This Week's MIP Digest
This Week's MIP Digest
Sharon parents get it DONE, know your rights, is Sex on your child's School Calendar?, some PD for the teachers in MIP, pronouns gone wild, and (much!) more.
Here’s the weekly MIP Digest!
The MIP Digest is a regular feature with all the great information that has been posted in the MIP Facebook group during the previous week and sent directly to your inbox. It won’t capture all of the interesting comments and conversations that happen in the Facebook group, but it will include the highlights and provide a quick overview of the content, in case you missed it.
(This Digest is a super-ultra-mega two-week edition, so grab your coffee and get comfortable!)
First, here are the posts from our Admins:
Parents, do you ever wonder what an effective public comment to your School Committee looks like? This is how it's done.
This snippet of the public comment section of Sharon's August school committee meeting was sent my way (thank you, Andrea Gardner!), and I just had to share it. This 8-minute clip presents a perfect opportunity to show parents who want to get involved in advocating to their school committee this year HOW to make the most of your public comment opportunity.
Parents speaking up at school committee meetings is great, and we totally encourage that! But sometimes if it is done in an unproductive manner, it can erode parent/SC relations and cause more harm than good. Within these comments are some great examples of what TO do - that is, how to speak in a way that helps school committee members drop their defenses and pay attention to your legitimate concerns, in a manner that increases your chance of success.
Watch the video and see how speakers included some (or all) of the following elements:
Maintained a respectful but direct tone.
Brought legitimate concerns that are relevant to what is happening in their community.
Demonstrated knowledgeability and investment in their school system.
Raised difficult topics, including ones they were passionate (or even angry) about, without yelling or personally attacking any specific staff member.
Presented information that the school committee might not know, or a personal perspective that the school committee might not have thought of.
Asked for concrete and reasonable actions.
These are all important elements to consider when you are addressing your school committee this school year. Including these elements in your comments doesn't necessarily mean your comments will effect the change you are looking for right away, but it does a better job of laying the groundwork for future discussion than the viral "mama bear rampages against the woke school board" tactic. Because the bottom line is, school committee members are human, and nobody likes being attacked (even if they're wrong). Even if getting angry and name-calling feels good in the moment, it probably won't help your cause.
Kudos, Sharon parents, for speaking up for your kids - and all of the students of Sharon!
Thank you NewBostonPost for covering the 'Serious Talks' situation in Lexington!
If you haven't subscribed to NewBostonPost yet, make today your day! It's super affordable, and the NBP does a bang-up job of providing accurate coverage of the types of concerns we talk about in MIP.
Make sure you check out their recent article about the 'Serious Talks' controversy in Lexington:
From the article:
"As part of the last unit, the first-graders are to learn about activism from The Little Book of Activists, written by Bob Bland, the co-chairman of the 2017 Women’s March, which protested then-President Donald Trump and expressed support for legal abortion. The students will then have an opportunity to create their own projects. “Students will make their activism project public by internet or public event (depending on the project),” the curriculum says.
The superintendent said the new curriculum is appropriate and fits in well with the school district’s current approach.
“In all LPS elementary schools, students are taught that gender identity is feeling like a boy, girl, both or neither,” Hackett wrote in her report. She went on to explain that “Serious Talks” makes clear to students that “for some people, the labels they were given at birth do not match who they are on the inside, and they may use different pronouns or express themselves in a way that is different from what their body shows...”
Read the whole article and you’ll see MIP mentioned!
It's Back to School time, and that means it's time for the "Sex on the School Calendar: 2023-2024 Edition"
Across the state, student clubs like the Gender and Sexuality Alliance set aside a day, a week, or sometimes even a month to promote sexual ideology. From Bisexual Awareness Day and LGBT History Month to International Pronouns Day, GSAs promote national and international observance days to a captive audience of students in MA K-12 schools.
Banned Books Week.
Coming Out Day.
Transgender Awareness Week.
Day of Silence.
Are these observances, and others like them, coming to your school?
Parents, as you prepare for the new school year, it's important to be aware of ideologically-driven observances or 'special days' that might crop up. Many MA parents have expressed concern that when these observances come to their child's school, their child has felt pressured to participate in a manner that violates their conscience. We hope our “Sex on the School Calendar” list of dates will help you safeguard your students. Check out the graphic below, or the pdf linked HERE.
Not every school observes all of these dates, and some schools might not observe any of them. But from our experience, you can expect to find at least a few of these cropping up in your school. Find out what is happening in your district so you can decide in advance how you want to protect (or prepare) your child.
