Sartell St. Stephen School District Responds to Viral Video of Student Addressing the School Board Over Concerns of an Equity Audit Survey

(KNSI) — Officials with the Sartell St. Stephen School District sent a message to staff and families to address what they call misinformation after a video surfaced online of a student addressing the school board saying a teacher told another student he could neither speak to his parents about the questions on an equity audit survey nor ask his parents for help with questions he didn’t understand.

In December of 2020, students, staff, families, and members of the community received an equity audit survey sent out by Equity Alliance Minnesota so the district could “gain insight into the student experience and provide the best possible – and comprehensive – school experience for each of our learners.”

The student, Haley Yasgar, who was in fourth grade at the time the survey was taken, told school board members that her teacher told her she could not skip any questions on the survey, even if she didn’t understand them, and also claimed another student was told he could not ask his mom to explain a question to him, even after the teacher explained it because he still didn’t understand. The teacher also allegedly told him he could not repeat any of the questions to his parents. Yasgar said the situation made her feel uncomfortable and nervous and like she was doing something wrong.

That prompted several parents, community members, and others to call and email the district.

In response to that, a message was sent out by Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Ridlehoover, saying that “In light of recent attention related to the administration of the equity audit survey, clarification and context are important.”

The superintendent’s statement says that the video was posted and shared without any context, and it may have been misinterpreted.

The statement says notification of the survey was sent in emails to staff and families in December 2020, weekly notifications were also sent in December, and the survey was given to students while they were in the distance learning model, so many were in their homes during that time.

In an interview on Fox & Friends, Haley’s mother Kelsey Yasgar explained that parents knew the equity audit was coming, but they didn’t know when it would be administered and said she was not sure of the details behind it. She said due to the “lack of transparency” from the district and Equity Alliance Minnesota, they were not informed of the questions. She said after her daughter told her she was not allowed to talk about the questions, she became “very upset.” She said she was told the instruction not to share the questions was not a decision made by the teacher, but rather from Equity Alliance Minnesota and administration.

Since the results were presented last month, there has been a call by parents and the school board for Equity Alliance Minnesota to release the full survey questions and for the district to stop working with them. Initially, the company agreed to provide the questions, but reportedly later walked that back after consulting with their legal department. Dr. Ridlehoover continues to press for the questions to be released so the conversation can continue.

KNSI News previously spoke with Dr. Ridlehoover, who started as superintendent on July 1st. He maintained that ISD 748 is not a racist district, but regardless, everyone needs to feel welcome. Parents and community members feel that by the district working with Equity Alliance Minnesota, they’re being shut out of discussing how to make a change.

In that interview, Dr. Ridlehoover explained that as the district begins its strategic plan, he wants the community to be engaged and, “We’re going to be talking about personalized learning that really weave in the pieces of equity that as a district we’ve been talking about. It’s going to be exciting work. And I think it’s going to bring what has been somewhat of a divisive topic to one that is really providing clarity around what it is and what it isn’t and what we can do as we work forward together.”

In the statement sent Monday, Dr. Ridlehoover thanked the teachers and support staff and closed the statement by saying, “As a district, we remain committed to providing each and every student with a safe, healthy, academically appropriate learning environment. This is our collective work and maintaining a productive and engaging partnership with families is part of this effort. I sincerely thank you for your engagement and look forward to our continued dialogue as we do this work together.”

Read the statement here.

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