Controversy Erupts At Skokie Middle School After Palestinian Flag Removed

SKOKIE, IL — Controversy has erupted at a Skokie middle school after a Palestinian flag, representing a math teacher's heritage, was removed from classroom walls by the district superintendent.

At the beginning of the year, Old Orchard Junior High School teacher Maram Mustafa reportedly asked students in all of her classes to draw flags to represent their cultures, which were to be hung around the classroom for the remainder of the school year. Mustafa, a second-year math teacher of Palestinian descent, drew her own flag and hung it on the wall alongside her students' flags.

The flags were from all over the world, parent and former District 68 Board member Noelle Sullivan told Patch. Sullivan's own children drew a Canadian flag and an American flag, to represent both of their parents.

Other students' illustrations depicted Polish, Israeli and Assyrian flags, among many others, Sullivan said.

"I was really excited about this because it let us see the diverse cultures of all the students. When I drew my flag, I chose Nigeria to represent my ancestral roots and America to show where my family lives," student Carter Cleveland-Lax said.

In December, two unknown parties who saw the flag display in Mustafa's classroom raised concerns with officials at Skokie School District 68. Following the complaints, District Superintendent Scott Grens got in contact with Mustafa to better understand the purpose of the project and schedule a meeting to discuss next steps, according to Sullivan.

After the meeting took place, Grens followed up with Mustafa on Jan. 9 to officially ask her to take the flag down, Sullivan told Patch.

When the flag was not removed by the afternoon of Monday, Jan. 12, Sullivan said the superintendent went into Mustafa's classroom himself to remove the flag and put it in her desk drawer. Though no actions were taken against Mustafa, parents argued that the actions taken by district officials misinterpreted a well-meaning classroom activity meant to foster community.

"The big thing is that you've got a really dynamic young teacher from this area who cares deeply for this community, because she grew up here, who's Palestinian. She created a lovely community building exercise, and someone complains that's not really part of the community, after months of nobody having any issue with it, and then suddenly she's being singled out due to her identity," Sullivan told Patch.

At the Jan. 15 District 68 School Board meeting, Grens said that as the classroom activity was conducted early in the school year, it was no longer instructionally relevant. For this reason, parents said Mustafa's flag was removed, and the students' flags that they had drawn were removed a week later.

Students who spoke with Patch said they felt "a little bit colder" returning to their classroom after their flags were all removed.

As a result of this incident, the district decided to form and introduce a Committee for Guidance on Displays in the Learning Environment. Going forward, the committee will develop clear, practical guidance to help ensure classroom displays are age-appropriate, educationally meaningful and aligned with the district's values.

"This Committee is not intended to censor nor suppress identity, but rather to foster inclusivity and provide guidance for staff as we continue to foster a community of belonging," Grens said.

The committee will be composed of teachers and administrators and will be led by the Educational Services Department.

Parents who raised concerns with the district's actions said they believe the formation of the new committee was unnecessary and seems like a gross overstep meant to micromanage the actions of capable teachers.

Community members who spoke with Patch said they were largely unbothered by the classroom project. Students in Mustafa's class said the flags were a fun addition to the room that helped them feel pride about where they came from.

In response to the removal of the flags, Carter and fellow classmate Blake Sullivan created a petition to urge the district to reverse its decision, adopt policies that celebrate diversity and allow the display of cultural flags. The petition has more than 600 signatures.

Blake and her brother Matias are in separate periods of Ms. Mustafa's class and spoke at the Jan. 15 School Board meeting in support of their teacher. They shared that Ms. Mustafa supports her students and makes it a point to push every student to accept each other regardless of their differences.

"We shouldn’t be afraid to speak about ourselves, or support someone else’s identity, we should just embrace each other for who we are," student Matias Sullivan told Patch. "All of those words fit into one feeling that was in my mind when I was on that podium: hope. Hope that things will get better, hope that we could move on from this, and hope that the community will rise above this as one, excluding no one from the amazing ability to express themselves. Who cares if we’re different? Who cares if we have different beliefs? We’re all just human, and I hope to see Skokie welcome that once more."