Share this graphic widely with friends, including out of state - these dates are not just found in MA!
#equippingparents
#protectingkids
Parents: Know Your Right to Opt Out (and More)
We've shared this graphic before, but with so many new members in MIP and the school year just starting, now's a great time to repost this information. The Know Your Rights graphic below explains what your rights are as the parent of a MA public school student, relative to Sex Ed and LGBTQ content in your child's school, and we recommend that every concerned parent check it out.
THIS pdf version has links to all of the relevant laws.
And HERE is that same graphic, in Spanish.
We strongly urge every MA parent to read this document. It will give you a solid understanding of what the law allows you to opt out of, and what other requests you can make. Forward this to all of your MA friends and family!
Also, we have been fielding tons of questions from parents who are looking to opt their children out of sexualized content in schools. Read the Know your Rights page first, and then use our Opt Out letters to communicate with your district. CLICK HERE find our Opt Out letters in English and Spanish.
Scroll about halfway down and you'll see them.
Other organizations have opt out letters as well, and parents, you are free to use whatever form you want. Just remember that because laws (and case precedent) vary by state, a generic letter or a letter that has not been vetted by an attorney familiar with MA law might not accurately represent what your rights are in MA. We recommend you use our letters, or letters from another organization or attorney familiar with MA law.
We recommend submitting any requests to opt your child out ASAP once the school year starts. You do not need to wait for information to come home on the topic of sex ed, and you do not need to wait for your child to come home talking about something outrageous they learned in class. Submit early, and submit VIA EMAIL to create a dated, verifiable, digital record of your communication with your district.
Any questions? Ask them here. And if your district does not follow the laws concerning opting out and allowing you to review your child's curriculum, contact Massachusetts Family Institute at the number or email address listed on the Know Your Rights page.
The pronoun question is popping up in MA public schools. Prepare your kids.
We are hearing from MANY parents whose children are being asked for their pronouns as part of first-day-of-school introductions, class exercises, and other school activities.
Parents, make sure your children know that they cannot be compelled to provide this information.
They can simply leave it blank, or decline politely.
Also, if your child receives a survey or assignment that asks for their pronouns and/or any questions about whether they use a different name at school than they do at home, please document this information to the greatest degree possible. We are collecting examples of this happening in MA public schools.
And in case you missed yesterday's post about our Opt Out forms, here's a quick reminder:
You can request to have your child opted out of any surveys which ask about pronouns, sexual orientation, or gender identity under the PPRA. See MFI's opt-out form, available HERE.
If the school gives you pushback or tries to force the issue or does not honor your opt-out request, let us know.
(This post had a HUGE response. Head on over to FB to read all of the comments HERE!)
Well, hi there, teachers!
Over the weekend, our admin team received reports that a post had been made in the Massachusetts Educators United Facebook group about MIP. This post wasn't very complementary toward MIP members, nor was it sympathetic to the concerns raised in MIP. It encouraged teachers to start checking out our group, claiming that "every post here poses a real threat...". Within the days after this post was made, our membership swelled with teachers! So, if you are a teacher who just joined MIP and you disagree with the information shared (or you're not quite sure what you think yet), here are some things we hope you'll consider.
1. There are already many teachers and people in education in this group who joined MIP because of the distressing trends they see in public schools. And there are many more teachers who might not be members of MIP, but who also share the concerns presented here. Contrary to what organizations like the NEA may tell you, teachers are a diverse group. You no doubt have coworkers who agree with the objections expressed in MIP posts too. If they haven't told you as much, it's probably because they just want to do their job, teach students, and avoid the drama. They deserve your respect. Period.
2. Just because you haven't seen an issue present in your own classroom doesn't mean it's not happening elsewhere in MA. Do not dismiss a concern raised in MIP just because you may have not personally seen it so far. We have lots of evidence for the problems raised in this group. Lots. Our members often provide receipts, and our admin posts are painstakingly researched. So, if you chime in disputing something reported in MIP with a strawman argument or false assertion, we aren't going to argue with you. We will just remove you. If this happens, it isn't because your argument was good and we can’t take a challenge. It's because we don't have time for bad-faith arguments.
3. There are parents from all walks of life who share the concerns raised in MIP. This group is ethnically, religiously, socioeconomically, and politically diverse. We hear from parents ALL. THE. TIME. who have traditionally voted blue, or who identify as LGBTQ (or have family members who do), or who are not religious, who are bothered by the problems presented. Many are active members of this group. Keep this in mind when you are tempted to listen to the voices that dismiss MIP and its members as "right-wing," or some other nonsensical descriptor.
