How the Drag Queen Found his way into Sutton Public Schools
A history of the ConCon, and how it conned a (mostly) conservative community into allowing its high school to become a SJW training camp.
Last week, we told you about Diva D, the ruffly-bottomed drag queen that made national news by doing cartwheels on a table at Sutton High School last month as part of their Connections Conference (or ConCon). If you haven’t read the first part of our investigation yet, click the link below:
Sutton High School's ConCon Drag Show Helps Students Make the Wrong Kind of "Connections"
Over Easter weekend, we got wind that something wild had gone on in Sutton. Pictures surfaced of what appeared to be a drag queen, dressed in a pink miniskirt with ruffly underwear exposed, standing on a table in the Sutton High School library, surrounded by students. The image was simultan…
Since the first part of our investigation hit the web, we’ve gotten lots of questions about ConCon. We’ve also kept an eye on the social media commentary surrounding the issue, and seen some bad info swirling around about the history of ConCon, Sutton High’s role in the conference, and more. We were already planning on releasing this second part of our investigation, but now we are even more certain of its necessity. So here is a short history of ConCon, and you can let us know in the comments if you have additional questions. Also, if you are from Sutton, or you work for the Sutton Public Schools, and you think we got something factually incorrect, DM us your evidence. If we receive new, or better, information we will gladly update this article.
Inspired by SHS Principal Ted McCarthy’s use of the Q&A format, as seen in his embarrassing “kids can see bad stuff on their phones so a drag queen is a-ok” email that we talked about in our previous post, we’re going to do a bit of Q&A ourselves.
Q: What is ConCon?
A: The Connections Conference (or ConCon) is an annual social justice-themed conference held at Sutton High School. ConCon started in 2019 as a project of Connections, a SHS-based group created ostentibly as a reaction to racial bias in the schools. This year’s iteration of ConCon was held at SHS on Friday March 15th, from 7:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. According to the ConCon website: “The Connections Conference is a social justice event for high school and middle school students, teachers, and administrators where we explore issues of bias, privilege, and discrimination. Through immersive, hands-on workshops, together we explore how to support each other and make our communities better for everyone. Last year we had over 700 students, teachers, and school staff join us from all over New England.”
Q: Who is responsible for ConCon, and who is responsible for Connections?
A: Connections was started about ten years ago by Principal McCarthy and a group of teachers. Connections is listed on the Sutton High School website under “Clubs & Activities,” with Coleen Motyl-Szary named as the staff advisor. According to this 2022 article in the SHS student newspaper, Connections has 9 staff advisors, but Motyl-Szary is the only staff member listed on the school website. She is the SHS World Language Department Chair, and also serves as the advisor of the SHS GSA (Gender Sexuality Alliance).
According to the Connections website, “Connections is a group of Sutton High School students and staff committed to making our school a more welcoming place for all students. We think about and work on issues connected to prejudice, bias, and privilege. By talking about these issues with our friends and community, we hope to make our school a place where all students feel valued and understood.”
Connections is also listed on page 49 the Sutton High School 2023-2024 handbook as an official SHS club, part of the “well-rounded and active co-curricular program(s)” provided by Sutton High.
ConCon is run by Connections, which falls under the purview of Sutton High School administration and the Connections advisor. Therefore, they are ultimately responsible for ConCon.
Q: How did ConCon start?
(This question - or more specifically, “Ted, so can you tell us a little bit more about Connections the conference, and how it originated?” - was asked of Principal McCarthy in the video interview below, from May of 2019. We’ll let him answer it for himself. The answer to this question starts at 2:05, and the transcript is below, edited for readability.)
