A local Rotary Club has complained that new guidelines on books and other materials in public schools are making it more difficult to continue their annual donation of physical dictionaries to third graders.
The Rotary Club of Southlake, located in an affluent area of northeastern Tarrant County, has made in-person donations of dictionaries to area schools for the last 15 years.
“It’s a Webster’s Student Dictionary, same book we’ve always used,” said Rotary member Sean Cerone.
“You know they come out with a list of new words every so often, the school district told me; somehow they know there’s 22 new words that have been added to the most current edition of the dictionary,” he continued.
However, due to the inclusion of new terms in the dictionary, the donation was temporarily placed on hold due to the Carroll ISD’s recent changes to its books and materials policies that require a review of all such donations to students.
Any changes whatsoever to a previously accepted edition of the dictionary would prompt such a review.
While dictionaries are longstanding staples in schools, a recent controversy surrounding the definitions of man and woman in the Cambridge dictionary illustrates that even these essential tools in language learning and comprehension are subject to review under Carroll ISD’s policy.
In a statement, the district wrote, “As of August 19, 2022, our School Board approved a new policy that covered book donations to the district, which was implemented immediately. While the Rotary Club has generously donated dictionaries for several years, with the new policy taking effect, there are more steps involved with the process.”
“We have apologized for the delay in distributing these books; however, as with all book donations, they must follow the new procedure as outlined in the policy. This is on the Board agenda for this coming Monday’s meeting.”
“Board approval is the final step of the new book donation policy. We are grateful for this longstanding tradition, and we hope to continue our positive relationship with the Southlake Rotary Club,” the statement concluded.
On Monday, December 12, the Carroll ISD board addressed the matter.
After a few minutes of discussion, in which it was also revealed that the latest print version actually did not contain any new terms, the board unanimously approved and accepted the Rotary Club’s donation.
During the discussion, the board also heard from a speaker who outlined what the Rotary Club has customarily done with the time they have with students during the in-person donation.
“They explain to them what a dictionary is, what they do with a dictionary, how they got the funding for the dictionaries, and why they’re bringing it to the classes,” Janette Blackwell explained to the board.
Cerone underscored the importance of the in-person visitation to connect with the students and share the service-centered mission of the Rotary Club.
“Part of it, for us, is going in and interacting with the principals, teachers, and students, handing them the dictionary, telling them we’re part of the Southlake Rotary Club and what Rotary is all about and what we do,” he said.