A New Year
Looking back and forward
A new year is invariably a time for reflection.
We take stock. We wonder. We make resolutions.
There is a lot of looking back at what happened. And we try to imagine what the coming year will bring.
But such anticipation is to some extent futile and a lesson in humility. As we reckon with our current world, let us try to remember what we expected from 2022 — and how the year both conformed to and defied our expectations.
Entering 2022, there were big, broad patterns driving deep concern. And many of these remain: threats to American democracy, assaults on our civil and constitutional rights, the pollution of our planet and its dangerously changing climate. These powerful forces are less swayed by short-term actions, individual efforts, and quotidian fluctuations. They span years and even decades, requiring eternal diligence.
But even as these challenges remain pressing and urgent, we can find reasons for hope that we couldn’t have known a year ago. A midterm election, defying historical precedent, saw a strong showing for those who rejected the Big Lie. There was also a rallying to candidates and ballot initiatives supporting women’s autonomy over their bodies. And Congress passed the most significant climate action legislation in this nation’s history. In all these areas, the battle for a more just and safe world remains; yet we enter 2023 with foundations of resilience upon which to build.
Some of today’s headline stories were unforeseeable a year ago. While there were rumblings of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, few if any predicted how it would unfold, thanks to the bravery of the Ukrainian military and people, the country’s steadfast leadership, and support from the United States and our allies.
We have continued to see extreme wealth exert its power in troubling ways on our society. This year, the phenomenon included the purchase of Twitter by a billionaire who appears intent on polluting our political discourse. And yet perhaps this past year also represented an apogee for how we as a society revere extreme wealth. It turns out billionaires may not all be geniuses after all. That 2022 also saw at least some resurgence for organized labor may be part of the same story. Economic fairness and a healthier business environment could be emerging trends.
What new movements will arise in 2023? And what will falter? What change will come to our political world? Our economy? Our social cohesion? Will we look back a year from now and see more progress than setbacks? Will some completely new challenge appear that upends us? Will there be new fountains of resilience and hope?
The new year forces us to recognize the unpredictability that governs our personal lives, as well. We wonder who might not be with us a year from now. Where will we find joy? And where will there be pain? We understand that some years bring more of the former and others more of the latter. We brace for hardship and pray for happiness.
As we reflect on all that is unknowable, we wrestle with the fact that much of what will affect us in 2023 will be beyond our individual control. And yet, we endeavor not to be stymied by cynicism. New years represent occasions to embrace new resolutions for actions to benefit ourselves, others, and our larger communities. We can see that our own efforts, when combined with the efforts of others, can multiply in their impact. So let us consider how we may work together in 2023.
Each year represents a cycle. We travel in our orbit around the sun in a journey that returns us to where we have been. But in other ways, we do not return. Time marches in one direction. We can look in the rearview mirror and understand what we see. But we cannot turn around and go back.
New Year’s can help us refocus what we do with the lives that we have. We can see that new beginnings are possible, in ways big and small, even for those of us who have had many trips around the sun. We can embrace hope and resilience while acknowledging life’s inherent uncertainty.
The days will get longer. The weather will warm. And Earth will bloom once again. Isn’t this proof enough of a happy new year? And isn’t it a reason to resolve to protect and defend all that makes life special and beautiful?
Happy New Year to all.
Steady.
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Everyone has a story and there are times when a story must be shared, not just for clarity or for the sake of truth, but also to take back one’s life. My name is Kate Gould. I am a 48 year old mother of two boys ages 7 and 10. My story takes place in a southern suburb of Denver Colorado in 2021 and 2022. I was in my last year of graduate school at the Iliff School of Theology. My boys were in first and fourth grades at our neighborhood elementary school in the Douglas County School District (DCSD). My oldest, Jackson, had been there since kindergarten and loved it. He was a good student, kind, and considerate. My boys walked to school together every day picking up friends in the neighborhood along the way. They were active in gymnastics and music lessons. We were living the suburban version of the “American Dream.” We were happy.
In November of 2021, four new individuals were elected to the Douglas County Board of Education, having run on the platform of “Kids First.” Their platform came straight from the right wing conservative playbook - Critical Race Theory, Anti-Equity, Anti-Mask. Those four individuals represented the new majority and on December 8, 2021, less than one month after they were elected, they removed the mask mandate in Douglas County Public Schools. Those of us with children with medical conditions were told to work with our individual principals to get masking accommodations.
Jackson was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at three weeks old via newborn screen. He takes over 30 pills and does almost 2 hours of treatments daily, just to stay healthy. Cystic fibrosis is a progressive, life limiting, genetic disease that affects the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. In people with CF, mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene cause the CFTR protein to become dysfunctional. When the protein is not working correctly, it’s unable to help move chloride — a component of salt — to the cell surface. Without the chloride to attract water to the cell surface, the mucus in various organs becomes thick and sticky. In the lungs, the mucus clogs the airways and traps germs, like bacteria, leading to infections, inflammation, respiratory failure, and other complications. For this reason, avoiding germs is a top concern for people with CF.
