Coming Out for Kids (UPDATED)

For the second time in two weeks, we have a story out of California regarding what sounds an awful lot like the promotion of homosexuality at an elementary school. This time, it’s in Hayward, on the opposite side of San Francisco Bay. According to LifeSite News:

Parents of students attending an elementary school in Hayward, California, are in a frenzy after learning the school allegedly made no effort to inform them their children were to participate in today’s homosexual “Coming Out Day” school event, reports the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), a legal firm specializing in the defense of religious freedoms and parental rights.

Parents of children at Faith Ringgold School of Art and Science were shocked to see a poster announcing the homosexual event, as they had not received any previous notification. In fact, according PJI, the school specifically decided not to inform parents ahead of time.

“Coming Out Day” is far from the first time children as young as five at Faith Ringgold have been indoctrinated with the pro-homosexual agenda.  The school is in the midst of celebrating “Ally Week” as part of “Gay and Lesbian History Month.”

When one mother asked her daughter earlier this week what she was learning in kindergarten at the school, the 5-year-old replied, “We’re learning to be allies.” The mother also learned that her daughter’s kindergarten classroom is regularly used during lunchtime for meetings of a Gay Straight Alliance club.

Faith Ringgold seems to have set the promotion of the homosexual agenda as a priority on its 2008 calendar, as several other pro-homosexual events are slated in the coming weeks.

For instance, several parents have noticed numerous posters around the school promoting talks on the family scheduled for later this week; all of the posters, however, depict only homosexual “families.”  As well, On November 20, the school will host TransAction Gender-Bender Read-Aloud, where students will hear adapted tales such as “Jane and the Beanstalk.”

Say hello to the future of education in California, and perhaps across America.

UPDATE: If you check the comments, you’ll see a raging debate that is basically about the reliability of this report. I got it from LifeSite News, which though its parent organization has a clear ideological agenda, is usually pretty reliable. What I didn’t know is that they apparently got it from World Net Daily, which I consider far less reliable. However, WND didn’t just make it up; they got their information from the source quoted in the LifeSite story, the Pacific Justice Institute. The full press release from PJI reads this:

Parents at a K-8 charter school in Hayward were shocked to learn this week the extent to which their school is promoting gay and lesbian ideals to their daughter in kindergarten.

The parents were shocked to see a poster announcing that “Coming Out Day” will be celebrated at the school this coming Thursday, October 23. The school, Faith Ringgold School of Art and Science, chose not to tell parents ahead of time, but it is in the midst of celebrating “Ally Week,” a pro-homosexual push typically aimed at high school students. When one mother asked her daughter earlier this week what she was learning in kindergarten at the school, the 5-year-old replied, “We’re learning to be allies.” The mother also learned that her daughter’s kindergarten classroom is regularly used during lunchtime for meetings of a Gay Straight Alliance club.

Later this week, the school is slated to talk about families. The parents have noticed several posters promoting families, all of which depict only homosexual families. More controversial discussions can be expected through next week, as the elementary school continues to celebrate Gay and Lesbian History Month. On November 20, the school will host TransAction Gender-Bender Read-Aloud, where students will hear adapted tales such as “Jane and the Beanstalk.”

These parents are being advised by attorneys from Pacific Justice Institute. Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, commented, “Do we need any further proof that gay activists will target children as early as possible? Opponents of traditional marriage keep telling us that Prop. 8 has nothing to do with education. In reality, they want to push the gay lifestyle on kindergartners, and we can only imagine how much worse it will be if Prop. 8 is defeated. This is not a scenario most Californians want replayed in their elementary schools.”

Any other parents whose elementary-age children have been subjected to pro-homosexual propaganda should contact Pacific Justice Institute for counsel and possible representation.

Now, I can only conclude from this that parents at the Hayward school contacted PJI because they were concerned about what was going on at their children’s school. The school, however, denies there’s a problem, according to KGO-TV in San Francisco (hat tip: Alan):

But the whole issue is a misunderstanding, according to school Principal Dana Levy.

“[Teacher Tara Miller] was going to be having a discussion with the GSA, the Gay-Straight Alliance which are 6th, 7th, 8th graders; age appropriate for middle schoolers, nothing for the younger kids,” Levy said.

National Coming Out Day is celebrated on Oct. 11 in honor of gay and lesbian rights.

One parent of a former student told ABC7 that last year, Miller showed a film depicting gay families to her kindergarteners, without first notifying parents. Levy, who is new to the school, could not confirm the parent’s story.

Miller’s Thursday’s discussion with the GSA did take place as scheduled.

That’s as far as it goes; as Kate points out in the comments, there’s more in the LifeSite story than just this, and I think those items need to be addressed or disproven. I suspect there’s going to be more information coming out (pardon the pun) before very long about this, and when I hear it, you will, too.