4. This group wants to support teachers. If you are a teacher and feel like you are being forced during the course of your duties to do something that violates your conscience, we want to hear from you. We know you may not feel supported in your workplace, but here, you are among friends. DM any admin or moderator. We may be able to help you. Also, if you see things happening in your district that you think aren't good for kids, especially when it pertains to human sexuality education and parental rights, send us that, too. We understand that as a teacher, you might have trepidation about exposing harmful agendas - but for the good of your students, they need to be exposed. We may be able to help you with that, too.
5. Many teachers are also parents. Being a mom or a dad trumps your role as a teacher. Your OWN kids have come home from school with stories that make you cringe. We know they have. And deep down, many of you know that some of what is happening in schools today isn't good for kids. Just because you work as a public-school teacher doesn't mean you have to go along to get along. You don't have to swallow everything your union, your administrator, or the eduspeak talking heads at your latest PD session, tell you. Trust your gut, mom and dad. It's time to be brave. Courage is a habit. Speak up. You are among friends here.
So, teachers, welcome. We are happy to have you. This group is open to you, as long as you respect it, and respect the people in it. We actually hope you will take this opportunity to learn about what some of your students, and their parents, want to see from the public school system. But if you aren't able to play nice in the sandbox, you will be expelled.
Class dismissed.
Upcoming webinar: SEL, Surveys, and Student Data: What Parents Need to Know
Parents: check out THIS upcoming webinar from FAIR. Many group members have asked about Social Emotional Learning, and we have raised the alarm about SEL, Surveys and student privacy concerns before. This webinar is a great opportunity to learn more about these important issues.
Teachers: this is a golden opportunity for you as well. Are you being forced to integrate SEL into your classroom? Maybe you'd rather be focused on teaching the basics, but it's hard to resist the push toward this beneficial-sounding initiative? Do you have reservations about the way you are being required to collect student data? Or are you a big fan of SEL, and you don't understand why some parents are skeptical? Sign up now and find out more about this hot-button topic.
Can't participate in a webinar on this day/time? No worries. Sign up, and a recording of the webinar will be sent to you.
Massachusetts Family Institute Helps Hold Woke Newburyport Mayor Accountable
Last fall, Massachusetts Family Institute received word from Citizens for Responsible Education (CRE), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that advocates against indoctrination in schools, that Newburyport’s mayor tore down their flyers from the City’s public bulletin boards. His reasoning? The advertised event “was not in line with the City of Newburyport’s values of being an inclusive and welcoming community” because it covered the dangers of social-emotional learning methods. Yet, the mayor allowed flyers advertising an event on “White Fragility” and another advertising an LGBTQ+ youth support group to remain on those same bulletin boards. MFI immediately took action.
Today, we celebrate a fantastic victory in this case! Read more HERE.
Other helpful information shared by MIP members:
Conversations:
What’s happening in Gloucester schools?
How to make homeschooling affordable
Does anyone have information on Reading schools?
East Longmeadow has Rainbow Club for grades 3-5
Woke agenda pervades school for special needs kids
Middle Schoolers filling out secret pronoun surveys
Beverly middle schoolers make identity flags
School Librarians asking for pronouns, too
West Boylston parents, here’s a local group for you!
Western MA parent looking to connect with locals
Do Catholic schools in MA teach DEI?
Question about TRAILS SEL curriculum
How do I keep the public school from brainwashing my son?
Ipswich High School Library behaving badly
Is there an elementary school near Boston that doesn’t teach LGBTQ?
Any Boston Public School Parents here?
US Gov teacher in the Berkshires shamelessly indoctrinates kids
Any suggestions for questions I can ask at my child's preschool parent night?
Looking for info on Longmeadow schools
Yet another questionable survey… should I opt my kids out of iDecide?
Links shared by members:
AMAZING list of homeschool classes and co-ops in MA
Parent Resource: Protect Children from Gender Ideology
FAIR Success at School Handbook (Awesome resource!)
A very interesting video:
Mark Your Calendar for These Upcoming Events:
As always, there are MANY more interesting conversations on MIP - it’s too much to fit in this Digest! Make sure you visit the Facebook Group to see more!
Was this email forwarded to you by a friend? Join the Substack subscribe list now and get our content delivered right to your inbox!
Follow us on Twitter too!
If you’re on Facebook and not a member of MIP, click HERE to join!
And if you’re already a member of MIP, share the group (and this Substack) with your friends!
