Parents Meet After Concord-Carlisle High School Pledge Incident

(NECN: Josh Brogadir, Concord, Mass.) - Parents are gathering after an incident that created a bit of controversy last week at Concord-Carlisle High School in Massachusetts.

It all stems from the absence of the Pledge of Allegiance on Sept. 11 and a poem that was read.

The school is setting the record straight, and many parents are not accepting it, with some even calling for the principal's resignation.

One man says "You don't sing a love song at a funeral."

"I think if you're going to do something on 9/11 it really should be silent and thoughtful, and leave it at that," said parent Helen Brady.

Over the loud speaker inside Concord-Carlisle High School last Wednesday, on the morning of Sept. 11, students did not hear the Pledge of Allegiance or pause for a moment of silence.

Later in the day, they heard what the school says is a poem of cross-cultural understanding, one called "My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears," by the Syrian-American poet Mohja Kahf.

The backlash among parents and some students was largely negative.

"The events originated here in Boston, which touched very directly on a lot of local lives. I, for one, had a colleague who was killed when his plane struck the North Tower. And all of that was bypassed by the school system," said parent Fred Schaaf.

"(My son) heard part of the poem and it was just confusing to him, it was just an unusual set of events," parent Steve O'Brien said.

And that's why school officials are holding a public forum for parents six days later.

Our cameras weren't allowed inside, but part of the discussion centered on the timing of the poem, perceived by some as anti-American especially in light of the 9/11 terror attacks.

But by others as perfectly acceptable, a poem about tolerance.

"If it changes one person's mind and makes them a little more tolerant, it's a good thing. It's great to commemorate fallen folks and all that, and we already do that, but I think to have this one poem read, I don't think is a big, terrible thing," said parent Julio Gagne.

"The vitriol online was really ugly and we felt like we needed to come down and support our principal. I've never even met him, I don't know what he looks like, but we thought it was important to stand up for him because we thought he was being bullied," parent Nerissa Gagne said.

Four days later, school principal Peter Badalament apologized, admitting he used poor judgment.

At the forum he said the "Intent was not to have Muslim poem, prayer read ... I am now well aware that this was deeply offensive."

He went on to say, "There are 179 other days when that poem might have been appropriate."

Student senate moderator Vineet Chandra says right or wrong students are ready to move on from the controversy.

"It's an important message to understand, and to understand that the divide exists. Should it have been read on 9/11, that's up for debate," Chandra said.

The school says not saying the pledge was an oversight. A student who was supposed to say the pledge had an internship commitment that day.

Badalament said "this was our responsibility to know."

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