A: McCarthy: “So, our Connections group started approximately five years ago, I'd say. It was my second year as principal here in Sutton. And it happened, there were a couple of events that started the work for us a little more intentionally. We had an issue with a Confederate flag my first year here, and that resulted in a little bit of unrest. And then my second year here, and really was started Connections for us more intently was, I had a conversation with the student who's African-American. It was not connected at all, I did not know going into the conversation that it was going to turn in this direction. And in the middle of the conversation he said, “Mr. McCarthy, what do you expect me to do? They use the N-word around me all the time, and they think they’re my friends.” And so at that point it just kind of really put a personal story behind (what) something that I believed for a long time, that it's hard to (inaudible) give it the attention that it needs.
And so from that point forward myself and a group of teachers started what was called a “dialogue group.” We grabbed a bunch of kids and we had some facilitators from UMass. We had facilitated conversations around race and privilege in our school. But then we realized that those conversations were just happening in the room and we really weren't doing anything with that information. So from that the idea of a Connections group was formed. So Connections are a group of students - currently we have about 40 students in Connections, although our seniors are about to graduate, so a few less - who work with our ninth graders, training them, facilitating lessons on race, bias, privilege. It’s an anti-bias curriculum that our students are trained on by the ADL.
So, the Anti-Defamation League, for those of you who don't know, they have a program called: “A World of Difference.” They send training facilitators to Sutton, and students participate in the 3-day, 24 hour workshop. So it's broken up by three days, it's a full day program for the kids on those three days. And then at the end of those three days, the students have been trained to facilitate work with the ninth graders. So when we first started we were trying to do it during advisory, and it was kind of falling flat. Kids didn't want to give up their advisory time because advisory time for us here at Sutton is a little time to get some work done, to connect with teachers, and so on. And to be honest, we weren't really using the language in the right way. Instead of talking about things like “racism” and “transphobia,” we were talking to kids about being “good citizens” and being “positive members of the community.” We weren’t really labeling the real goals of the program, and kids saw through it, you know, because they've been told by adults their entire lives to be good kids. And so when we started to actually more specifically and directly use the language, that's when we started getting more feedback from kids. That's when we started seeing a response that I think was equal to the goals of the program.
So for the past few years, that's been the work we've been doing. Instead of trying to do it in Advisory for Connections, the kids, the ninth graders, are pulled from one class over a period of six weeks. So instead of going to math class on one day - or A block here in Sutton - instead of going to A block, they have a workshop facilitated by our Connections students. Instead of going to B block the second week, they go to a workshop advised by our Connections students, and so on. A letter goes home to the parents explaining what we're gonna be doing and why, why we believe it's important to what we do, and obviously the parent has the option of opting out their son or daughter. So we have been doing that for two years.”
“This year we have a great group of Connections kids, and just in conversation with them, myself and one of the other advisors, Colleen Motyl-Szary, who is our World Language Department Chair, were talking about wouldn’t it be great if our kids could talk to other kids in other schools who (inaudible) similar work. And we said yeah, we could probably get something together with a couple of the central Mass schools and we could have them in and we could do like a little conference.
So I put out an email to the central Mass principals that I know and within four days, five days, I got almost every single principal saying, “yes, we’d love to be a part, we will definitely participate.”
So after that response Colleen and I said, “Well boy, what would happen if we actually put it out to the entire state?” And within two weeks we had 32 schools who were committed to sending groups of teachers and kids to the conference. So we had the participants at the conference before we actually had much of a conference. So once we had the kids and the teachers committed to go, then we did the work of lining up the speakers, keynote speaker, and organizing the event. And that's really where our students came into the process, that once they knew that we were going to be hosting people from Brockton and New Bedford and Amherst and Northampton and Nipmuc and Millbury and BMR, they really were interested in what kind of workshops were going to be offered, what would the day look like for the kids, and what would the day look like the teachers. And then that work happened with the Connections group as a whole.
And then the event, the Connections Conference, that happened in March (I think it was March) and we had over or just about 500 people here from the schools and they participated in a day where they had different workshops to choose from. We fed them lunch, and people left. And I think it was a good experience for all. You know, the goal of the conference was to get kids talking to each other about this. They have them sitting with kids from other parts of state they may never meet again, but having conversations about the work and why it's important in their school and in their lives.”
