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School test scores in steep decline, he notes
by Guy Page
A Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union (FNESU) parent is voicing frustration over what he describes as the increasing presence of LGBTQ advocacy and political messaging at Berkshire Elementary School, while student performance in core subjects remains well below state averages.
Jarrod Vaillancourt, a Berkshire parent and taxpayer, shared photos of posters and hallway displays with his school board representative earlier this month. On Tuesday, he sent the same materials to the Vermont Daily Chronicle, saying he hoped “other parents and taxpayers can be made aware of what is being promoted within our schools.”
The posters, stickers and flyers seen here are displayed in the main hallway, near the kindergarten room of the K-8 school.
In a detailed letter accompanying the photos, Vaillancourt said students at Berkshire Elementary regularly pass by signs supporting the Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) and promotional materials from the nonprofit OUTRIGHT Vermont. One poster described GSA clubs as “spaces that affirm people’s right to discern and express their sexual and gender identity on their own terms.” Another encouraged youth “12 and under” who identify as transgender, nonbinary, or gender questioning to participate in activities.
“This is a dangerous ideology that is focused on the indoctrination of children through LGBTQ curriculum,” Vaillancourt wrote. “We do not need or want this in our schools.”
He also criticized references to Black Lives Matter (BLM), which he called “an ideological movement that has no place in our schools:”
“The founders of BLM are trained Marxists with a goal of dismantling the organizing principles of society.
“The promotion of this organization has no place in any of our schools, especially our elementary schools. BLM is so much more than just a slogan. Over recent years BLM chapters have expressed some of the following positions:
On the American Flag – “When we see this flag, we know the person flying it is a racist. When we see this flag we know that the person flying it lives in a different America than we do. When we see this flag, we question your intelligence. We know to avoid you. It is a symbol of hatred.”
On Israel – “After the attacks on Israel on October 7th, 2023, BLM Chicago posted an image of a person paragliding with a Palestinian flag attached to its parachute and “I stand with Palestine” written beneath.
BLM National Website -“You find images of Defund the Police and references to the current president as a Petty Tyrant. It mocks merchandise that supports the current president by stating, ‘you can now wear your fascism on your head!'”
Vaillancourt linked his concerns about political and cultural messaging to academic outcomes. According to the 2024 Vermont State Education Profile, FNESU students qualifying for free and reduced lunch scored far below state averages in math and English during the 2022–23 school year. Just 19% of grades 3–5 students were proficient in math, and only 33% were proficient in English language arts. Rates for middle school and ninth grade were similarly low.
“While continuing to support these initiatives, our public school system is failing miserably at educating our children and preparing them for the future,” he wrote.
FNESU officials have previously defended the inclusion of such material in classrooms and school spaces. In an earlier statement provided to Vaillancourt, the district said that practices like allowing teachers to include pronouns in email signatures are part of an effort to “normalize and invite others” to respect gender identity. The FNESU school board chair has also described gender identity discussions and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as “important components of creating equitable learning opportunities,” developed in line with guidance from the Vermont Agency of Education.
Reaction among parents has been divided. Some share Vaillancourt’s concern that cultural and political debates are overshadowing basic academics, while others argue that representation and affirmation are vital to creating safe, inclusive schools.
FNESU oversees seven schools in northern Vermont, including Berkshire Elementary, which serves grades pre-K through 8.
The district has not yet responded to Vaillancourt’s most recent letter and photos, he said.
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Categories: Education
When we wake up from the slumber of a generation that denies humanity by denying the existence and majesty of God, all these hateful, bitter false ideologies will be ashes on the rubbish pile of history. In the meantime folks like these parents boldly speak truth to the powerful and bigoted leaders of our failing schools… Bravo!
Another argument for school choice and homeschooling.
Amen, William! May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven!
Every moment that is spent on pushing this rubbish to impressionable kids, is one minute not spent on what I thought kids went to school to be educated in .
Guy, I see the VTDigger is having a democracy fund drive. They are still in search of the truth, but haven’t figured out we are supposed to be a REPUBLIC.
Perhaps you could have a Vermont Republic drive for your new organization, one that fosters free speech and commentary, without censorship or “moderation” as they call it.
A bit of tongue in cheek….but still. They can’t even get the basic form of governance correct, well some know clearly why they want a democracy, as it’s a transitional government, where the majority, aka mob take the rights and money from the minority, leading to an oligarch, which leads me….
When are you going to expose our Vermont oligarch? The 10 people who put the agenda for the state before the session even starts?
Keep up the great work!!!
thanks, and not a bad idea!
Simply, they are teaching our children lust and calling it love.
They do not know what love is, they don’t even know the different types of love, they are teaching our children to be slaves to their unbridled and fostered by school sexual kinks and lusts.
Everybody needs a marxist decoder ring, when you get one, you are no longer under the spell of their lies and subversive tactics.
Here’s is somebody who knows what is going on in education.
If you can’t teach the bible, we shouldn’t be teaching the alphabet communities religion either!
In light of the M*#der of Iryna Zarutska, the BLM Instagram account posted a video saying black (oppressed) people “have a right to violence.”
One asks rhetorically whether these FNESU people have thought through the implications, in light of a recent event at a Catholic school? Truly horrifying.
The entire public education system practices Munchausen by Proxy syndrome. Breaking down and diminishing our children so they can be created as the Left wishes.
