Rochester Public Schools provides training that has staff participate in a “Social Justice Stretch”; staff are taught to embrace LGBTQ ideology with the “Genderbread Person”; staff are told not to tell parents about their children’s gender identity

Parents Defending Education previously reported on an internal transgender policy used by staff at Rochester Public Schools. PDE sent a public records request to the district seeking contracts with organizations that provide LGBTQ training or consulting, any training to staff on LGBTQ issues, and emails from the superintendent and board members on LGBTQ issues. The district provided PDE with numerous documents in response to the request. The district charged PDE over $15,000 for the request.

PDE received an image of a poster in Dakota Middle School of a rainbow flag that stated “I am a safe person.” The poster appears to be a staff member claiming to be a “safe person” for students who are “coming out.”

PDE received several presentations for staff meetings for Franklin Elementary School. Each of these presentations notably includes a slide labeled as “Equity Team” with a rainbow flag prominently displayed with “gender, orientation.”

Another presentation for a district staff meeting provided to PDE is dated November 22, 2023. This presentation notably has a page titled “Land Acknowledgment” that links to a video where people attack the idea of the Thanksgiving holiday as “lies,” “sadness,” “colonization,” “horror,” and “massacre.”

PDE also received a presentation for staff from the organization AmazeWorks. AmazeWorks is an organization that promotes “PRIDE resources” for children as young as toddlers on its website. This presentation starts with a “Land and Labor Acknowledgment” that calls to support “Indigenous communities” by “voluntary land taxes,” “Indigenous land return,” and “show up to protests.” This presentation is to promote “anti-bias education” and “equity.”

One notable slide in this presentation is for a “Social Justice Stretch.” This slide tells staff to “reach down to get power from the grassroots” and then “reach up to the sky to the ancestors for inspiration.” The slide then tells staff to “shake off dominant western culture expectations of individualism, productivity, and perfectionism.”

Another presentation for staff is titled “Being Uncomfortable.” The goal for this training was to “help staff understand the concept of implicit and explicit bias” and to “acknowledge our own bias.”

One presentation provided to staff at Rochester Public Schools was titled “LGBTQ+ Back to School Resources.” This presentation promotes LGBTQ resources to staff including GLSEN’s Safe Space Kit. The organization GLSEN is known for promoting LGBTQ issues to young children. The presentation promotes using the preferred pronouns of students and the creation of GSA clubs.

The district provided PDE with a short presentation of just two slides titled “Pronouns.” The presentation links to a video of a person who identifies as “nonbinary” explaining why people should use “they/them” pronouns.

PDE received a presentation for staff from the district titled “LGBTQ Pride Month.” The presentation states: “Pride Month is celebrated annually in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots, and works to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) Americans.” The presentation explains what each color of the rainbow pride flag represents.

This presentation tells staff they can “attend a pride parade, festival or event as a family,” “choose inclusive movies, TV shows and games,” “share or watch personal stories from LGBTQIA individuals,” and “read a book with LGBTQ characters.” The presentation also explains that there are 32 LGBTQ flags and gives some examples.

Another presentation was titled “Working with LGBTQ Students.” The presentation quotes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. despite him not participating in LGBTQ activism. Goals in this training include “address how to handle phobic comments and behaviors in your classroom and building,” “assess the degree to which your existing classroom, curricula and lessons are inclusive – brainstorm ways to be more inclusive/supportive,” and “gather resources for supporting LGBTQ+ persons.”

This presentation also includes the “Genderbread Person.” The “Genderbread Person” is an image that educators use in an attempt to teach students that gender is on a spectrum. The presentation also alludes that teachers can keep the gender identity of students hidden from parents by asking students: “Do your parents/guardians use this name/pronouns?” The next slide of the presentation is then more explicit: “Someone’s gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation are not behaviors you to ‘report’ to other staff or parents.” An exception is if “the student has expressed to you that it is okay to use their preferred name and pronoun with their parents or guardians.”

The presentation also promotes teachers showing “support with flags, stickers, posters of role model LGBTQ+ persons related to your interests or your content.”

The district had training in March 2021 on “Exploring Microaggressions” to “create awareness and identify common occurrences of microaggressions.” Staff are told to “expect and accept non-closure.” The presentation also has a “Land Acknowledgment.”