McCarthy also credits himself for Connections in this article from 2022, again mentioning Motyl-Szary as “the staff member who does a lot of this work with me.”
Ultimately, McCarthy was the catalyst behind the Connections group itself, which then birthed ConCon. And ConCon started because Principal McCarthy and Coleen Motyl-Szary started it.
Q: Is ConCon student led?
A: According to this 2019 article, the conference was the brainchild of SHS Senior Sophie Briggs, a member of Connections. In this video from 2019 ConCon (1:40 mark), Principal McCarthy tells the assembled crowd that putting the conference together had been Sophie’s senior project. Sophie also wrote on an online blog about the conference, that you can read in its entirety here.
It’s clear from her blog that Ms. Briggs did a lot of work, and for a high school senior to perform at such a high level of competency is truly impressive. Even if one takes issue with the content of the conference, one would be remiss to fail to point out that her dedication is commendable, objectively speaking. Nothing that comes after this paragraph should be taken as diminishing Ms. Briggs’ efforts or achievements.
But if you’ve ever been involved in a public school system in any way, you know that one student, or even a motivated group of students, can’t pull something like ConCon off without a massive amount of adult support. Supervision is necessary, resources must be offered, facilities provided, permission granted, and on and on. While certain aspects of the first ConCon’s prep and production were undoubtably handled by Ms. Briggs and other student volunteers, common sense (and all of the evidence we’ve seen) informs us that ConCon is clearly adult-initiated and adult-led, primarily by McCarthy and Motyl-Szary.
According to this 2019 post from Motyl-Szary’s Facebook profile, she was already planning on recreating the event in 2020, even though Ms. Briggs was just a few months from graduating and would not be at SHS the following year. She also gives a nod to McCarthy, and references the amount of work they have both done to pull off ConCon 2019.
Motyl-Szary also used her Facebook profile to crowdsource for session speakers from her friend list, further demonstrating her involvement and influence:
As more evidence that adults are actually behind the ConCon wheel, here’s yet another quote from McCarthy, from this article:
Another highlight of our Connections program is our annual conference. In 2019, after a few successful years of working with our Connections Team members and the incoming freshmen, we wanted our students to look outside our school. So, we created a conference as a way for students who had invested in social justice at SHS to meet students from other schools who were doing similar work. After a few emails, we had more than 30 schools from across Massachusetts eager to visit our school to participate in the conference. We reached out to local college professors, nonprofit organizations, and staff from other high schools to find presenters.
We fundraised to have Dr. Bettina Love, a professor from the University of Georgia who specializes in education and social justice, as our keynote speaker. That day, more than 500 students and staff came to SHS for #ConCon2019 to learn more about social justice work and how to make the work come alive in their own communities. While we had to cancel our 2020 conference due to COVID-19, we held the conference virtually in 2021, with 700 participants attending from all over New England. Most of the schools represented had nearly all-white demographics like ours. In her address to the conference, Dr. Love said, “There’s going to come a time in your life when you are going to need this stuff. Not only for you, but for humanity.” Our hope is that the conference continues to provide a place for schools to access resources and learning that will help them tackle these issues in their own school communities.
So, no. We did not see any evidence that ConCon was, or is, actually student led. Students help, but (certain) adults drive the agenda and do a big chunk of the work. And they have since the very first year.
Q: What do we know about prior ConCons? Is ConCon always at Sutton High School? What happened in previous years?
A: The Connections website is updated yearly and the old information is taken down, so we do not have access to all of the information about every previous ConCon, from 2019-2023. However, here is what we were able to access through our own investigation and internet archives. Additional information, should Suttonites desire it, should be available from the district via Public Records Request.
2019:
The first ConCon was held on March 14, 2019 at Sutton High School. The keynote speaker was Dr. Bettina Love, an author and professor. Dr. Love is a vocal proponent of Critical Pedagogy, and coined the term “abolitionist teaching.”