When will the funeral of Charlie Kirk take place and where will the place of burial??????? Comment from Richard Day.
The “T” in LGBT stands for Terrorist.
The Chinese have been quietly financing the promotion and spread of this rubbish for quite some time now, in a very effective manner, to divide our country… to the People’s Republic of China’s benefit.
They target and finance the masses of leftist, mindless munnions, that are easily malleable, to attain their end goal, of divide… and conquer!
The best way to fight this, on the grass roots level, is to vote out every leftist on the local ,state and federal level.
It really is the quickest and most cost effective way to stop this insurrection.
VOTE EVERY LEFTIST OUT OF OFFICE ASAP!
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Sun Tzu, the highest art form of war, is to never fight.
The book of Esther……good reading for times like these, God has a special way of letting people have as much rope as they want, but it only makes the noose, more tight and faster…..
We need to Appeal to Heavan, he’ll take care of the rest.
Thank goodness there is at least one voice of reason, common sense and decency speaking up to expose the FNESU for this type of ideological smut. What does any of this have to do with teaching our children the basics? None of what he has described has any place around children. Sadly, I am not surprised he has yet receive a response from that SU since, as we all know, everything in education world takes 20 times longer than in the real world.
Or perhaps they haven’t responded because they are trying to figure out how to spin the whole thing since they are violating the new DEI rules. That is the same SU whose “former” Director of Equity (i.e. pre-President Trump) simply changed her job title to something else once the new administration arrived so she could keep working. New title, same agenda. The lack of professional ethics and integrity with these educrats is truly astounding.
Parents! Opt-out your students! Here is a sample opt-out letter:
https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/OptOut-Example.pdf
The widow of Mr. Kirk was spot on!
People are empowered!
We have had enough!
Bring down Communism.
Praise God.
Defeat the efforts to destroy this Republic.
Do it loudly.
Do it every time & everywhere the need arises.
Good WILL prevail over evil.
It is so written.
Our schools are funding OutRight Vermont. The last two years, our department of education has given them a total of $120,000.
Over 100 of our public schools here in Vermont now have GSA’s,( gay, straight alliance), sponsored by OutRight Vermont.
OutRight Vermont is politically motivated encouraging young children to protest in favor of Palestine. They have an annual’Queer Prom’ at their privately owned camp. Children 13 years and older are invited and they will provide transportation if needed.
Outright Vermont’s executive director Dana Kaplan is not even a Vermont resident, he lives in NYC. Outright Vermont is part of a larger organization OutRight International, which uses our tax dollars to fund this nonsense world wide.
I could go on and on. We need to petition our legislators and tell them we no longer want our tax dollars to fund OutRight Vermont in our public schools.
The stance of the State of Vermont is education shall promote political activism – for one side only – K-12 boot camps training children to be indoctrinated parrots and master the fine arts of grifting. Our tax dollars are paying for it all – they have the blessings and support of the Legislature and Department of Education who we pay for as well.
Good to know – if people don’t agree with it, they should slam their wallets shut and stop paying for it all together. They don’t care what we say or do as long it fits their agenda. We pay and keep paying regardless of what they do and children pay the ultimate price.
And besides all of this,….sexualizing children is just plain wrong.
This sick obsession to compartmentalize, in a sexual way, a child’s every word and action, shows extreme ignorance concerning a child’s mental and physical wellbeing and growth.
The ignorant people behind all of this nonsense are robbing children of the pure joy and innocence of being a child. They are robbing them of the foundational building blocks necessary to produce healthy happy adults minds.
Well said!
At least in the elementary schools, howz about just eliminating ALL sexuality references beyond simple anatomy and legal aspects of improper touching? You can’t put up a poster there promoting booze, tobacco or crack cocaine. Certainly there should be no public funding promoting certain sexual/gender minorities in that captive audience. If they are not effectively learning their ABCs, there should be no mention of their LGBTs. When they have a sold grasp of their basic math, then you can try to convince them that a boy can become a girl and that 2 plus 2 equals 5.
It is indoctrination plain and simple. It does not take long to fill the pipeline with adults without the ability to think critically and without the language to question what is taught.
Again, we agonize over what goes on in the schools. Schools to which we have indentured ourselves…a self imposed bondage. Our community’s commitment to having an educated constituency is to support organizations and their ever growing infrastructure rather than directly supporting the customers…the learners. If we switched our funding from schools to learners, a market would bloom. If parents could contract with teachers for the curriculum and services needed we’d escape this bondage. If organizations fail at the charge we give them shouldn’t we cancel the contract and take care of business ourselves?
Because of this article it’s sparked a movement in the BES community. I consistently have parents coming to me with similar frustrations, beliefs and the demands to be heard for the mental health of our children.
I realized we are not alone. There’s many that are afraid to speak due to these invisible repercussions in society. The ones they say aren’t there… but you know your job, your income, your families security, is on the line when you speak your truth. The world of the offended is sculpting this delusional curriculum.
In response, we’ve created a group to voice these concerns, share articles, statistics, and help each other unite to plan a change. Find us and join us-
“FNESU Parents protecting childhood”
We’re preparing to be at the school board meeting 10/3 in Montgomery. Please join the group, and join us.
In hopes that other districts will form their own groups to confide in each other and realize we are the majority feeling this way.