MA MassResistance: Help Bonnie Manchester and Stephen Foote!

 

How you can help two courageous people: A teacher and a parent who stood up to the aggressive LGBT push in their middle school.

Confronting the indoctrination of young children - and unfortunately paying the price.

Part 13 in a series. (See entire series here.)

Note: This is the last installment for the time being.

 The Baird Middle School in Ludlow, MA, has become infamous for the horrible treatment there of children, parents, and a teacher who spoke out!

Many people are upset and speak out against the people in our schools who are pushing homosexuality and “transgenderism” on young, vulnerable children. But as we’ve reported in our previous posts about the horrible situation in the Baird Middle School in Ludlow, MA (where the children are ages 11-13), there are two individuals who boldly stood up and put themselves on the line. And now they need your help to continue.

1. Bonnie Manchester

Bonnie was a Social Studies teacher at Baird for over 20 years. She was well-liked and had an unblemished record. She holds very strong principles. For her, a teacher’s duty to “protect children” isn’t just a catchphrase. When Bonnie saw that the middle school staff had brought pornographic books into the school library and classrooms – many with homosexual and transgender themes – she didn’t just wring her hands. She raised the alarm.

 Besides being outright pornographic, many of the children's books had aggressive homosexual (and lesbian) themes.

She composed a letter to the Superintendent and got 18 other faculty members to sign it. When that went nowhere, she submitted a formal complaint to the School Board. Bonnie’s actions were cheered by parents, but angered the school officials. In retaliation, the school librarian filed a formal “harassment, bullying, discrimination, and hate crimes” complaint against her! It was so obviously phony that it was never adjudicated. It was meant as intimidation. But Bonnie refused to be intimidated.

Bonnie Manchester had a spotless record in over 20 years as a teacher at Baird. She laid it all on the line when she saw what was now happening.

The worst was yet to come. Starting in late 2020, teachers and guidance counselors at Baird took advantage of the COVID disruption to introduce radical “transgender” ideas to children. They persuaded kids that they might have been “born in the wrong sex” if they have certain feelings or interests. As the “transgender” confusion grew in some of the children, teachers assigned them opposite-sex names (to “help” them identify as “transgender”) which the other children and staff were told to use at school. All of this was purposefully kept from children’s parents.

In late February 2021, Bonnie saw that a sister and brother (ages 11 and 12) in the same family were now using opposite-sex names, claiming to be “transgender,” and on the road to seeking “gender transition.” She became very upset and informed the parents. Both parents were extremely grateful to Bonnie. And they were furious at the school officials for hiding this from them.

The school officials and staff were enraged that Bonnie had told the parents (even though she’d done what was legally and morally right). In retaliation, the Principal and Superintendent concocted a set of phony “charges” against her as grounds for termination from her job as a teacher – and formally fired her. At this point, Bonnie is without a job and income.

Bonnie has retained an excellent attorney, Frank McNamara, a former US Attorney. During the firing process, he wrote a blistering memo to the Ludlow school officials, thoroughly debunking and disproving every one of their phony charges. But the school officials still carried out the firing. We are told that further legal action is in the works.

Bonnie needs help to pay her legal expenses. Please donate to Bonnie’s legal fund here.

2. Stephen Foote

Stephen Foote is the father of the 11-year-old girl and 12-year-old boy whom the Baird Middle School staff had coached and groomed to believe that they are “transgender.” At one point his daughter– whom the school had persuaded to use the name “Raymond” – even got a card in the mail from one of the school staff.

 This teacher mailed the Footes' 11-year-old daughter (whom she called "Raymond") an Amazon card as "Congratulations."

For weeks after the parents learned of the violation of their children, the Principal and Superintendent refused to meet with them. Finally, in late March, the Superintendent agreed to a Zoom meeting with the parents (which Brian Camenker of MassResistance also attended). But the Superintendent was arrogant and refused to agree to stop the school from treating their children as “transgender”!

The brother and sister are now in professional care to help deal with the psychological and emotional trauma they suffered at the hands of the Ludlow school officials and the Baird Middle School staff.

 Stephen Foote addresses the Ludlow School Board on July 20.

Many, many parents would back down in this situation and quietly just try to pick up the pieces. But these parents are fighting back. A conservative legal group experienced with these issues is taking on their case! On July 20, 2021, Stephen Foote addressed the Ludlow School Board with a very powerful statement informing them, “You are going to be sued.”

Not surprisingly, the unhinged LGBT activists in the area have begun a vile attack on the Footes. It is a frightening window into how these people actually think. They are publicly accusing the parents of harming their own children by interfering with the “transgender” grooming by the school staff. They are also saying that their children should be given books promoting homosexuality and transgenderism, even against the parents’ wishes.

