Atlanta school backtracks after nixing Pledge of Allegiance
Why would school decide to drop the Pledge of Allegiance? University of Maryland professor Dr. Jason Nichols shares his thoughts on 'The Ingraham Angle.'
An Atlanta charter school changed course Thursday on a plan for students to recite something other than the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning, an official said.
Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School (ANCS) had announced Tuesday that they would scrap the Pledge of Allegiance from their morning agenda, in favor of participating in a group “Wolf Pack Chant.” The move was said to be done in order to make the school more inclusive and the chant, likely named after the school’s wolf mascot, would be created by students and teachers.
“Students will continue to lead the meeting by asking our community to stand to participate in our Wolf Pack Chant together. Students will also be given the opportunity to say the pledge at another point during the school day within their classroom,” the school’s elementary campus president, Lara Zelski, previously said in a news release that appears to have since been taken down.
But officials later decided to go back to the “original format,” citing “some miscommunication and inconsistency in the rollout” of the new plan.
“In the past, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited during our all-school morning meeting, but at the start of the school year, the daily practice was moved to classrooms,” Lia Santos, the ANCS board chair, said in a statement.
The decision to stray from the morning ritual was carried out in accordance with state law and aligned with other Georgia schools, Santos said.
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“However, it appears there was some miscommunication and inconsistency in the rollout,” Santos’ statement continued. “Starting next week, we will return to our original format and provide our students with the opportunity to recite the Pledge during the all-school morning meeting.”
“We support our students in their growth and see it as our duty as educators to respect their First Amendment rights,” the statement said, adding that officials are striving to “address concerns and feedback” while respecting “the rights of every member of our school community.”
The charter school opened in 2002 in the Grant Park neighborhood and serves students from kindergarten to fifth grade.
Fox News’ Katherine Lam contributed to this report.
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