LifeWise Academy is topic of town hall meeting in Salem
Shown is event organizer Heather Smith. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
Former LifeWise volunteer and teacher Rachel Snell said that LifeWise’s real priority was as a money-making enterprise rather than a proselytizing one with additional fees embedded throughout its programming, which she said already costed from 50 to 100 times more than other released time religious instruction providers. She also claimed that LifeWise fails to accurately disclose its funding sources or to report the money it spends on legislative lobbying on its taxes as legally required. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
Zach Parrish of the Secular Education Association, left, said that in districts with high rates of participation in LifeWise programming, even students who don’t participate have their educational experience negatively impacted as educational materials are withheld while their peers are off campus and LifeWise’s curriculum encourages an “us vs. them” mentality between students who participate and those who don’t. He also accused LifeWise of using a private company for background checks which do not meet the standards of those typically required for educators and said that the company refused any requests to share their curriculum with parents of school districts until they were legally forced to as a term of a settlement with himself after LifeWise sued him for publishing it online. Lead organizer for ACTION of Mahoning Valley Shane Russo, right, said that curriculum has never been studied or vetted by an independent educational expert who was not paid by LifeWise and was rooted in Southern Baptist interpretations of the Bible rather than being non-denominational, or inter-denominational as claimed by LifeWise. He said that the curriculum actively demonizes differing world views, religious practices, and any family units it deems non-traditional and often leads to bullying and conflict between students. He also accused LifeWise of scheduling its program during the school day to take advantage of students’ desires to skip class because students wouldn’t participate otherwise. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
Shown is event organizer Heather Smith. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
Former LifeWise volunteer and teacher Rachel Snell said that LifeWise’s real priority was as a money-making enterprise rather than a proselytizing one with additional fees embedded throughout its programming, which she said already costed from 50 to 100 times more than other released time religious instruction providers. She also claimed that LifeWise fails to accurately disclose its funding sources or to report the money it spends on legislative lobbying on its taxes as legally required. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
Zach Parrish of the Secular Education Association, left, said that in districts with high rates of participation in LifeWise programming, even students who don’t participate have their educational experience negatively impacted as educational materials are withheld while their peers are off campus and LifeWise’s curriculum encourages an “us vs. them” mentality between students who participate and those who don’t. He also accused LifeWise of using a private company for background checks which do not meet the standards of those typically required for educators and said that the company refused any requests to share their curriculum with parents of school districts until they were legally forced to as a term of a settlement with himself after LifeWise sued him for publishing it online. Lead organizer for ACTION of Mahoning Valley Shane Russo, right, said that curriculum has never been studied or vetted by an independent educational expert who was not paid by LifeWise and was rooted in Southern Baptist interpretations of the Bible rather than being non-denominational, or inter-denominational as claimed by LifeWise. He said that the curriculum actively demonizes differing world views, religious practices, and any family units it deems non-traditional and often leads to bullying and conflict between students. He also accused LifeWise of scheduling its program during the school day to take advantage of students’ desires to skip class because students wouldn’t participate otherwise. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
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SALEM – A town hall event was held Friday at the Salem Historical Society to discuss concerns regarding Hillard-based released time religious instruction programming company LifeWise Academy, which saw approximately 30 people in attendance.
The event was organized by Heather Smith, a teacher for the Youngstown City School District, and featured remarks from former LifeWise volunteer and teacher Rachel Snell, lead organizer for ACTION of Mahoning Valley Shane Russo, and Zach Parrish of the Secular Education Association followed by a question-and-answer period for the audience.
Smith, Snell, Parrish and Russo all took issue with the LifeWise programming being during the school day, a block of time that they argue is taxpayer-funded and that students shouldn't be removed from. They also said that young children have difficulty differentiating between actual classroom material and LifeWise's external material when it is presented to them during school hours whether it is on campus or not.