You can listen to Dr. Love’s keynote here:
And here is the schedule of events and program for the 2019 ConCon, taken from the internet archive of the 2019 ConCon website (viewable on desktop only).
Here is a quick recap video of the conference that year that includes interviews with students and some attending teachers, which are definitely worth hearing:
And here is an article about the 2019 conference.
2020:
ConCon 2020 had been planned for March 20, 2020, at SHS. It was postponed due to COVID, and ultimately did not happen. The theme of the conference was planned as: “Words to Action, Action to Justice.” The keynote speaker scheduled had been Nate Marshall, a writer, rapper and educator.
While we don’t have the full program planned for the event, here is what we do have.
Link to internet archive of the ConCon2020 website (viewable on desktop only).
2021:
ConCon21 was scheduled for March 24, 2021. The theme was: “Listen, Learn, Act!: Fighting for Justice in our Schools & Communities.” The keynote speaker was Dr. Jamila Lyiscott, an author and professor known for her promotion of “Liberation Literacies Pedagogy.”
We found the program for ConCon21 online, in its entirety. You can download it here:
Link to internet archive of ConCon21 website (viewable on desktop only).
And here is a link to the page of workshop resources referenced on the homepage of that website, followed by screenshots of this page. There are still live links on this page, which curious Suttonites might want to explore before the school gets around to taking it down.
Here’s a slide from one of the links on the page shown above. It is a presentation from History UnErased, a leftist organization that injects sexuality and intersectionality (aka CRT) into K-12 curriculum in subjects like history, civics, and social studies:
ConCon21 was held virtually. According to this article, 1,000 adults and students from across New England attended.
2022:
ConCon22 was held on March 18, 2022 at SHS. The keynote speaker was Dr. Ousmane K. Power-Greene, and author and professor whose focus is on racial studies.
The link to the ConCon22 website (live version) is available here.
Link to internet archived version here (desktop only).
Per this online form, Principal McCarthy managed the workshop proposals:
Here is a partial ConCon22 program, recreated from the graphics available on the archived site. This is missing several pages of information, but still gives a picture of what types of sessions were offered that year.
We also found this online photo album, which provides extensive documentation of the 2022 event. It shows that BAGLY, the groomer nonprofit that we talked about in our last post, had a table at the event where they interacted with students, provided cutesy giveaways, and offered a QR code that linked students to… Lord knows what. BAGLY is also mentioned as a session presenter in the above program, with a session titled: “LGBTQ+ 101 & Allyship.”
And here is a recording of the Dr. Power-Greene’s keynote, where he references “engaging revolution” and justifies destruction of property when it is done under the umbrella of doing “something” as an activist (27:37):
2023:
ConCon23 was held on Friday, March 17th, 2023 at SHS. The theme was: “Stand Up. Speak Up. Act Up!” The keynote speakers were Jose Vilson, an educator, speaker and activist who argues for Critical Race Theory (amongst other social justice-y things), and Akrobatik, a Boston-based hip-hop artist.
Link to the internet archive version of the ConCon23 website (viewable on desktop only).
Principal McCarthy was the contact person listed on the registration form (full form here, until the district takes it down).
We were not able to find the ConCon23 program online. However, we did find the following sessions mentioned elsewhere:
If we obtain a copy of the 2023 program (pictured below), we will update this post.
Here’s a brief conference recap video from the 2023 conference:
Here’s a video of the first keynote address, and a bunch of other stuff:
And the second keynote:
2024:
To see what happened at ConCon24, read our previous post.
Q: Everyone is talking about ConCon this year because a drag queen showed up. Has drag ever been discussed at ConCon before?
