has been their extreme political agenda that will lead to the destruction of all educational choices. White washing history, discouraging civil discourse, ignoring research on best educational practices, refusing grants due to having “strings attached” and ignoring parent and staff concerns will not lead to a thriving school district. As this board has boasted their “Christian values”, the actions and beliefs of this school board and superintendent do not align with the teachings of Jesus I was taught growing up as a Pastor’s daughter and attending an accredited Christian university in Missouri.

Public schools are meant to meet the needs of all students. This means public schools are required to serve all students regardless of race, religion, political views, sexual orientation, disability, income, gender, etc. To the contrary of the actions of this board and superintendent, it is the job of the public schools to provide a learning environment that is safe, equitable and inclusive for all students. It doesn’t matter how a student differs from a teacher, admin, or school board member. It is expected for all the students to be treated with respect and be provided a fair and appropriate education. It appalled me to hear a board member’s recent statement on using a student’s chosen name. This left me to believe that he feels LGBTQ+ students don’t deserve the same level of respect as other students. Treating a student with respect doesn’t interrupt learning. Instead, it provides the student with a better capability to learn. I can’t have my children attending a school district where majority of the board members and the superintendent are fine with discrimination against any students. We can all hold different beliefs without losing the ability of treating others in a respectful manner.

When my husband and I discussed him taking on the role of WPEA president, I knew the sacrifices our family would need to make to allow him to take this position. I knew the countless hours that Nate would need to commit to this position, the stress, and the risk of retaliation. Being WPEA president in a district in crisis is much different than in a healthy district where the district works with the staff. In the end, I knew Nate needed to take on this position because WPSD is worth fighting for, and we knew he could put the target on his back for all staff, not just WPEA members. Over the last 2 years, I have heard lies told about my husband and his coworkers. If any of the board members and superintendent took the time to actually work with him, they would have seen the man I have come to know and love. He’s a man who thinks of others before himself. He has the students’ best interests at the forefront of his mind because his job is to teach and prepare them for life outside of the school district’s walls. If the board and superintendent would have been willing to work with him, he would have helped them build the much needed bridge between themselves and the staff. Overall, he wanted what is best for all members of this community. Instead of working with my husband to bring peace and strengthen the district, the board and superintendent have been filled with hate and disrespect towards him and the staff of WPSD. They put on blinders to the fact that WPEA is filled with staff who, ultimately, are human, have families, and care about their students’ success.

It pains me to have to say goodbye to the district we have been part of for the last 12 years, but my family needs to go where students and staff will be respected and prioritized. The time has come for us to prioritize our family’s needs over WPSD. As more teachers leave, I ask everyone to give them respect for their decision because the decision to leave is difficult. They don’t want to leave your students in this situation or leave the district they have loved, but they are reaching a point where they cannot stay and continue to be the amazing and effective teachers that you have come to love. The toxicity that is being created by the superintendent and the board will continue to have a negative impact on the teachers even more than it already has. When someone has decided they have reached their limits, we need to respect their decision to leave and show them support.

I want to thank this community for surrounding my family with support during these last 12 years and specifically the past 2 years. Thank you for realizing who my husband truly is and recognizing that he wants this school district to succeed and flourish. I want to thank all of the staff who have helped shape my children into the people they are today, kept them safe, and have become trusted adults in their lives. Thank you, Keegan, for stepping up to try to bring balance to a board who have become consumed by false national narratives and extreme political agendas. We may be leaving the district, but we will continue to advocate for the students and staff of Woodland Park.