The family is courageously standing up to all of this. But they need your help in this effort. Although the lawyers are doing the work pro bono, there are other legal expenses that will be involved - and also a lot of expenses for the children's psychiatric care.

Please donate here to help Stephen Foote fight back against the corrupt Ludlow school system.

 Stephen Foote with Brian Camenker of MassResistance. We are supporting the Foote family 100%!

All of us should be extremely proud of (and grateful to) both Bonnie and the Foote family for their courage!

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

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MA MassResistance, Ludlow: Brave Teacher Fired for Telling the Truth About LGBT Indoctrination

 

Middle school teacher fired for informing parents that their two children had decided to become “transgender.”

School staff facilitated the “trans” behavior – and kept it from the parents.

Teacher’s attorney debunks the phony “reasons” officials gave for her firing.

Part 9 of a series (See Parts 1-8 here.)

July 26, 2021

 How corrupt is the education establishment? Stacy Monette, the Principal who fired Bonnie using phony reasons, was named "Middle School Principal of the Year" in 2020 by the Massachusetts School Administrators Association.

School officials pushing the “transgender” agenda in middle schools have become hostile and brutal toward those who refuse to comply.

A Massachusetts middle school teacher with a spotless 20-year record has been fired by the Principal and Superintendent. Her “crime” was informing the parents of a boy and girl what the school staff was doing to their children. In their zeal to fire her, they concocted a list of phony reasons that were easily debunked by the teacher’s attorney. But the firing still went forward.

In our earlier posts we described Bonnie, a principled Social Studies teacher at Baird Middle School in Ludlow, Mass. who prioritizes the well-being of students over any adult agendas.

In late 2019, Bonnie raised the alarm over the sexually graphic and explicit books being given to the children to read. Parents were angry and outraged. The school lashed back at Bonnie. The librarian filed a formal “harassment, bullying, discrimination, and hate crimes” complaint against her. It was completely phony – meant as intimidation – and went nowhere. And Bonnie refused to be intimidated.

Bonnie informs parents about their children’s “transgender” issues in school

Starting in late 2020, teachers and guidance counselors at Baird took advantage of the COVID disruption to introduce radical “transgender” ideas to children. They told children to decide their “preferred pronouns” and persuaded them that they might have been born in the “wrong” sex if they have certain interests. As children’s confusion grew, teachers would give them opposite-sex names to use in class. All of this was purposefully kept from their parents. Teachers were specifically told not to tell parents about this in at least one email that we’ve published.

In late February 2021, Bonnie saw that a sister and brother (ages 11 and 13) in the same family were now claiming to be “transgender” and seeking “gender transition.” She became very upset and informed the parents.

Both parents were extremely grateful to Bonnie – and were furious at the school officials for hiding this from them. The parents approached the Principal and (with the help of MassResistance) met with the Superintendent and demanded that this indoctrination be stopped immediately – and the people pushing it not be allowed near their children. (The school officials refused to answer regarding those demands.)

Harsh retribution against Bonnie

Bonnie did what any normal person would do. But the people running the Ludlow schools see the world completely differently – so they sought to stop Bonnie; it didn’t matter how. They took the necessary bureaucratic steps to fire her even though they had no legitimate reason for doing so. No matter. They concocted some phony reasons.

Bonnie is put on paid administrative leave. On March 19, 2021, Bonnie received a letter from the Principal notifying her that she is “being placed on paid administration leave effective immediately for conduct unbecoming a teacher related to your inappropriate communications with the parents of a student.” The student is the 11-year-old girl described in our previous post [LINK] (though not her 13-year-old brother about whom Bonnie also informed the parents). This is the first step in the bureaucratic termination process.

Bonnie attends “investigative interview.” On March 25, an “interview as part of the investigation” took place. It included the Principal, a Ludlow school “compliance officer,” Bonnie, and a local pro-family lawyer who accompanied her. The teachers’ union would normally be expected to supply a lawyer for Bonnie, but they came up with various excuses why they could not. (At the meeting Bonnie also learned that the termination process was instigated by the Principal and the Superintendent.)

The Superintendent, Dr. Todd Gazda, made the decision, along with the Principal, to fire Bonnie. As we saw in early posts, he had no problem with the explicit sexual books in the school that Bonnie had complained about.

Bonnie gets a full-time attorney. After the March 25 meeting, Bonnie got a prominent attorney to take on her case. Frank McNamara is a former U.S. Attorney for the Massachusetts district and is very skilled in dealing with government cases.

Bonnie receives official “letter of intent to terminate,” listing the reasons. On April 16, the Principal sent Bonnie a letter stating “I intend to terminate your employment.” The letter listed several reasons for Bonnie’s termination.

Bonnie’s lawyer refutes all the “intent to terminate” reasons.

