Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union has “Anti-Racist Storytime” to teach students in kindergarten about exploring gender identity

On October 17, 2024, Hardwick Elementary School of the Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union hosted an “Anti-Racist Storytime event” for district parents “to learn more about the classroom-based anti-racist storytimes at our elementary schools.” The Facebook post about the event linked to a page on the district’s website with an “Anti-Racist Storytime Scope and Sequence” document.

This document states that in kindergarten through the first grade, students will learn about “racial diversity,” “religious diversity,” “identity diversity,” and “family diversity.” These lessons include “to normalize dialogue about skin color” and to “explore gender identity” and “begin to normalize dialogue about self and gender identity.” In second grade, students “will explore the idea of gender and begin to interrogate stories we associate with various genders, practice respecting differences, and honoring personal choices.” These lessons include books such as When Aidan Became a Brother and They, She, He, Me: Free to Be. These books openly discuss young children identifying as another gender in a positive manner.