A: Yes. According to the 2021 program (linked earlier in this post), a session called Out (of High School) and Proud was offered that year. The presenters, Bret Jacob (Mr. Gay Rhode Island 2019) and Jess Motyl-Szary (Mx. Bisexual Rhode Island 2019), spoke to students about “the many ways you can be involved with the community,” including “drag & gender bending performances…”:
Both Bret Jacob and Jess Motyl-Szary (if that name sounds familiar, it should. Jess Motyl-Szary is the ‘wife’ of Connections advisor Coleen Motyl-Szary) are very involved in the RI Pride community, which includes drag and other highly-sexual performances.
RI Pride has a history of affiliation with events like “Lube Wrestling” where young men covered in lubricant try to remove each other’s underwear while wrestling, for the enjoyment of onlookers.
According to the program from last year’s RI PrideFest, organized by RI Pride, a “Lube Wrestling” event is still occurring. We also learn from this program that Jess Motyl-Szary is RI Pride’s “Volunteer Coordinator.”
In 2022, Jacob and (Jess) Motyl-Szary also led a Queer Trivia session, which can be found in the program linked earlier in this post.
Jess Motyl-Szary reprised her Queer Trivia session again at ConCon24:
Was drag a part of the “trivia” discussed in this session? It seems likely that it was.
Also, we have to wonder. Would a drag queen (or two) have shown up at the 2020 ConCon, if it hadn’t been canceled? Quite possibly. Read the comments on the post below from Coleen Motyl-Szary’s FB. Pulp Friction and SemiSweet Drag are drag queens.
As it turns out, 2024 wasn’t the first year drag was connected to ConCon. It’s just the first year that the outside world noticed, thanks to those outrageous photos from the library.
Q: Aren’t the people complaining about ConCon and its connection to drag and the LGBTQ lifestyle just haters?
A: No. It is not hateful to point out that drag is sexual in nature, and the Pride “scene” is inextricable from discussions (and often, demonstrations) of adult sexuality and sexual acts. This is common sense, and honest members of the LGBTQ “community” have always acknowledged that fact. That’s not to say that every same-sex-attracted adult or adult who has adopted a transgender identity participates in the most graphic aspects of that “community,” but they know those aspects exist. It is the duty of parents, educators, and administrators to ensure that kids are protected in school. Granting adults who are NOT school staff members, and (from what we can tell) not vetted or CORI checked, access to minors based on their credentials as winners of a Pageant run by an organization that uses Lube Wrestling as a fundraiser isn’t just irresponsible, it’s a complete dereliction of duty. And when those adults connect kids to a “community” that promotes highly-sexual events outside of school, that could result in harm to children.
Q: But why would a long-time teacher like Coleen Motyl-Szary, and a trusted administrator like Principal McCarthy, allow drag queens and members of a sexually-oriented organization access to students?
A: In short? They are activists.
Coleen Motyl-Szary is a true believer in LGBTQ ideology, and the ‘importance’ of bringing those ideas into the classroom. She also loves drag shows.
In fact, according to this video, drag queens have long been a part of her and Jess Motyl-Szary’s relationship.
Both Motyl-Szarys are big supporters of RI Pride, which we discussed earlier.
In this 2020 video (screenshot below) of the SHS morning announcements, Coleen sports a RI Pride tank top while lip-syncing for students. This video is on the Sutton High School Youtube channel.
She also publicly fundraised for RI Pride here, with her former student showing up in the comments:
Taking pride in her LGBTQ identity and supporting the LGBTQ “community” is a huge part of her personal life, which seems to have become significantly integrated into her professional life.
Now, let’s be clear. A public school employee does not entirely give up his or her right to a private life when they take their job. Motyl-Szary, or any other teacher, has a right to associate with whatever organizations she wants, provided they are legal. They have a right to be in relationship with whoever they want, within the confines of the law. They have a right to support whatever charities they want. And they have a right to believe whatever they want.