On May 17, Attorney McNamara sent a strongly worded letter to the school's attorney refuting every one of the reasons the Principal gave for Bonnie’s intended termination. This letter is very thorough and worth reading. Here are some of the highlights (with the page numbers in his letter):

Accusation: The principal states that Bonnie shared “sensitive confidential information” about a student’s expressed gender identity. Her action was in contradiction of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) guidelines.

The truth: The DESE guidelines only apply to students ages 14 years or older. (Page 4.) The student was 11 years old.

Accusation: Bonnie’s action was against the direction of the Guidance Counselor.

The truth: The Ludlow Public Schools have never written or communicated any policy or requirement for Guidance Counselor approval of parent-teacher communications. Moreover, the American School Counselors Association (ASCA) has published Ethical Standards for School Counselors that advise that in these decisions, the rights of parents are the “guiding voice in their children’s lives.” (p. 6)

Accusation: Bonnie’s action was against the wishes of the student.

The truth: Records show that on December 15, 2020, the student met with Bonnie to discuss her gender identity issues. (p. 5). She told Bonnie it was difficult to discuss this with her parents. Bonnie offered to talk to the parents, and the child gratefully accepted. The mother subsequently sent an email to some of the child’s teachers informing them that the parents are getting mental health help for the girl and to “please allow us to address this as a family…” The school clearly ignored those wishes.

Accusation: Bonnie should have brought this up at the [school staff] Mariners team meeting on March 3.

The truth: The March 3 Mariners meeting was characterized by “unprofessionalism, disorganization, and chaos.” Further, during the time Bonnie was in the meeting, neither the student, the email, nor notification of parents was ever brought up, contrary to the Principal’s inaccurate assertions. (pp. 6-7.)

Accusation: Bonnie was untruthful numerous times during the March 25 investigative meeting.

The truth: Bonnie had no reason to lie. The interrogation was clearly an attempt at entrapment. (p. 3). The questions were purposefully vague and misleading, using words that could have multiple meanings. Plus, Bonnie was not allowed access to her school records which would aid in her recollection of where she sent emails, etc. (Attorney McNamara addresses this in detail; pp. 7-10.)

Accusation: Bonnie “violated state law and regulations regarding student records/privacy.”

The truth: The Principal simply made this vague statement. She has never cited specifically which state law and regulations Bonnie has violated. (p. 10.)

Accusation: Bonnie violated the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

The truth: FERPA encompasses only an “eligible student,” defined as a person 18 years of age or older. Plus, the whole legislative thrust of FERPA is designed to extend rights to parents with respect to their children’s educational records. Its intent is not to enable school administrators to usurp those rights. (p. 11)

In sum, Attorney McNamara said that the parents had an absolute legal right to the student information conveyed to them by Bonnie.

The school administration goes forward anyway and fires Bonnie

On May 19, 2021, two days after receiving Attorney McNamara’s letter, the Principal sent Bonnie an official termination letter. The letter listed all the reasons included previously – which had been convincingly debunked by McNamara in his letter.

Obviously, the anger and zeal of the Principal and Superintendent to get rid of Bonnie was paramount in their minds. They clearly do not care about the cost of an expensive lawsuit that will be borne by the taxpayers of Ludlow – which the school system will surely lose.

Final reflection

The irrationality of this action against a good teacher – and the sloppy, juvenile way that these supposedly “professional” school officials are going about it – may surprise many parents. As Attorney McNamara observed, “This is not an illustration of first-rate minds at work.” But unfortunately, in today’s public education world, it is surely more the norm than the exception. And worse, as you will see, the Ludlow School Board is in full support of this lunacy.

We all need to stand up and resist this sort of action wherever we encounter it. The Ludlow parents and Bonnie are doing that!

Coming up: Another big resignation – and the ensuing fury against the parents by the School Board.

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

Your support will make the difference!

MA MassResistance, Ludlow: American Library Association Pressures Middle School To Keep Creepy Books

 

American Library Association pressures middle school officials to keep graphic sexual book in their library and classrooms

Tells officials that children have “intellectual freedom” to read sexual books, even if their parents disagree

Middle school librarian contacted ALA for help

Part 6 of a series (See Parts 1-5 here.)

July 13, 2021

 The local Massachusetts ALA affiliate fought hard to keep a sexually explicit children's book from beig removed from the middle school library and classrooms.

Most people think of the American Library Association (ALA) and its affiliates as rather bland professional organizations dedicated to supporting the library profession across America. But as with many other such organizations in recent decades, nothing could be further from the truth. The ALA has become a far-left group and a magnet for radicals and sexual deviants who work to push pornography and the LGBT agenda, particularly targeting children, into libraries across the country. The ALA also actively supports the lurid Drag Queen Story Hours in libraries.

