The school that gave up Christmas
Seth Slabaugh
MUNCIE, Ind. — Leslie Draper, the head of Inspire Academy, occasionally is thought of as a Scrooge because of the charter school's policy downplaying Christmas and other religious holidays.
It's the least Christmasy public school in Delaware County, though not because Draper is anti-Christmas or anti-Christian.
"It doesn't matter how you celebrate Christmas in school," she said in an interview. "Inevitably, it's not going to align with somebody's viewpoint."
"Whether you celebrate it just with Santa, without the religious aspect, which can be offensive to people for whom it is a deeply religious holiday, or whether you celebrate it religiously, you can be stepping on the separation of church and state," she explained. "For some, Christmas is simply a cultural holiday; for some it's a religious holiday; and for others it's an offensive holiday, because they see it as religious and it's not their religion, or they are not religious."
At the most recent Muncie Community School Board meeting, a Central High School choir showed up to sing "Carol of the Bells," the one starting out, "Hark! How the bells, sweet silver bells, All seem to say, 'Throw Cares Away.' "
That's the kind of thing that wouldn't happen at Inspire Academy.
"I'd say the biggest difference between us and other schools is our 'Winter Exhibition Night' instead of a Christmas holiday program or whatever they do at most schools, a concert or something," Draper said.
"Winter Exhibition Night" at K-8 Inspire Academy is a night where students show the results of a long-term project or product they created. Often, students take on a cause, like voting rights, or starting a free library, or ending gun violence. There also are lighter issues for younger students, like bee pollination or learning about careers in law enforcement.
Enrollment at the school — 2801 E 16th St., the former Franklin Middle School — has grown from 120 to nearly 200 in its first five years. Nearly 80 percent of students come from low-income households. Black, multi-racial and Hispanic students make up about a third of enrollment.
"The Exhibition Nights are very popular," Draper said. "It's a community gathering. What we are doing is celebrating learning … and making sure to create opportunities for kids to share meaningful projects and products with an outside audience … so they can have an impact beyond hanging something on the refrigerator at home."
The exhibits are comparable to public service announcements.
Draper's husband, Andrew, founded Urban Light Community Church in the South Central Neighborhood. A practicing Christian, Leslie Draper founded Inspire Academy after the Muncie school board closed Garfield Elementary School.
Her most vivid memories of when she was a school kid were fun times during holiday celebrations. "I remember Valentine's Day when you would get a bunch of sweets and hand out cards to everyone and have a party at the end of the day for an hour," she said. "That's the kind of stuff I remember."
At Inspire, "we don't do holiday parties; we do celebrations of learning not based on whatever Hallmark is pushing," Draper said. "By the time you calculate all the holidays when Hallmark has something going on you can give up a lot of class time … What we are not doing is not dumping that time into holiday celebrations."
Excerpts from the school's policy handbook:
CELEBRATIONS
We welcome families of many different religious traditions and economic backgrounds at Inspire. We want to be respectful of all our students. We do not celebrate holidays at Inspire Academy. However, we have many traditions and celebrations of learning at Inspire Academy, and we invite you to join in these traditions with your Inspire family.
Students' birthdays are celebrated at Community Circle, and students are given a gift on their birthdays. We ask that parents do not bring in sweets or otherwise celebrate a particular student's birthday on school premises. Thank you for your cooperation.
CLASSROOM
Classrooms are the homes of students and staff during the school day; therefore, every effort should be made to make the room a desirable place in which to be. It should be evident to all who enter, that this is a learning environment. Posters, bulletin boards and other visuals should relate to the curriculum being currently studied. Holiday decorations are appropriate, but the major focus should be curriculum related.
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Seth Slabaugh is an education reporter at The Star Press who can be reached at (765) 213-5834 or seths@muncie.gannett.com.