A Michigan school district's decision to have kindergartners make a special gift for a person, rather than a parent, has stirred controversy in Wayne County this month. Officials in the Grosse Pointe Public School System say the move was in response to kindergarten pupils whose mothers passed away recently. "To be compassionate and caring of the students, our Kindergarten teachers chose to make handcrafted gifts for Special People Day in lieu of school crafts created for Mothers or Fathers Day," said Principal Jodie Randazzo at Ferry Elementary in an email to The Detroit News. "By calling it 'special people' all our students could participate without feeling excluded, and we could support them," Randazzo said. Pupils made suncatchers and a canvas painting of a flower for their special person. The crafts will be sent home May 23. Ferry did not receive any negative feedback from kindergarten parents when the change was announced to families, Randazzo said. Two board members have pushed back against the move, saying it is an attack on traditional families and erases tradition. Virginia "Ginny" Jeup, a member of the Grosse Pointe Public Schools Board of Education, posted Friday on social media that schools can be supportive of students without "erasing" traditional Mother’s Day and Father’s Day celebrations. Her post included a letter the school's kindergarten teachers sent to parents about their planned change. "We’re excited to announce that our kindergarten classes will be celebrating Special People Day!" the letter said, according to the board member. "In place of traditional Mother’s Day or Father’s Day projects, each child will create a few handcrafted gifts to give to 'special people' in their life —someone who makes them feel loved, supported, and celebrated. This could be a grandparent, aunt or uncle, older sibling, family friend, or anyone else your child holds dear." The letter said pupils will bring the gifts they made home with them on May 23. "Please encourage your child to think about the special people they’d like to honor," it said. "These gifts are their way of saying 'thank you' and 'I love you' to someone important in their world." Jeup said she understands the change intends to include children who have lost one or both parents. "One of the students recently lost their mother, and my heart aches for that child and family," she wrote in her post. "That kind of grief is deep, and schools should absolutely support kids facing loss with compassion and care." However, she said schools can be supportive without erasing tradition. "It’s a delicate balance," her post said. "We want every child to feel safe and included, but inclusion shouldn't come at the cost of erasing what’s special for others." She said she's heard complaints from several parents about the change. "The attacks on family continue in our district," Terry Collins, a past member of the board, wrote a post in a private Facebook group called Common Sense for GP Schools. "To be clear, the messaging here is not, please choose someone if you don't have a mom figure in your life. The message is choose someone other than mom or dad." He urged parents to push back against the event. Jeup proposed a compromise in her post: adding a celebration rather than replacing the traditional Mother's Day and Father's Day activities. "There’s room for both," Jeup said. "If some families would benefit from celebrating a 'Special Person,' then let’s make space for that too. But we shouldn’t feel like we have to choose between kindness and tradition. We can honor both." Board president Colleen Worden said the district supports its teachers in their efforts to create inclusive and thoughtful learning environments. "We trust our educators to thoughtfully incorporate special events into their curriculum in ways that best reflect the needs of their classroom communities. These decisions are made at the school or classroom level, and the Board of Education does not oversee or micromanage the specific details of individual lesson plans or activities," Worden said. "I applaud our teachers’ efforts to ensure that every student feels safe, valued, and included in the classroom." Grosse Pointe Public Schools, one of Wayne County's most affluent school districts, has faced controversy. In February, a 74-page report into complaints against then-school board member Ahmed Ismail was released and said he dismissed administrators' concerns over a fired high school coach accused of bloodying a player with a bat, yelling at a child with a hearing issue, and playing an athlete with a known concussion. Last November, a four-person progressive slate prevailed in a contentious Grosse Pointe schools board of education race, upending a conservative board majority. In June, four top administrators at Grosse Pointe North High School resigned after a tumultuous school year in the district and on the school board. This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: 2 on GPPSS board push back on 'Special People Day' instead of Mother's, Father's Day