So it’s not surprising that the ALA’s Massachusetts chapter, the Massachusetts Library Association (MLA), jumped into the fight against parents over the sexually explicit books at the Baird Middle School in Ludlow, Mass.

As we described in Parts 1-5, Bonnie – a social studies teacher at Baird – had complained along with 18 other teachers about the sexually explicit books in the school library. These books were also being circulated in the classrooms. On Nov. 18, 2019, the teachers sent a detailed letter about the problem to the Superintendent.

The Superintendent disagreed, and told them that the School Board required a formal bureaucratic process to get books removed. So on Jan. 20, 2020, Bonnie submitted the paperwork for one of the worst of the books, Sex is a Funny Word.

It’s usually parents who are the first to complain loudly about harmful books. The fact that this book had been formally challenged by a teacher at the school was very alarming to the librarian, Jordan Funke, and her allies. So Funke (a woman who dresses like a man) fought back. On Jan. 27, 2020, she filed a formal “harassment” charge against Bonnie – claiming that Bonnie’s complaint about the books constituted a personal attack on her. That charge ultimately went nowhere.

Calling the ALA for help

Funke also contacted the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, their Orwellian hatchet group that fights the removal of pornography targeting children and from libraries and schools across the country. Funke was then directed to the Mass. Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibilities Committee, which pressures libraries and schools in Massachusetts. The MLA was eager to help Funke fight to keep Sex is a Funny Word in the hands of middle school children in Ludlow.

The ALA and its affiliates dishonestly use the term “intellectual freedom” to pressure schools and libraries to treat young children as mature adults, independent of their parents’ guidance – an absurd idea.

Mass. Library Association confronts Ludlow over book

On Feb. 11, 2020 the MLA’s “Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibilities Committee” sent two strongly worded letters to various people in Ludlow.

The first MLA letter was addressed to “To Whom It May Concern” and seems to be addressing the Baird Middle School teachers and parents. The letter describes how Sex is a Funny Word has won several prominent book awards (from the ALA and other left-wing or LGBT groups), how the book is written at a reading level for 7-10 year olds, and how the sexuality in the book lines up with Massachusetts Health Curriculum Framework.

All of those reasons, of course, are red flags for parents. The fact that a sex book for children gets awards from far-left and LGBT groups and is written for young children’s reading level is frightening. And the Mass. Health Curriculum Framework, written in 1999, is not state law. It is simply a radical “guide” for sexuality and LGBT “education” in schools – that virtually no school follows.

The letter ended saying that the MLA hopes that the Superintendent’s committee will vote to retain the book in the middle school.

The second MLA letter was addressed to the Ludlow School Board. It warns them not to rescind or deviate from their current “Reconsideration of Materials” policy for their school libraries. There is a veiled threat that there will be some sort of legal action if the School Board changes that policy, (which they had apparently done temporarily at a recent meeting).

These letters, using official sounding language, were clearly meant to intimidate the school officials in Ludlow who might consider siding against Funke, the Superintendent, and their allies. Also, as we learned later, MLA representatives began attending School Board meetings and personally pressured Board members. And it worked. The School Board (and apparently their attorney) got cold feet about getting out of line.

Two days after the MLA letters, on Feb. 13, 2020, the left-wing committee that the Superintendent appointed to deal with Bonnie’s formal complaint unanimously decided that the content of the Sex is a Funny Word is “age-appropriate for middle school students.”

Two months later in April 2020, the MLA’s Intellectual Freedom/Social Responsibilities Committee published an internal report on their Ludlow fight, along with a timeline of events in Ludlow. It’s full of left-wing snark, and many of their details of what happened are incorrect.

But it shows the great extent that the MLA got involved in Ludlow. That’s where we learned that the MLA had begun attending School Board meetings and personally pressuring Board members. And among other things, they apparently also worked with the Superintendent’s committee regarding Bonnie’s complaint to help them back up their “correct” decision.

Final thoughts

It’s very interesting but frightening to see how obsessed these people were with keeping that one book in children’s hands - and how aggressive (and deceitful) they were.

This is a classic example in how the Left operates. They want no one anywhere to have any freedom from their agenda.

Coming up: The transgender agenda targets the kids.

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

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MA MassResistance: Teacher Takes Stand Against Explicit Materials in Classroom, Faces Persecution

 

Teacher hit with phony “harassment” charge for exposing sexually explicit books in middle school classrooms

Retribution by librarian (and other school staff) for attempting to protect children

But the teacher didn’t back down – and here’s what happened …

[Part 5 of a series. See Parts 1-4.]

July 9, 2021

 Baird Middle School librarian Jordan Funke (right) poses with one of the library books and the book's author at a school event.

