Employees of a Pennsylvania middle school appear to have been pushing gender and LGBTQ ideology to students without the consent of their parents. Emails uncovered by parents appear to show that school employees were attempting to initiate a “Gender and Sexuality Alliance” GSA club at the school without the knowledge or consent of parents.
The Charles F. Patton Middle School in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb, has been under scrutiny since staff members were found to be encouraging the use of “preferred gender” pronouns for a student, while they appeared to hide that fact from the student’s parents.
In discussing the situation, a counselor told teachers that the student “prefers the pronouns they/them,” but also that “if you are emailing home, it may be best to use she/her when referring to [the student.]”
Using Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law, parents obtained the emails showing that seventh grade English teacher Colleen O’Neill was actively pushing for the creation of a GSA club at the middle school. The emails also show that school administrators were aware of the situation, as counselor Cara Malone included at least one administrator in discussions about the club.
The exchange begins with health teacher Marcia DiGregorio sharing an interaction she had with a “pansexual” student, who allegedly told her, “I want a boyfriend or girlfriend when I am older. I am pansexual meaning I have the ability to like all genders.”
DiGregorio was not sure how to proceed on the matter: “I do not believe the student is struggling and felt comfortable sharing. However, I want to be sure that supports are in place as needed. Please advise if you think there is anything else I should do other than thank them for their honesty and help to get to know them better.”
In her answer, Malone shared that O’Neill was attempting to create a club for such students, or allow middle schoolers to attend the high school’s existing version, and asked if it was all right if the email was shared with others involved with the club.
“I have been talking with Jen Smith who runs the GSA at UHS. We would like to start something at Patton or allow students to attend the UHS meetings (specific dates for middle schoolers). Colleen O’Neill is also working on this with us – as she is currently doing her master’s thesis on this topic. I have spoken with Steve and he would like the need to be student-generated.”
According to The Epoch Times, the “Steve” referred to is Steve Dissinger, the principal of the middle school.
Malone then indicated that DiGregorio should ask the student about the formation of such a group.
“One thing you could do when communicating with this student is to ask them if they would be interested in starting some type of club or group to focus on LGBTQ+ topics/issue and/or other issues related to inclusion.”
That way, you see, the need for such a club comes from the students rather than virtue-signaling teachers and administrators.
All of this made O’Neill very excited at the prospect. She answered: “This is great! It would be wonderful for administrators to know that middle schoolers are NOT too young to know their sexual orientations and gender identities, and that LGBTQ-related content is age appropriate for them.”
The UHS club referred to is Unionville High School. Their website describes their GSA club as a “A student-run club which provides a safe place for students to meet, support each other, talk about issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and work to end homophobia and transphobia.”
No Left Turn in Education (NLTE), a group of those who believe that “K-12 education should be free from indoctrination and politicization,” protested the school’s actions.
“It is unconscionable for any teacher to go behind a parent’s back to meddle in a child’s mental, physical and emotional health,” NLTE President Dr. Elana Fishbein told Fox News.
“While us concerned parents get called domestic terrorists, it’s the radical ideologues who actually threaten, harass, and intimidate parents who object to their woke agenda. No Left Turn in Education is standing up for these families and is holding officials accountable for enforcing the laws that are supposed to protect our kids” Fishbein said.
