I have no idea how accurate their numbers are, but the blog you link to claims that there are 6 kids (out of 500 at the school) whose parents will keep them home if Halloween is recognized at the school. And to please those parents, the school bans a tradition like Halloween. Shameful.

And to add an extra note of Portlandia awesomeness, one of the Sleater-Kinney bandmates of Carrie Brownstein, the actress from the "Put a Bird on It!" Portlandia sketch, is one of the Buckman parents who is protesting this Halloween ban.

We don’t need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the class room
Teachers leave those kids alone

Hey, teachers! Leave those kids alone!

An "arts" school banning creativity. How nice.

Gee in my day the poor kids loved Halloween we could wear our regular clothes and for one day be orphans or hobos and fit in.

Oh, so kids can't wear silly costumes on one day of the year, but it's okay for the adults to wear silly costumes for the rest of it?

I love this from the principal:

The spirit of equity has lead most PPS (Portland Public Schools) schools, including most elementary schools, to deemphasize the celebration of Halloween at school.

Ah, the "spirit of equity." The new totalitarian catchphrase, it seems.

And for heaven's sake, I hope that the principal at Buckman knows how to spell "led."

This reminds me of the scene in Robin Hood where Alan Rickman added the classic line "And call off Christmas". Yeah equity! Can't wait until we go to unisex restrooms.

Reading yesterday that a Scandinavian restaurant has unisex bathrooms and males are required to sit when urinating.

Recalls Miranda glee doesn't it?

Back in my day, our kids were allowed to bring their costumes to elementary school; put them on shortly before the end of the day and have a "dress up" parade. Not sure my kids even participated. This always seemed like a big inconvenience for the teachers and a waste of class time. The PTA did sponser a Halloween fun night which was named the Fall Fun night after the "squeeky church" lady kept up her lobbying. I recall dressing as the Stay Puft Marshmallow (Ghost Busters era)and other great outfits while helping out. Personally, I think the dress up should be out of the school day however if the parents/PTO want to have an event after hours; dress up; have great activities then go for it. Just dressing up takes away from class time and creates lots of headaches when some kid shows up in a costume that is not designed with mobility in mind for tasks such as sitting at one's desk, being able to deftly maneuver a pencil across an assignment.....

"spirit of equity"
Sure does seem like the new totalitarian catchphrase to be put in the room of language we must all step in line with now such as homeland security, smart growth, eco this or that, and you can add to the list.

Guess this one fits right in with the 99% and the 1% ... we must now have the "spirit of equity" anyway.

Funny how these don't seem to apply to the elite.
They have private jets to fly around in,
don't need to be groped or body-scanned for homeland security.
Doubt they live in a smart growth development.
They can live in gated communities.
Think they are concerned about equity?
or prefer the idea of "spirit of equity?"

It will be interesting to see if Dia de los Muertos is observed.

Our daughter's preschool, which receives no public funds, also bans Halloween costumes. Must be something in the water.

Eric--our preschool does this as well, but that is explained by the school as being because they tend to have trouble keeping the kids calm and collected when they are running around in costumes. Seeing how the kids are crazy and disorganized on the best of days, I completely understand that reason.

At Buckman School, it appears that the reason is the PC, the whole PC, and nothing but the PC.

I have many friends and colleagues who live in the Buckman area (and I live close to that part of town), and so I know how earnest and progressive the parents in Buckman can be. All I can say is that if you are being called out by Buckman parents as being too politically correct, you REALLY need to look in the mirror.

Whatever happened to "Celebrating Diversity"? I guess that has been swallowed up by "the Spirit of Equity".

Halloween has always been an opportunity for kids to step out of who they are everyday and pretend to be something else. For most kids it is one of the highlights of the year and ranks second only to Christmas in terms of holidays. I don't remember ever seeing a kid teased or shamed for not having an adequate costume or if they chose not to even wear one.

Other than people who have religious objections what is there not to like about Halloween? Kids having too much fun? I sometimes think that the PC crowd just looks for something to kvetch about.

"spirit of equity" sounds like the catch phrase for "sit down and shut up"
to me.

Call the school's bluff. Have all the kids wear their costumes and put the pressure on the school to send them home.
Call it Occupy School and you won't even have to get a permit!

Many schools in the PPS do not allow Halloween costumes. And yes, it is weird for many immigrant students, especially Russians, and they avoid school that day. Are schools serving the community at large, one that is growing more and more diverse, or is it best to have a "this is America and this is what we do" sort of mindset? I don't know--it's a difficult question. I wonder why the PPS doesn't have a blanket policy one way or the other---maybe it's just a "kids who go to Buckman are just so talented and creative and should be able to express themselves" while at the schools east of the 205 ban it for the good of the whole. That seems weird though. Just a thought.

If an American moves to another country do they change their "culture" to make the American more comfortable? The answer is a resounding NO! While trying to make sure all are included, none are. What about American "culture"? If you don't like it, don't participate. Don't make the change happen for everyone else just for the call to equity.

I guess the next logical step is to cancel commencement each year because it unfairly stigmatizes kids who have learned in a different way, and who have not yet managed to acquire the necessary credits to graduate.

I'm curious how many angered parent have been at a school during a holiday like Halloween and witnessed how hard it is to keep the kids focused while they are dressed up. My kids are too young for school, and they do have a dress up day at their pre-school. But, if I was told they wanted to stop it, I'd be just fine with it. I'm more interested in them educating my child than celebrating holidays. Holidays should be a family affair, not a school affair. I know many, many people who do not celebrate Halloween for religious reasons. I think this group is actually growing much larger than most people realize.

This ban teaches the kids there simply is
no equity. There will never be equity,it is only an aspirational state. Taking out
the celebration of Halloween from Buckman
shows how rigid the school is. It seems
too much to hope that the school would
give an inch and teach how compromise can
make the world a better place. If kids
want to dress up, let them! And if they
do not, respect that, too. But do not
teach the kids that their parents' act of petitioning is somehow wrong. Maybe the
school would like to eliminate the first
amendment, as well.( Now I am beginning to
understand why we have such a high dropout rate.)Maybe we need to have a regular community blog to examine all that
is taking place in all the PPS schools. I
am very concerned about the cultural pro-
gramming taking place in the schools. I
am offended more by pajama day, that is
not equitable. Poor kids do not have nice
pajamas, but a poor kids can make a good
costume, if he uses his imagination.