Most people can’t imagine what efforts school officials and activist staff will make to protect the sexuality/LGBT agenda – and how they seek to impose a climate of fear within the school against everyone who disagrees. What happened in this middle school is representative of what is happening across the country.

A teacher raises an alarm

In Part 2 we described how Bonnie, a social studies teacher at Baird Middle School in Ludlow, MA, became alarmed that pornographic, homosexual, and transgender themed books were in the school library, and were being brought into classrooms for children to read. This was apparently arranged by the “transgender” librarian (a weird woman who dressed as a man).

Bonnie met with the Principal, who refused to deal with it. So on Nov. 18, 2019 (as we described in Part 3) Bonnie delivered a detailed letter to the Superintendent that was signed by 18 other Baird teachers who shared her concern. The letter strongly requested that those harmful books not be made available to the children. But the Superintendent was unconcerned. Instead, he told them they must go through a formal “process” if they wanted any books removed.

On January 20, 2020 (as we described in Part 4) Bonnie submitted the paperwork to go through the bureaucratic process for removal of one of the particularly egregious books. A biased committee appointed by the Superintendent subsequently ruled that the book was “age-appropriate for middle school students.”

But Bonnie was clearly upsetting the power structure in the Ludlow schools. Teachers aren’t supposed to go against that agenda. One week after Bonnie submitted the paperwork to remove the book, the retribution against her began.

Librarian files “harassment” charge against Bonnie!

On January 27, 2020, the cross-dressing Baird Middle School librarian, Jordan Funke, filed a formal “harassment, bullying, discrimination, and hate crimes” complaint against Bonnie. In today’s political climate, this is considered a serious charge. Like most other school systems, Ludlow has a fairly comprehensive district policy covering these issues.

But Funke’s complaint against Bonnie is a bit vague:

Bonnie has been spreading lies about me and accusing me of sexually exploiting students. I believe this is libel, defamation, and harassment based in part on her perception of my sexual orientation and gender identity.

There were no dates, times, or specific incidents listed.

Funke also writes in the complaint: “Administration tried to direct [Bonnie’s] complaints [about the books] through official channels, which she has not done.” This, of course, is untrue. For one of the books, Bonnie had done exactly what the Superintendent had directed her to do regarding the “process.” (If done properly, the process was purposefully too cumbersome to do for all the books.)

Funke names four people as “witnesses” to Bonnie’s transgressions: The Superintendent and three people who were on the Superintendent’s “book” committee - the Baird Principal, and two left-wing Baird teachers.

 From Funke's "harassment" complaint against Bonnie.

Two weeks later, on February 13, 2020, Bonnie received a letter officially notifying her that there is a formal “Harassment, Bullying, Discrimination, and Hate Crimes” complaint against her.

Bonnie was instructed to come to the office of the Director of Curriculum and Instruction to discuss the complaint. She was told she could bring union representation and/or an attorney.

At the meeting: The “harassment” charge completely falls apart!

The meeting took place on February 24, 2020. It included five people: (1) the Director of Curriculum and Instruction, (2) the legal counsel for the Ludlow Public Schools, (3) Bonnie, (4) a local attorney who came to Bonnie’s aid, and (5) a teachers’ union field representative there on Bonnie’s behalf. The accuser, Jordan Funke, was not at the meeting.

(The teacher’s union field representative was from a different district – because the one in Bonnie’s district supports Jordan Funke, Bonnie was told!)

In the meeting, they offered no written evidence or anything formal against Bonnie. They just made vague statements that she didn’t like the librarian.

Bonnie said to them, “You’re accusing me of ‘not liking’ the librarian. Well, I don’t like these books. I’m not hiding that. I wrote a letter detailing it.”

They tried to use the letter that Bonnie delivered to the Superintendent, also signed by 18 other teachers, as “evidence” against her. It turns out that Funke’s statement about Bonnie “accusing me of sexually exploiting students” came from that letter. The letter said:

We all share these concerns for the known psychological and mental damage that these sexually explicit and pornographic materials can cause students at the middle school developmental level, which ages range from eleven to thirteen.

We need to address the materials being provided, as it is an egregious negligence on the part of our librarian to encourage the very behaviors we are trying to discourage and guide away from… These students are minors and we are there to protect them from sexual exploitation.

Bonnie didn’t back down from that. She said that whatever the choice of words, what’s happening is wrong: The school shouldn’t be guiding their sexuality.

Bonnie’s lawyer asked about the “witnesses” listed in the harassment complaint, including the Superintendent, Principal, and teachers. “What did they actually witness?” he wanted to know. Nobody could answer that.

All in all, they couldn’t bring up anything significant against Bonnie.

An update – then nothing!

