Montgomery, AL – Per Governor Ivey’s press office, last week, it was brought to the Administration’s attention that there was concerning content in a pre-K educator resource book, content that is simply not in line with what the Ivey Administration or the people of Alabama stand for or believe.
Immediately, Governor Ivey sought review and upon confirming with the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (ADECE) that this book is, in fact, a book distributed in this state, the governor directed ADECE Secretary Barbara Cooper to send a memo to disavow this book and to immediately discontinue its use.
Governor Ivey has made the decision to have a change in leadership at the department and accepted Dr. Cooper’s resignation immediately. Governor Ivey remains appreciative for her service to the state and passion for early childhood education. In addition to expanding service to the number of four-year-olds, Dr. Cooper has helped put an increased focus on students in lower-performing areas and has even been a champion for computer science education in the state. However, Governor Ivey strongly believes that woke concepts have no place at any level of education in the state of Alabama and should not be taking away from the overall mission of improving educational outcomes for students.
Governor Ivey issued the following statement:
“The education of Alabama’s children is my top priority as governor, and there is absolutely no room to distract or take away from this mission. Let me be crystal clear: Woke concepts that have zero to do with a proper education and that are divisive at the core have no place in Alabama classrooms at any age level, let alone with our youngest learners. We want our children to be focused on the fundamentals, such as reading and math.
Alabama’s First Class Pre-K is the best in the country, and those children are at too critical of a juncture in their educational journeys and development to get it wrong. I remain confident in the wonderful teachers we have in pre-K classrooms around our state and in the necessity of our children receiving a strong start to their educational journeys in our First Class Pre-K program. I thank Dr. Cooper for her service, but I believe it is best we continue this historically strong program on its forward trajectory under new leadership.”
Dr. Jan Hume will serve as the interim secretary of the ADECE while Governor Ivey makes a decision on a permanent secretary to lead the department in the immediate future.
Per the Governor’s office they added context on some of the governor’s concern that this resource book contained a “woke agenda”, the book invokes ideas for teachers that there are “larger systemic forces that perpetuate systems of White privilege” or that “the United States is built on systemic and structural racism.” Also included for four-year-olds to learn is that “LGBTQIA+ need to hear and see messages that promote equality, dignity and worth.” The glossary included “equally disturbing concepts that the Ivey Administration and the people of Alabama in no way, shape or form believe should be used to influence school children, let alone four-year-olds. Governor Ivey does not stand for these concepts. For as long as she is governor, Alabama will be focused on ensuring our students are receiving a quality education.”
