Case No.: 1:98 CV 897
HON. David W. McKeague
U.S. District Judge
MEGAN DAUGHERTY AND DONALD SWEENY,
JEFFREY AND CATHY SEAVER,
individually and as next friends
of their minor children,
Plaintiffs,
V.
VANGUARD CHARTER SCHOOL ACADEMY,
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY, and
NATIONAL HERITAGE ACADEMIES, a
Michigan Corporation,
Defendants.
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FIRST AFFIDAVIT OF LANETTE GRATE
LANETTE GRATE, pursuant to 28 USC § 1746, declares under penalty of perjury that the following is true and correct, excepting those matters stated to be on information or belief, and as to those matters I declare that same are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief:
1. I am the parent of one child who attends Excel Academy, who is nine years old in the 4th grade.
2. Contained in Excels’ Rationale Statement for Moral and Ethical Education, distributed at a PTO meeting in bout September of 1998: “Without an integration of moral absolutes (based on the authority of a higher being), we will be willing partners in the propagation of our societies current value system and lack of moral ethics. “
3. In my child’s 4th grade class, the teacher, Ms. Gruennert read to the class The Lion the Witch and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. (This is the second time my child read this book while at Excel, and she has attended for 3-1/2 school years.) Ms. Gruennert and I discussed this book and I was concerned because I
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thought this was an allegorical retelling of the Gospel and an example of Christianity. Dr. Knoester and Ms. Gruennert were present, one of them told me that this book was “used to provide information about the Christian religion, not to teach the children the Christian religion."
4. When my daughter’s class was being read “Number the Stars,” by Ms. Gruennert, she asked how many students were Jewish. One girl raised her hand and Ms. Gruennert asked did you know Jesus was Jewish. My daughter told me this exchange embarrassed her for this other student and that if she were this other student she would not have raised her hand. Based on what I know of my daughter, I am of the opinion that she was embarrassed for the other girl because she felt she had been single out.
5. In september 1998, the moral focus for the month was “wisdom.” In my daughter’s class, periodically through the month, Ms. Gruennert read to the class from the Bible, and on information and belief, I understand Ms. Gruennert read from the Book of proverbs.
6. During science class, in about september 1998, in the context of teaching about the origin of the earth, Ms. Gruennert read to the class from the Bible, the Book of Genesis. Ms. Gruennert had the students write a paper for which the topic choices were one of the six days of creation, the precambrian,
paleozoic, cenozoic, or mesozoic eras and dinosaurs. Posters labeled day 1-6, dinosaurs, paleozoic, cenozoic, and mesozoic eras, were on display in the hallway outside the classroom. My daughter elected to work on one of the six days of “the creation.” My daughter used the Bible to get her information for her poster. I saw these posters at school and it is my opinion that this assignment reflected the Biblical account of six days of creation. The students also had to write an essay in conjunction with this exercise. She wrote on "The Origins of the Earth" and used the biblical account from Genesis. My daughter wrote, “some people believe in god and some don’t. Some people think he is human and some a spirit.” Ms. Gruennert wrote comments that said this portion of the essay was “off topic.” At the meeting with Ms. Gruennert and Dr. Knoester referred to above, I brought this essay
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with me and told them I believed my daughter put this paragraph in because she was uncomfortable writing this essay. I asked them about creationism being taught in science class. I asked why we don’t have science books and Dr. Knoester told me that most elementary schools don’t have science books.
7. I recall seeing religious videos and literature on display in the parent’s room at Excel. These included books by James Dobson, Gary Smalley and Chuck Swindoll, and I understand these persons are evangelical christians. These materials would have been visible to children in the school. The videos I saw included “McGee and Me” and “Adventures in Odyssey” which are Christian children’ s adventure tales which use cartoons to teach Christian religion. The lost and found for the school is in that room and it is my understanding that school children will enter that room to search the lost and found.
8. I had a telephone conversation with Ms. Gruennert where we discussed the moral focus agenda and some things that were bothering me similar to those mentioned above. Ms. Gruennert said she was a Christian and it was difficult for her to separate out that aspect of her personality and that she was not aware that she was doing things that might offend my daughter. Ms. Gruennert was very cooperative and told me to let her know if she did or said anything in the future that made me or my daughter uncomfortable.
Further Affiant sayeth not.
VERIFICATION
I, the undersigned, pursuant to 28 USC § 1746, declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct, excepting those matters stated to be on information or belief, and as to those matters I declare that same are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief.
Date: 2-3-99
Lanette Grate
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