On March 9, 2020, Bonnie received the following email from the Director of Curriculum and Instruction:

I wanted to update you on the Informal Review process and proposed Resolution Agreement. Currently, we are still in process relative to a resolution. We hope to have more information by the end of this week or at the beginning of next week. We will continue to keep you informed.

Bonnie never heard anything again on this matter. Obviously, they realized that they had no case against her, and very quietly dropped it.

Final thoughts

Bonnie later commented:

I know what they were doing. This was about intimidation. They were trying to quiet me down because I was OPENLY talking against it – and with other teachers – and I put it in writing. So they labeled me “hateful.”

That’s what school officials are doing everywhere – because it usually works. But it didn’t work this time.

Parents in Ludlow are incredibly grateful to Bonnie for fearlessly standing up and not being intimidated. And this story is far from over. Our next report will describe how the American Library Association got involved – against the parents!

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

Your support will make the difference!

MA MassResistance: Ludlow Schools Keep Perverted Books In Libraries

How schools keep parents (and teachers) from getting sexual and LGBT books removed from middle schools

Securing their toxic propaganda targeting kids

A chilling view into the minds of those who are in charge of teaching your children

Part 4 of a series on the Ludlow MA middle school

July 7, 2021

 This explicit sex book was put in middle school classrooms - and strongly defended by the school officials.

In middle schools across the country, very disturbing graphic and explicit sexual, homosexual, and transgender themed books are offered to children. The books are not only placed prominently in school libraries, but are sometimes even given out in classrooms for “independent reading.”

But what happens when a parent – or even a teacher – insists (correctly) that these books are harmful to children and should not be there? As you will see, school officials are prepared to completely undermine any challenge.

As we described in Part 3, Bonnie, a social studies teacher at Baird Middle School in Ludlow, MA, flagged several of these pornographic “children’s” books, and brought them to the attention of the Superintendent. Anyone with common sense could see that these were harmful for middle school children. She and 18 other teachers subsequently submitted a letter to the Superintendent saying that they should be removed immediately.

But of course, that’s not what happened. And the Superintendent said he did not agree with them.

The necessary “process”

The Superintendent told the group that the School Board had an “approved process” that their objections must go through. For each book, a separate form had to be filled out and submitted to the Superintendent. It was designed for parents, but teachers could use it also, he said.

This basically requires a “book report” on each book. It’s a very common tactic across the country by school officials. They purposefully make parents jump through bureaucratic hoops and try to wear them down right away. Then they would use another bureaucratic process to squash their efforts using legalese and jargon.

Once their reports were submitted, he told them, he would appoint a committee. The committee would review the material and make a determination on whether it “meets the parameters of our school board policy for the selection of library material” (which is conveniently vague). Then the committee will determine whether it is “appropriate for the middle school library” and submit a written report.

Bonnie goes forward and submits the form

Bonnie decided to go forward and submit a form for one the particularly egregious books, Sex is a Funny Word, which written in comic-book style.

Here’s the form that Bonnie submitted on Jan. 24, 2020.

In the 2-page hand-written answers on the form, Bonnie described what had happened in her class and also quoted from an online interview with the book’s author.

A student in my class was touching his nipples under his shirt and began rubbing his genitals over his pants. The SPED teacher was close by and saw the book and his actions and took the book.

The author clearly stated that the purpose of the book is to teach about masturbation, sexual abuse, sexual identity, “sexy” as a word, and gender identity.

The author stated, “I wrote this for a private audience, not for kids to read at school; some things we should talk about at school and some things we shouldn’t. There are some things sex educators shouldn’t do in school like talking about how to have sex.” My concern is that he [the author] also says that kids can handle the material because he talks to 7-10 year olds.

A teacher is now forced into the position to have complex conversations that are reserved for qualified professionals in the field.

I do not think books that include masturbation should be on the shelf.

Here is a sample of the masturbation material:

At the end of her hand-written response, Bonnie attached nine typed pages of very disturbing quotes from the book.

As Bonnie documented, it appears that a large part of Sex is a Funny Word is about masturbation, touching oneself, and sexually touching other people. There are also many references to nakedness, plus drawings of breasts, nipples, clitoris, vagina, anus, and penis – and discussions about “touching” them, how it feels, how they get hard or soft, etc. There is also a section on “secret touching.”

 These are some of the sexual messages that this book gives to children.

 And, of course, the book then leads children into these other directions.

Regarding the anus the book tells kids:

Between the cheeks, there is a hole or opening where poo (also called feces) comes out. This hole is called the anus. Like other holes in the body, the anus is usually very sensitive, which means it can feel good to touch but can also hurt if we are rough with it'

It is hard to imagine any adult wanting to give this material to 11 to 13 year-old children whose emotions and psychology regarding sexual issues are so vulnerable.

