Civil Beat Asks: Can A Framework for K – 12 Schools Guide Us Through Perilous Political Times?
Last month a group of independent secondary school leaders released “Thriving in a World of Pluralistic Contention: A Framework for Schools,” which is intended to help educational institutions address issues of speech, inquiry and academic freedom. Researched and written by John Austin, the head of Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, its release comes at a time of polarization and conflict on school campuses nationwide.
Helping Austin to discuss and draft the work were eight educators across the country, including Mike Latham, president of Punahou School in Honolulu. A 1986 graduate of the school, he earned a B.A. in history from Pomona College and received his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the University of California Los Angeles.