Good Evening!
One of our most important goals has always been to provide a support network for people who have had negative experiences with Lifewise Academy, whose children have been ostracized, bullied, or had their first amendment rights violated. To build a community of like-minded parents, educators, and community members who strongly believe that the separation of church and state should extend to public education.
With your help and tireless dedication we have succeeded in that goal; having a thriving community of thousands, both here in our private group, and on our public page. In our 549 days together, we have built this “nothing” into sharing experiences, uncovering abuse, fighting lawsuits, standing up for the establishment clause and fighting for religious neutrality in our public schools. We have been led outside of our original RTRI focus and into other encroachments of religion like; the FCA, and the Good News Club, bible based curriculums, and the posting of the ten commandments in our classrooms, to name a few.
Choosing the name “Parents Against Lifewise” was at the time, a very intentional decision. However, as our journey has progressed we’ve realized that Lifewise was just one nasty tentacle of this fundamentalist monster we are fighting together. We’ve seen first hand how it isn’t just parents against either; it’s grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, clergy, community leaders, and taxpayers. People of all differing cultures and faiths who strongly believe that maintaining religious neutrality in our public schools is paramount to our democracy.
That being said; we’ve always tried to make it clear that ALL are welcome here, not just parents, and that it isn’t just RTRI we need to be conscious of. *As a result we’ve decided to rebrand Parents Against Lifewise (PAL) to Secular Education Association (SEA).* We plan to launch a new website very soon as well as state specific chapters of SEA. Our long term goal is to become a much larger organization; one that is well equipped to overcome any obstacles we might face in the defense of our children’s rights to a religion-free school day.
In the short term; we have a monthly volunteer meeting (if you’re interested in getting involved!), articles in the works, and we continue to ask that you help us raise awareness. There are two national conferences already planned for this year, and we need your help to represent SEA and make the necessary impact at them both. If you are interested in helping us do so financially, please see the link below to our gofundme.
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