Parents have the right to know what is going on with their child at school. That right is not surrendered at the schoolhouse door. 

by Jarrod Vaillancourt

At the November schoolboard meeting, the superintendent acknowledged that a Pride presentation was held at Berkshire Elementary School during an assembly. In the interest of transparency, when the Gender Sexualities Alliance, or GSA club, was introduced at Berkshire Elementary, a teacher went to multiple classrooms of children to provide them information about the club and to gauge their interest in it. It was reported that the teacher told the children that they would take it slowly and that even the parents haven’t been notified because it’s a very sensitive topic. I’ll say that again, the parents weren’t notified because it’s a very sensitive topic.  

As a parent, this was very upsetting. We reached out to the principal on four separate occasions, twice to the superintendent, and once to our school board representative before the principal finally responded. To date these statements have never been refuted.  Regarding parental notification, the principal explained that the school does not directly communicate with parents every time that they start a club.  

The principal spoke with teachers who were present when the GSA club was introduced.  He explained that GSA clubs provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and all LGBTQ+ children, teenagers, and youth as well as their cisgender heterosexual allies. The principal stated, “As this is in the exploratory phase, the teacher wanted to assure students that the planning would be slow and deliberate to build a sense of comfort for the students in this club, and to create a thoughtful plan for this club.” The principal said that they were having these conversations with our students, as FNESU is committed to ensuring educational equity for all students in our schools.  

The goal of this club is to provide a safe and supportive environment for students. While that is commendable, by definition, it separates children based on their sexual preferences. I do not understand how a club that is based on a child’s sexuality is supposed to assist in ensuring educational equity. It also implies that a safe and supportive environment was not provided outside of this club. 

The GSA club at Berkshire Elementary was obviously school initiated, promoted, and directed. It began as a school sponsored activity and remains as such, and it can be interpreted as the promotion and normalization of school-endorsed viewpoints. 

The superintendent later stated, “Based on the principal’s summary, I feel the situation related to the introduction of a GSA club at Berkshire has been handled appropriately.” The current principal also supported the school’s prior position. However, these actions not only undermine parental authority, they also potentially put impressionable, vulnerable children at risk of harm. Children do not have the emotional nor intellectual maturity to understand what they are being exposed to, and they are likely to accept without question any messages conveyed to them by their teacher.

For example, it’s been reported that on at least one occasion children in the kindergarten class gathered in a circle to have discussions about their sexuality. In another example, a 5-year-old child came home one day all excited and told his parents that he wanted to be gay. The parents asked him if he knew what it meant to be gay, and why he wanted to be gay. The 5-year-old did not know what it meant but said that he wanted to be gay because his teacher told him that gay people have superpowers. 

I understand some community members are concerned that there are people who want to reshape the entire curriculum for everyone’s children based on their worldview. This is a great example of projection. Because that is exactly what has occurred over the past few years with the promotion of gender ideology, CRT, and DEI under the guise of tolerance and inclusion.  

Parents do not want to send their children to tax-payer funded public schools to have them participate in conversations, activities, or affinity groups focused on their sexuality. That is not why the community funds our schools.  

Parents need to know what is going on in their schools, and to know what their rights are.  Some of these rights are spelled out in the recent Mahmoud v. Taylor Supreme Court decision, as well as in the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).