But once they cross the line between private life and their public role as a teacher, those rights become less clear-cut. Does a public school employee have the right to use their role as a conduit to evangelize students into adopting or celebrating their own personal sexual ethic or political views on a controversial issue? Do they have the right to use their position to bring outside adults into the school, in order to continue their evangelism? Most taxpayers would probably say no, and possibly some attorneys would as well. At the very least, such behavior would raise very serious ethical questions about any public school employee who uses their taxpayer-funded position to indoctrinate kids into their own sexual lifestyle or politics.
Would an activist like Motyl-Szary - someone who platformed a speaker who casually justified property damage when it occurs in the name of doing “something” for social justice - take ethical concerns into account, in pursuit of her mission? Probably not. What if she knew her boss was an activist too? No doubt, she would go full-steam ahead. And it seems that she has.
What about her boss, Principal McCarthy? How do we know he’s an activist too?
He doesn’t wear his activism as boldly or as colorfully as Motyl-Szary does (not usually), but if you go back and listen to the interview we posted in the beginning (this one), and you know what to listen for, it’s all right there. We don’t endorse playing drinking games, but if you were inclined to do one with how many times McCarthy uses the phrase “the work,” or other social justice keywords, you would end up with alcohol poisoning.
It also speaks volumes that, from what we can tell, there was no MAJOR incident at SHS that created a crisis situation where McCarthy was forced to take drastic steps like using outside activists to train a group of SHS students in social justice ideology, using those students to implement a SJ curriculum for the entire 9th grade class, and then launching a massive student conference. According to everything we’ve read, it sounds like there were a few minor student issues, and a conversation with one student who had been treated poorly. Those issues could have been addressed without creating Connections, or ConCon. It’s almost like he was looking for an excuse to turn kids into activists.
When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And when you’re a social justice warrior, everything looks like an opportunity to “do the work.” And when you’re in a position of power, you can make sure everyone around you does it, too.
Sure, the 9th grade Connections class is technically optional, as is the ConCon. But what would happen if a conservative student voiced their reason for opting out? What if a teacher wasn’t on board with the social justice agenda? How would that go for them? Since opposing this agenda is often categorized as “hate,” we’re guessing that might not go well at all.
McCarthy has been rewarded for his Connections and ConCon-related activism. In 2021 he was named MA Principal of the Year, citing Connections and the conference in his bio.
He was also a runner up for the title of National Principal of the Year in 2021, similarly citing Connections and ConCon:
McCarthy was listed as a “Principal to Watch” by District Administration, a national website for public school administrators.
He and Motyl-Szary have also enjoyed sharing their gospel at many speaking engagements, such as this one for the Massachusetts School Administrators Association:
And this one, where their lecture was titled, Connections: Leading and Sustaining Social Justice Work in Predominantly White Spaces:
And several others here, here, and here.
You really have to wonder if all of these powerful organizations (NEASC, the MIAA, and the MSAA) actually support drag queens showing their underwear to minors at school. Do they stand behind their presenters? Maybe somebody should ask them.
Now, it’s possible that Principal McCarthy didn’t realize his quest for social justice would culminate with a drag queen dancing on a table. But as a grown man with an advanced degree and the ability to read and research, he should have. Conservatives have been shouting about the dangers of the CRT sneaking in the backdoor of public education for years. He was aware of those concerns, and he dismissed them. Whether he was blind to the possibility or he figured it was worth it, we don’t know. What we do know is that when the ruffly underwear was exposed, and people rightfully pointed out that such a thing was outrageous, he made childish excuses.
Motyl-Szary definitely knew the drag queen was coming. Not only did she know one was coming in 2024, she knew it was always a possibility.
(As always, we don’t want anyone to be harassed or targeted because of what we have shared in this post. But we do think that people who are using their positions to indoctrinate kids in Sutton into their own sexual and political ideologies should have to answer to the public for that. While acting in their role as public school employees, their actions are open to public scrutiny. We don’t think people with such a clear agenda should be trusted to stay in positions of influence within the Sutton Public Schools.)