After receiving the form, the Superintendent appoints the committee

What came next is a lesson for all of us on how disconnected from reality our school officials are.

The Superintendent, Dr. Todd Gazda, appointed the following committee to review Bonnie’s submission on Sex is a Funny Word:

Jamison Hedin (Committee Chairman).  He is the librarian at the high school in Ludlow

Michelle Annecchairico. She is a Baird reading teacher who has helped promote these books. She also seems to be an activist in the community against parents on this issue.

Michelle D’Amore
She is the head of the Baird English Dept. Very left-wing. One parent described her as “a cross between Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda.”

Michael Kelliher
He is a Ludlow School Board member. In School Board meetings, he hass been the most openly hostile against parents, As one parent put it, he is “the leader of the opposition.”

Stacey Monette
The Principal of Baird Middle School, who originally brushed off Bonnie’s concerns when Bonnie met with her.

Jacob Oliveira
At that time he was a School Board member and is now a State Rep. Openly homosexual and extremely left-wing.

Not surprisingly, there was no parent on this committee.  This “committee” was clearly stacked for the outcome they wanted

The committee submits its decision

On Feb. 13, 2020, the committee submitted their decision. It was just what you would expect.

Their unanimous verdict: “The content is age-appropriate for middle school students and should be freely available.”

Their report starts with listing the resources they consulted. Besides the Library Policies and Reconsideration Policies, they were not asked to consult any other resources to make their decisioon – but they did anyway. It’s interesting to see what else they considered to be important “resources” in this matter.

They included the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Curriculum Framework, which is quite radical, but is only a general guideline, not state law. They read reviews of the book from left-wing sources. And they included “Freedom to Read” nonsense from the far-left American Library Association, which basically assumes schools should treat young children as independent, mature adults.

The committee said that this book constitutes materials “that address basic sexuality education concepts are relevant to the information needs of 11-13 year old students and they have the right to access such information.”

And just to prove how out of touch with reality they are, they went even further with their bizarre assessment of the book (borrowing text from the Ludlow Library Policy). They stated that the content and presentation of the book provide for children:

l. Materials that will enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, and maturity levels of the students served.

2. Materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards.

3. A background of information that will enable students to make intelligent judgments in their daily lives.

And just for good measure, they add at the end, matter-of-factly:

Students have the First Amendment right to read and access information in a school library as affirmed in Counts v. Cedarville and Board v. Pico.

This is purposefully deceiving. No one was suggesting that the students shouldn’t have access to information in the library. Bonnie (and others) were saying this particular information shouldn’t be in the library at all!

Since Bonnie asked that the book be removed from the entire Ludlow school system, the committee also referenced the copy currently at the Elementary School. They said that the book should be “available as a resource for staff members who may be working with students who need this information, but not be available for unrestricted circulation to students.” In our opinion, that concept is just as sickening.

Final thoughts

Our readers should remember two important points. First, the school officials and staffers in Ludlow, Massachusetts, are not much different in their belief system and hostility toward parents than those we’ve seen in schools across America.

Second, this kind of bureaucratic warfare against any challenge is used in varying degrees in schools across the country to protect the radical agendas being pushed on children. These people are definitely not our friends, as many former teachers (and current conservative teachers) will attest!

But also, as you will see in upcoming installments, this battle CAN be won!

NEXT: The school officials take retribution against Bonnie for exposing the books.

   

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Donate to MassResistance

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MA MassResistance: Exposing the Filth in Ludlow Schools, and One Brave Teacher/Whistleblower's Efforts to Stop the Abuse

 

How school officials thwart internal whistleblowers - to protect explicit sexual and LGBT books in middle school libraries.

Securing their toxic agenda targeting kids

A chilling view into the minds of those who are in charge of teaching your children

[Part 3 of a series. See Part 1 and Part 2.]

July 3, 2021

 One of the sexually lurid "story books" ("A Court of Mist and Fury") for children ages 11-13 that the school officials are protecting from scrutiny. Unfortunately, this is happening in more places than people realize.

We often read about parents who complain about the explicit sexual, homosexual, and transgender materials being given to their children in school. Most are unaware how corrupt and degenerate their school officials are when it comes to diffusing outside criticism and protecting that agenda. Those officials, of course, know what they are inflicting on the students.

But what happens when a teacher in that school is disturbed by this material, insists it’s harmful, and demands it be removed?

In Part 2 we described how Bonnie, a social studies teacher at Baird Middle School in Ludlow, MA, started to notice that pornographic, homosexual, and transgender themed books were in the school library, and also being brought into classrooms by the "transgender" librarian.

Some other teachers were similarly upset. But it was Bonnie who decided to actually do something about it. What happened then is an education for the rest of us!

