arlingtonparentcoa
Jan 27, 20205 min
Updated: Feb 12, 2020
Today the Arlington Parent Coalition sent the below letter to Dr. Gregg Robertson, principal of Washington-Liberty High School, upon receiving a report that students from the school’s GSA (Gender & Sexuality Alliance) club have been giving presentations on gender and sexuality to students in health and other classes.
January 27, 2020
Dr. Gregg Robertson, Principal
Washington-Liberty High School
1301 N. Stafford Street
Arlington, VA 22201
Dr. Robertson,
A parent reported to the Arlington Parent Coalition that students from the Washington-Liberty GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) club have been giving presentations on gender and sexuality to students in health classes, and in at least one case the presentation was given in Spanish during a HILT (High Intensity Language Training) class.
In January 2017, a parent learned that students from Yorktown High School’s GSA club gave several gender and sexuality presentations to some ninth- and tenth-grade P.E./health classes. The parent was initially told by school officials and by Deborah DeFranco, APS Supervisor of Health & Family Life Education (FLE), that the presentations were part of established curriculum, only to relent when confronted with Virginia FLE guidelines, and after the parent obtained the PowerPoint slides from the event. These slides provided clear evidence that the presentations consisted of instruction provided by students to students about transgenderism and homosexuality. These slides can be viewed via this link:
At that time Ms. DeFranco apologized for the oversight that led to the unacceptable situation of students providing instruction to other students, and especially in an area as sensitive and controversial as sexuality and gender ideology. The parent was assured that such an incident would not take place again and Yorktown staff also agreed in future years to standardize curriculum, publicize opt-out forms, and ensure such material is taught by specially qualified teachers.
If this practice is continuing at Washington-Liberty, parents have a number of grave concerns and questions.
Why are students being given authority to teach other students material on topics as sensitive and controversial as sexuality and gender?
Are the student-presenters’ parents aware that their children are being excused from academic classes in order to give sexuality and gender training presentations?
Are the parents of the students receiving instruction aware of the instruction, and that this instruction is being provided by other students?
What training, certifications, or licensure have these student-presenters obtained in order for Arlington Public Schools to consider them authorities on the subjects being taught?
Have the teachers involved in hosting these presentations verified that none of the students receiving instruction have on file a Family Life Education Opt-Out or Universal Opt-Out Letter, in which the school has been instructed not to provide gender or sexuality training to the student named in the letter?
Are other clubs also visiting classes and making presentations relevant to their areas of interest? E.g., if a history class is discussing the holocaust, is the Jewish cultural club invited to present? If African-American issues are the topic in social studies, are students from the Black Student Union involved? If not, why is the GSA club permitted more latitude than other clubs?
We appreciate your attention to this matter and will look forward to a response at your earliest convenience.
Arlington Parent Coalition
Arlington, Virginia
The above letter was also cc’d to Cintia Johnson (interim superintendent), Deborah DeFranco (supervisor of P.E., health, & family life education), Susan Lauffer Carr (GSA club advisor at W-L), and the individual members of the school board (Reid Goldstein, Monique O’Grady, Barbara Kanninen, Tannia Talento, Nancy Van Doren).
It seems clear that Arlington Public Schools (APS) is intent upon indoctrinating children—with or without their parents’ permission—in ideologies related to homosexuality and transgenderism.
In July 2015 the school board inserted the words “gender identity” into the school board policy’s non-discrimination clause, inviting staff, teachers, and principals to interpret what it means to “not discriminate against transgender students” according to their own understandings and preferences.
In January 2017 (See line 14 of link) the first incident surfaced of a GSA club student being given a platform to train fellow students on gender and sexual ideologies. (See also PowerPoint slides from that presentation at bottom.)
On February 28, 2019, Ashlawn Elementary School invited a transgender activist to read the transgender storybook I Am Jazz to two classes of kindergartners without parent approval or the option to remove their children from this event. Five-year-olds were taught that doctors and parents can make mistakes about which sex a child is, and that “you can be anything.”
Throughout 2018-2019 the school board and administration moved forward to implement the J-2 PIP on Transgender Students with collaboration only between APS and the Arlington Gender Identity Allies, despite requests from the Arlington Parent Coalition and other parents to pause the process until all stakeholders had been given input. The policy was adopted at the school board meeting on July 1, 2019, after school dismissed for the summer.
In September 2019 a counselor at Williamsburg Middle School entered a 7th-grade English classroom and gave a presentation on gender harassment, using a third-party video that is unavailable to parents without a licensing code. A student who tried to excuse himself was not permitted to leave.
In December 2019 the Mosaic teacher at Oakridge Elementary School presented an interactive lesson on gender identity to 4th and 5th graders, again without properly informing parents about the subject she intended to teach. A child was asked to read the transgender storybook My Princess Boy to the rest of the class.
These are merely a few of the incidents of which the Arlington Parent Coalition has become aware. As with cockroaches, when you see one you can be sure there are hundreds of others behind the walls. APC has no doubt that APS is failing to uphold its responsibility to respect parental authority over sex education every time an opportunity to do so arises.
WHAT CAN PARENTS DO?
Contact your child’s principal and teachers and let them know that you do not want other students teaching your children about sexuality and gender. (See staff directory here.)
Contact the school board and remind them that parents are the authorities over what their children are taught, and that you expect that directive to be respected throughout APS. (See school board members’ addresses in their linked names above.)
Contact the interim superintendent and remind her of the above. (cintia.johnson@apsva.us)
Submit, if you have not already, a Universal Opt-Out Letter, telling your school’s principal, staff, and teachers that your child is not to be introduced to or instructed about gender or sexuality in any way and by anyone at school.
Read the Parents’ Guide to Kids’ Safety in APS, and share it with other families.
Join the Arlington Parent Coalition. Make sure you are signed up at our website so you stay apprised of what’s happening in our schools and to our children.
Consider whether APS is still a safe option for your child’s education. Arlington and Northern Virginia offer many alternatives including private schools and homeschooling support. Do keep in mind that the aggressive and deceptive LGBTQ propaganda campaign being implemented nationwide is targeting private and faith-based schools as well.
UPDATE: Please see the communication chain (as of February 12, 2020) between APS and the Arlington Parent Coalition here. We have received no answers at all, nor even the courtesy of a response from anyone higher up the chain of command than Dr. Robertson.
PowerPoint Slides from Yorktown GSA’s Presentation to 9th/10th Grade Health Classes (2017)