Stonington — Superintendent of Schools Van Riley presented the Board of Education on Wednesday night with a timeline of the "Animal Farm" controversy and reiterated that the book has not been banned and that Mystic Middle School eighth-grade teacher Ed Goldberg had not been reprimanded for trying to teach the book.

Riley prepared a thick packet of books and materials used in the curriculum in various grades for the board as well as five pages of answers to questions posed by board members about the controversy.

The controversy began last month when Goldberg, a popular veteran teacher, criticized a decision by a committee of teachers to not include “Animal Farm,” a George Orwell book he has taught for more than 20 years, as one of the “anchor books” taught in all eighth-grade language arts classes.

Goldberg, wrote in an email to a parent last month that he was not given a good answer as to why the book was dropped from the curriculum. His comments prompted parents to not only charge the book had been banned but that school officials had not been transparent in explaining the decision and offering details about the curriculum.

Parents also said that not having “Animal Farm” as an anchor text means not all students will read it and there won’t be time to teach the whole book as a supplemental text because of the time constraints of the curriculum.

Riley said there had been a perception that the administration was dictating what was being taught in the classroom. But he said the opposite is true, as committees of teachers decide what “anchor” materials should be taught to all students so there is no duplication or gaps across grades, and students in a specific grade are exposed to many of the same texts. There are still opportunities, he said, for individual teachers to teach supplemental texts they feel are important.

Riley said Goldberg attended some of the meetings of the committee where he proposed "Animal Farm" as an anchor text but the committee decided not to include it. Another book he recommended, "The Alchemist” by Paulo Coehlo, was included, Riley said.

Riley said that when Goldberg told his class he would be distributing "Animal Farm" but was then told by school administrators that "Animal Farm" was not an anchor text, Goldberg told students the book was banned. He later revised that to say it was “functionally banned.” By then, Riley said, the word was out that the book was banned.

He said some of Goldberg’s students are now reading "Animal Farm" as a supporting text that aligns with a unit they are studying. Additional copies of the book were bought for the class.

School officials have said they will improve the accessibility of curriculum information for parents in light of the controversy.

j.wojtas@theday.com