(And for comparison, at the end we’ll show you how a Ludlow town official, who is also a parent, reacted to the books.)

Conversation with the Superintendent

In September 2019, soon after Bonnie saw the offensive books, she had a brief conversation with the Superintendent about them. He told her to wait a few weeks and then talk to the Principal.

Meeting with the Principal

A few weeks later, Bonnie met with the Principal and described the situation. The Principal did not want to deal with it and would not address the issue.

Meeting with the Superintendent – another brush-off

In early November, Bonnie formally met with the Superintendent in his office about the books. He tried to brush it off and said she is “the only one complaining about this.” Bonnie said “No” – there were definitely other teachers who were upset. The Superintendent told her that if that were true, it would be helpful for her to have those teachers come forward. Bonnie said she would do that.

Formal letter to Superintendent with signatures of 18 other teachers

On Nov. 18, 2019, Bonnie delivered a detailed letter to the Superintendent that was signed by 18 Baird Middle School teachers (from the total staff of approximately 70). The letter described the material in several of the books and the reactions from students that teachers had witnessed.

The letter ended with:

As professionals in the school district, we are responsible and tasked with protecting the well-being of the children ,,, The situation has not improved and we continue to see and read materials from the Baird Library that violate the policy involving ideologies and profanity/obscenity … These materials continue to be checked out and personally recommended to “certain students.” We all share these concerns for the known psychological and mental damage that these sexually explicit and pornographic materials can cause students at the middle school developmental level which ages range from eleven to thirteen.

Note: The letter referenced attached exhibits which we do not have – but material from them has been reproduced in Part 1 and Part 2. The letter also references “DIRT” which is Direct Independent Reading Time – a period during academic classes where kids are allowed to read any book they want.

(After this letter was given to the Superintendent, two of the signers changed their minds and asked that their names be taken off.)

The Superintendent answers the letter

On Nov. 27, 2019, Superintendent Dr. Todd Gazda replied via email to Bonnie and the other teachers who’d signed the letter. The reply is written (in our opinion) in the kind of patronizing, evasive style that we’re all too used to from educrats.

Although Bonnie brought up and described several very troubling books in the letter, Gazda only responded about one of them, “Kiss Number 8.” He said that he purchased the book himself in order to read it. Of course, Gazda could have easily walked into Baird Middle School and looked through (or brought home) all of the books had he wished to. But he obviously didn’t care enough to do that.

Gazda also made the asinine assertion that explicit sexual and homosexual scenes in children’s books are actually appropriate “when those excerpts were read in context.” There is no possible “context” for pushing such material on kids.

And Gazda also wrote:

Although an avid reader, I do not typically read graphic novels particularly those geared towards teenage girls. However, by halfway through the book I found myself absolutely riveted. The work did an exceptional job of dealing with a complex and yes controversial issue...

Does the main character kiss other teens and explore her sexual identity? Yes. Do I think that the book was appropriate for middle school? I don't know.

This tells us a lot about the Ludlow Superintendent, and by extension the people he has working for him.

 Teenage lesbian scene from "Kiss Number 8," the book which Dr. Gazda said that he was "absolutely riveted" reading.

 Dr. Gazda also had no problem with this blasphemous, anti-Christian scene from "Kiss Number 8." Among other vile messages, the book sexualizes Jesus.

Another reaction by a public official

For another opinion, Bonnie forwarded the letter she sent to Gazda to another Ludlow town official, a town employee who has children.

Here’s from the email that Bonnie received in reply:

I have read "A Court of Mist and Fury," "Sex is a Funny Word," "Speak," and almost all of "Perfect Chemistry."

I am absolutely disgusted with the first two, and don't agree with "Speak" being in any Middle school. Nor do I like where "Perfect Chemistry" is going. I'd like to look at "Kiss Number 8" as well since it is out of all the other schools but ours. I will check our public library for it and some of the others.

It’s quite a contrast. Suffice it to say, this person is not involved with the public schools!

Bonnie decides to move forward with complaint "process"

Gazda ended his reply to Bonnie and the other teachers by informing them that there is a “school committee approved process” for parents (or teachers) to go through regarding books. For each book, Bonnie should fill out a form and submit it to Gazda.

Gazda would then appoint a committee comprised of a School Board member, the Principal, a librarian, and two teachers. The committee will consult a “school committee policy” and “make an ultimate decision.” In other words, a bureaucratic procedure run by (possibly biased) school personnel was needed to determine something that is obvious to anyone using common sense. This is a common tactic in these situations.

Bonnie decided to go ahead and follow the “process.” How that turned out provides another window into the minds of our educator class.

In our next post in this series, Part 4, we will report to you what happened with “the process” to deal with the books.

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

Your support will make the difference!