Recently, a paraprofessional working at Mill Falls Charter School in Manchester spoke before school board members in Goffstown. As a resident of Goffstown, Lauren Doukas gave testimony in reference to a bulletin board that was hanging on the wall in the Goffstown school.
The bulletin board was challenged by some residents and parents for being overtly political, sexual, and representing only some of the students. After the bulletin board was removed, this set off a political battle where residents took sides over what was appropriate and what was not.
What caught many people who attended this meeting by surprise was an admission from Doukas and how they were treating kindergarten students who attended Mill Falls Charter School in Manchester.
As you can see from the video (below), Mill Falls makes sure that they are teaching kindergarten students about transgender pronouns. At (39:00) Doukas informs the community that at Mill Falls, the kindergarten children are learning about pronouns and people and families of all structures. She did not mention if that included religious families who might have a different worldview. This is being done whether you like it or not.
She mentions her support of parental rights as they apply to her family. But what about families who have a different worldview? This is where inclusiveness and diversity seem to hit a brick wall. All of the talk about inclusiveness and diversity ends when religious families or families with a different worldview mention that they don’t share her beliefs.
Doukas mentions how the bulletin board reflects one’s state of being and that it is not indoctrination. But one has to ask, where was the bulletin board that shows the state of being of the religious students who attend Mountainview Middle School? What about a bulletin board that shows the state of being for students from various cultures? Immigrant families from Africa who have moved into central New Hampshire can hold sacred religious beliefs that differ from what was presented on the bulletin board. Are their religious beliefs embraced and supported by those who preach tolerance and inclusion?
She goes on to give credit to Mountain View for being one that supports inclusion. Well, maybe for one group, but certainly not for other groups of students. Religious students were not featured. That’s not inclusive at all.
Religious students are also in the protected class, and their viewpoints should be welcome and featured too. Maybe she should have asked for real inclusion in the district and erected a bulletin board for them, too.
Goffstown School Board Meeting
Doukas never mentioned how Mill Falls provides special accommodations for their religious kindergarten students whose parents do not subscribe to the transgender pronoun phenomenon. How are they treated in Mill Falls?
This idea of inclusion and appreciation for diversity lacks attention to students in other groups. In fact, religious families are often referred to as bigots and haters because they share religious views that are different. That’s not tolerant at all.
As Representative Joe Alexander stated in the school board meeting at 13:00, there are laws that govern schools on sexual content available to children and a parent’s right to opt out of objectionable material.
No matter what Ms. Doukas would like to make available to children in public schools, they must first follow the law. If they are then going to claim inclusive status, then prove it. Don’t just make special accommodations for one group of students. These public schools are diverse and include traditional religious families, too. If you want to provide children with sexual content, there are laws that govern how that must be done.