So, that is how a “purple” town became the host to a conference where a drag queen showed kids his underwear. A small cadre of school staff had a specific ideological agenda, they acted their agenda out, and nobody above them stopped it. To the outside world, the conference appeared successful and impressive (and many believed it was student-led), so the media and educational organizations applauded their efforts. Some community members did raise concerns (McCarthy has referenced those in multiple interviews), but it wasn’t enough.
We hope things change in Sutton. We really do. Now that drag-queen-gate has happened, hopefully more of the residents who were unaware of the conference, or naive to the dangers of social justice and the ideas that come along with it, will know that they need to speak out against ConCon. And to the Suttonites who voiced concerns in the past, well… you are not so alone anymore. It’s time for all of you to speak up and defend your community. Your kids are worth it.
If you’re not in Sutton - and you’re thinking, “Thank God I’m not in Sutton,” - think again. If this can happen in Sutton, it can happen anywhere. Sutton is a cautionary tale.
Concerned parent/citizen/school committee member, Sutton is why you need to understand what social justice is, and why words that sound good often mean something else. Sutton is why you need to educate yourself on Queer Theory, how it finds its way into the K-12 educational system, and what it wants to do to kids. Sutton is why you can’t allow DEI initiatives to take hold. Sutton is why you should be skeptical of Social Emotional Learning. Sutton is why you need to know that when activists say “kindness” they mean “acceptance;” when they say “acceptance” they mean “celebration.” Sutton is why you need to know that when they say “Hate has no home here,” they define “hate” as “disagreement,” “conservative values,” or “people of faith.” Sutton is why you need to speak up now, and not later.
The ideas that birthed the ConCon are not unique to Sutton. They are embroidered into state and national education policies. They are taught in teacher’s colleges and woven into curriculum. They are supported by Education NGOs, accrediting organizations, and teacher’s unions. In short, when it comes to public education, they are everywhere.
Sutton is the reason that some families will pull their kids out of public school. Sutton is some parents’ last straw. If that’s you, and you are looking for a list of educational alternatives in MA, click here.
If your child will be staying in the public school, all hope is not lost. Sane, involved citizens can make a difference, but it’s going to take work. And not “the work,” like Principal McCarthy and all of the social justice talking heads are so fond of saying. Actual work.
Roll up your sleeves, mom and dad, because the time to work is here. If your child is still attending a MA public school, they are on a runaway train that is currently heading for the edge of a cliff. Pulling them off the train is one option. Trying to steer the train is another. Both choices are hard, but your kids are worth it.
Whichever you decide, we are here for you.
***
P.S. We know this post didn’t answer all of the possible questions about ConCon. There are still questions about what other staff were involved, why the SPS seems to require some volunteers to be CORI checked while others are not, who paid for ConCon itself and what was the cost of the staff time, facility use, custodial services and other district-provided resources consumed during conference prep and facilitation, and more. If you have additional questions, drop them in the comments! We’ll see if we can answer them, or point you in the right direction.
4/29 update:
In the spirit of full disclosure, since this article has been published, we have received copies of two additional emails sent by Principal McCarthy to members of the SPS community:
Sent 4/12/24:
Sent 4/26/24:
To read part 3 of our Connections Conference investigation, click here:
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Many thanks to MA Informed Parents for such an in-depth report on what is being taught to our children and grandchildren in the guise of combatting biases! Nothing short of brainwashing!
As a former resident of Sutton I'm proud of this program. The schools, based upon student input, realized they needed to address larger issues. Classmates repeatedly using the "n" word to refer to a classmate is far beyond poor treatment. It's audacious racism and indicative of a larger problem. It saddens me that as an organization that supposedly represents parent you're unable to recognize that.
No one is forcing students from the entire state to attend ConCon. Students crave this information because they want to understand. If they object to what is being presented, they can walk away.
What I really can't understand is the vehement objection to this type of programming. Prejudice is perpetuated through ignorance.