By ADAM D. KRAUSS

Democrat Staff Writer

NORTH BERWICK, Maine — "The Catcher in the Rye" should remain in the freshman curriculum, but teachers need to provide more information to parents about why books are studied, the committee examining the book’s use at Noble High School has ruled.

The 11-member Educational Materials Review Committee issued their opinion Friday morning, two days after their only meeting. The opinion was directed to Superintendent Paul Andrade, who said he will present it to the School Administrative District 60 Board of Directors at their Jan. 6 meeting. The district has never banned a book.

"The committee unanimously agreed, after hearing evidence from both parties, that ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is appropriate for the ninth-grade level based on the themes and essential questions within the curriculum, which was shared by the representatives at the meeting," the committee’s opinion reads.

The committee, which consists of administrators, teachers, parents, students, School Board members and the school head librarian, heard from English teachers who said the book helps students examine complex interactions between teenagers and society.

The committee was formed to explore whether J.D. Salinger’s 1951 coming-of-age tale is appropriate for freshmen after two Lebanon parents, Andrea and Mike Minnon, objected to its use based on the language and actions of the main character, 16-year-old Holden Caulfield.

The Minnons, whose 14-year-old son, Spencer, is a freshman at Noble, have described the controversial book as trash and Caulfield as a degenerate prep school drop-out who treats women as objects and finds no solutions to the depressive state he finds himself in. The Minnons said part of their effort to pull the book from the curriculum was to have teachers hold students to higher standards.

Reached at home after the opinion was released, Andrea Minnon said she was not surprised by the committee’s decision. "I didn’t feel like they were going to go with my decisions," said Minnon, who previously home-schooled Spencer and his younger brother. "They’re comfortable with their standards. I’m not comfortable with their standards."

Minnon said the committee’s opinion reeks with hypocrisy. "It’s socially unacceptable to use all those (curse) words in the work environment, and they claim the schools are their work environment, yet they’re promoting a book that has all these swears in it," she said. "I’m disgusted and ashamed that a school that claims it has such high standards and wants to look a certain way is using materials like this."

Earlier this week Beth O’Connor, who represents Berwick on the School Board, said the book should be pulled so the school does not appear to be contradicting its rules that forbid profanity, vulgarity, smoking and drinking, behavior Caulfield demonstrates throughout the novel as part of exploring the adult world.

Beyond the book’s use, the committee examined the communication between teachers and parents, which the Minnons said was lacking.

The committee said teachers need to do a better job of providing parents with a rationale about why certain books are used, particularly how material that is chosen fits in with students’ curriculum.

"Rather than just providing a list of books to be read throughout the year, we feel it would be important to provide some overview information about each selection so that parents may have a broader understanding of what their children will be reading and why," the committee said.

Minnon said she was happy schools will now try to give parents a "broader understanding of what they’re going to be teaching the kids."

One of the committee members, School Board Director Kim Bernard, who represents North Berwick, said the committee considered all points of view and made good recommendations. "I think that everything that came out of it was really important," she said.

The committee also recommended the creation of a "teacher-parent resource binder" that will contain reviews of books and other materials. The binder will also provide parents with an idea of what students are supposed to gain from reading particular books. Assistant Superintendent Sue Austin said the recommendation was not to suggest that the district was not doing enough to inform parents, but that more work can always be done.

In addition, the committee recommended a review of the current Citizen’s Challenge to Educational Review form, which Andrea Minnon presented at the Dec. 2 board meeting, to help parents better articulate their specific concerns about challenged materials.

Finally, the committee recommended that a list of alternative books be made available to parents who choose to not have their child read a book, which is allowed through district policy. Students who opt out of reading a book can select an alternative and not engage in classroom discussion on it, said Christian Elkington, the high school principal. He said he hopes to have the recommendations, pending school board approval, in place by next September.

Minnon said her son will not read the book, which ranks high on the list of most banned books by the American Library Association. "He’s definitely not reading it," she said. "I don’t want my kids learning the trash that they’re promoting ... ."

District administrators said they were pleased with the way the district has handled the issue. Elkington said the process "allowed for input to occur" and that the committee reached the right decision. "I appreciate the fact that the committee agreed that the use of the book ... in the ninth grade was appropriate because we think it is."

Andrade said he appreciated the seriousness with which the committee took their work. He said he expects the School Board to have a "good discussion" about the opinion at their next meeting.

Word of the opinion was not met with much surprise by those who study issues of book banning and censorship.