A proposed Brooklyn charter school dedicated to focusing on gender ideology and LGBTQ issues is stirring quite a controversy in the community.
Dubbed the Miss Major Middle School, the proposition has met with criticism from those concerned about the use of educational institutions to indoctrinate children into progressive ideology.
However, those supporting the idea argue that it will create a space in which LGBTQ students can feel safe, included, and accepted. The school, which is named after trans activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, aims to encourage students to “explore their gender” and focuses on other LGBTQ themes.
A proposed “trans” and “queer” issues Brooklyn charter school — which promises to let kids as young as nine “explore their gender” identity — is causing outrage from critics who are blasting it for “indoctrinating” children.
The Miss Major Middle charter school in the trendy Prospect Park area of District 13, says it would create a “genderful environment” for kids in grades 5 through 9 to “embrace their own identity, and decide how they will authentically walk, through the world.”
But the plan to instruct elementary and middle school-aged kids about such sensitive issues is leaving some parents and activists terrified.
“It’s horrifying. No charter school that’s aimed at gender ideology indoctrination should ever be approved for children this young,” said Maud Maron, a parents rights activist and community education council member in NYC. “In the most charitable light, there might be people who think they’re doing good. But this is a situation in which activists want to use and abuse children to promote their ideology.”
Maron, a former Democratic candidate for a Brooklyn congressional seat, claimed the school “rewards and encourages gender dysphoria,” adding that indoctrination leads to “physical harm – to puberty blockers and surgeries, which are irreversibly damaging to children’s bodies.”
Joji Florence, co-founder of the school, wrote an op-ed in which he explained the purpose behind the school.
The pandemic and social media have changed their realities in painful and pressing ways. Many kids are grieving, confronting new addictions, and feeling extremely anxious about the future.
On the flip side, though, I’ve seen a growing number of students find creative and joyful ways of being open and out about their gender. More of our children want to explore, learn about, challenge, change, or move inside and outside the bounds of masculinity and femininity. Many kids seem to get that with increased access to an evolving gender spectrum, more people can experience more joy. In the trans community, I’ve heard this idea described as “genderful.”
That is exactly the concept that propels Miss Major Middle, a proposed public charter school that I hope to open in the fall of 2025. Located in Community School District 13 in Brooklyn, our team envisions a genderful middle school where students are agents of justice, where their identities are affirmed, their voices are heard, and their humanity is celebrated.
Florence further explains that “What will make our school unique is our commitment to centering genderful students and teachers, and creating a safer space to learn and grow.” He asserts that the school “will also demonstrate the appeal of an inclusive, progressive educational environment for students who do not identify as LGBTQ+.”
What will that look like? At Miss Major Middle, our curriculum will have a STEAAM focus — that’s the traditional science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, but we add to the mix an extra “a” for activism; our students will learn about (and how to become) changemakers. Our science curriculum will teach Gender Inclusive Biology, which focuses on how diverse organisms evolve and thrive, and our arts offerings will prioritize self-development and social-emotional well-being.
However, opponents contend that such a fixation on gender ideology will prematurely influence children’s understanding of their own identities. Colin Wright, a Manhattan Institute fellow, said that to parents who are unaware of the effort to indoctrinate children, “it looks so progressive and fantastic,” and they would likely “think the school is about just being yourself,” but explained that “it’s absolutely not what’s happening.”
This is the crux of the matter.
This school is not about inclusivity or accepting those who are different; it is intended to be yet another way for progressives to indoctrinate children into leftist gender ideology. As Wright indicated, many parents are not privy to what has been happening in schools nationwide.
Progressives are using the school system to foist gender ideology on young children – and have even been trying to persuade kids that they are born into the wrong bodies. Even worse, many of these schools actively help kids suffering from gender dysphoria to “transition” to the opposite sex.
This school will be no different. Hopefully, the residents of the community don’t fall for it.