The morning of December 9, 2021 I went directly to Jackson’s school, Heritage Elementary, and asked to see the principal, Jean Wolach, as parents had been instructed to do by the Board of Education President, Mike Peterson. I was told she was too busy to see me. I told the secretary I would wait. Two hours later, Mrs. Wolach met with me and I asked for a masking accommodation to be placed in Jackson’s 504 medical plan. It was denied. I provided a letter from Jackson’s pulmonologist and it was again denied. I hired a special education attorney. For the next month, the special education attorney and I met with school administrators and continued to be denied. We provided another letter from Jackson’s pulmonologist stating that it was required for Jackson’s lung health that he be in a universally masked classroom. Finally, on January 4, 2022, with the omicron wave in full force across the country, the school district granted Jackson a masking accommodation in his 504. It had been a fight, but I thought we were safe.
In February 2022, the four majority board members fired Corey Wise, the superintendent of DCSD, without cause. Mr. Wise’s attorney maintains Mr. Wise was fired out of retaliation for upholding ADA law as well as the district’s equity policy. Almost immediately, the school administrators began emailing each other about removing my son’s masking accommodation. I learned this through a Colorado Opens Records request in which I obtained all the emails between the principal of my son’s school, the “acting” superintendent, Danelle Hiatt, and the deputy counsel for DCSD, Wendy Jacobs. Despite the emails back and forth from February 18, 2022 to March 1, 2022, at no point was I contacted by anyone from the district or the school concerning Jackson’s masking accommodation. On March 1, 2022 I, along with all the other fourth grade parents, received an email from Jean Wolach stating masking was no longer required in the fourth grade classroom. Without consulting me, Jackson’s father, or Jackson’s physician, the school removed Jackson’s masking accommodation from his 504 placing his health and safety in danger.
I tried to move the boys to a neighboring school district. I was told there was no room. I applied to two private schools and, again, was told there was no room. How does a parent choose between their child’s health and their education? DCSD offered us no alternatives. All of a sudden our “American Dream” had become a nightmare. The school we had been a part of for five years stood by silently while the Board of Education and the acting superintendent endangered Jackson’s health. For five years they had partnered with me to keep Jackson healthy so he could have as normal a childhood as possible. For five years they watched us navigate quarterly doctor’s appointments, illnesses, countless courses of antibiotics, treatment regimens, hospitalization, sinus surgery…and not one of them stood up for Jackson. To say we felt betrayed doesn’t do it justice. They knew what we went through on a daily basis to keep Jackson healthy and when we needed them the most, they were silent.
When Jackson was diagnosed I made a promise to him that I would be his rock. I promised him I would make sure he had the most intentional and meaningful life possible. I promised him I would keep him as healthy as possible in order to have as normal a life as possible for as long as he would get to have it. I was keeping my promise. We were succeeding until four individuals driven by misinformation and a right wing conservative culture war took over the majority on the DCSD Board of Education.
I felt like I had no choice but to pull the boys from the only school they had known. Jackson’s health is our number one priority because keeping him healthy is the key to him having a life to live. After some research and with the assistance of my sister who was already living there, we made the decision to move to California, to a school district that was still masking and willing to accommodate his need for masking if necessary. We left the state in which the boys were born, the neighborhood we lived in for six years, the school they attended for five years, our home, our friends, the pulmonologist who had been caring for Jackson since his diagnosis…we left our entire lives and started over in California. It’s been a difficult transition for all of us. The boys miss their friends and their home. We don’t have the income to support the same kind of life here due to the increased cost of living, but it didn’t feel like we had any other choice. In addition to Jackson’s need for masking and my complete distrust of the school and the district, there were also threats to our safety coming from other parents and eventually, from the Board of Education itself. When I spoke out at a Board of Education meeting I had to be escorted to my car by a county sheriff for my own safety because individuals were giving me the finger and making public comments about my son. One parent sent an email to the principal of Jackson’s school describing what kind of mask he thought Jackson wore, when my son lifted his mask from his face, when he took his mask off to eat lunch, who he played with on the playground and whether or not they were wearing masks, an entire email detailing information about my son and his activities throughout the school day and, of course, the school did nothing, the principal did nothing. One parent sent me a message on social media stating he was going to find my son and make him cry and drink his tears. Recently, Director Becky Myers of the Board of Education sent me an email in which she called me a leftist activist and informed me she is a conservative Christian who will fight to the end for this country and threatened that I am going to lose my rights and that my voice will no longer be heard. The threats got to a point our physician sent me an email asking me to stop appearing publicly for fear over my and Jackson’s safety. Can you imagine? Can you imagine this world we are living in where a 10 year old boy with a chronic, progressive, life limiting illness becomes a target of such hatred? And not only do the school and the district do nothing to protect him, they actually participate? And no one is held accountable. The injustice of the entire situation keeps me up night after night.
Welcome to Red America. NatCon, extremist, right wing, GOP, no matter what you call it, it has real life consequences. What we have been through is just one illustration of the impact of Red America. It has happened to countless others. It has even happened to other families in DCSD. A high school student in DCSD with cystic fibrosis was denied a masking accommodation outright being told it would impact too many people. A student with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy who opted to just do online school because they wanted to remain private. There are currently six open investigations by the US Dept of Education Office of Civil Rights for alleged violations of Free and Appropriate Access to Education (FAPE) in the Douglas County School District. One of those investigations is ours.
I will continue to tell our story and I will continue to fight for the community we left behind because it is my moral responsibility to do so.
Happy New Year to everyone on this site and especially to Dan and Elliott. Thank you so much for being a beacon in this somewhat and often confusing times. I am so thankful for family and their love and support and for many friends that I have made on this website. May 2023 bless each one with good health, common sense and love.