Idaho Democratic Party says daytime address planned next week will be nonpartisan pep talk

TREASURE VALLEY — Schools in Idaho, Texas and Virginia are fielding questions about a speech President Obama plans to make to students next week.

The outcry comes after conservative columnists and talk-radio personalities roundly criticized what they call an attempt to indoctrinate children.

But the spokeswoman for the Idaho Democratic Party says the speech will simply be the president encouraging children to do well in school.

Obama will give the speech Tuesday. School kids can watch it live on the Internet or on C-SPAN television.

"President Obama will deliver a national address directly to students on the importance of taking responsibility for their success in school," a Tuesday White House press release states.

The Nampa School District has had some calls from parents and a resident asking if the speech will be political in nature, district spokeswoman Allison Westfall said. The resident suggested the speech might be indoctrinating youth.

The former president of the Canyon County Republican Women, Ronalee Linsenmann of Nampa, worries that the speech may do more than address educational success.

"Just the fact that it's during the school day is totally inappropriate," Linsenmann said. She said she was speaking for herself and not for the Republican Party.

Idaho Democratic Party communications director Julie Fanselow said the speech would leave out politics.

"This is the president of the United States, and he is going to be encouraging children to do their best in life and school," Fanselow said. "This strikes me as being as nonpartisan as you can get."

Districts offer options

Caldwell School District principals will leave it up to teachers whether they want their students to watch the speech, district spokeswoman Jennifer Swindell said. She said the district had not received any calls about the speech.

The Vallivue School District also will allow its principals or teachers to decide whether to have students watch the speech, Assistant Superintendent Pat Charlton said.

The Nampa district permits individual school leaders to decide whether they want to have students listen to the speech, Westfall said. She said as of Thursday she did not know of any entire schools that would have students listen to the speech, but that a few classrooms would.

In the Meridian and Eagle school district, students will be sent home with notes allowing them to opt out of hearing the speech, district spokesman Eric Exline said.

Meanwhile, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna, a Republican, sent a memo to state principals and superintendents about issues raised with the speech. Luna said he sent an official letter to the U.S. Secretary of Education asking for more details about the address and its companion lesson plans.

"I believe this will be a unique opportunity for all school children, including Idaho's students, to hear from our country's highest elected official," part of Luna's memo stated.

Decision remains local

It remains a local decision whether schools want to have students listen to the speech and use the lesson plans, Luna said.

"According to the information we have received, the speech is expected to take 15 to 20 minutes, and the president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals and take responsibility for their learning," Luna stated in the memo.

In advance of this address, the Department of Education is providing resources developed by and for teachers to help "engage students and stimulate discussion about persisting and succeeding in school," the White House press release about the speech said.

Nampa parent Laurie Boeckel told The Associated Press she was surprised that the president's address resulted in criticism.

"This shouldn't be such a big deal, it's amazing to me how everything is so political," said Boeckel, who has two children in the Nampa School District and often lobbies legislators on education issues.

"If districts decide they have the capability and opportunity to make the broadcast available and give parents an opportunity to opt out if so desired, I see no problem with it."

Luna encouraged Idaho schools showing the speech during class time to invite families to join students as they watch.

"As with all matters of education, whether your child watches the broadcast is ultimately up to you," Luna told parents in a letter that also went out Thursday. "If you'd rather your child do something else during the time the speech is aired, you can ask your child's teacher for a comparable assignment."