Author: Arlington MA LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Commission

Join us for a joyful, peaceful gathering affirming inclusivity, belonging, and community at First Parish Church on Thursday, April 13 at 6 p.m.

The challenge to the Grade 4 & 5 Human Growth & Development curriculum making it inclusive of all genders has been withdrawn. The planned School Committee hearing on Thursday, April 13 in response to the challenge has been cancelled. The Grade 4 & 5 Human Growth & Development curriculum will remain inclusive of all genders.

We are overcome by the depth and breadth of the support that has been shown for all of the transgender and gender diverse students in our community, and for the teachers, staff and administrators who develop and champion inclusive curriculum.

Please join us on Thursday April 13 at 6 p.m. on the lawn at First Parish Unitarian Universalist of Arlington, MA in Arlington Center for a joyful, peaceful gathering affirming inclusivity, belonging and community. All ages are welcome.

We have a very long way to go to ensure that LGBTQIA+ youth, and especially BIPOC LGBTQIA+ youth, are truly safe in our schools. The community connections that have been formed and strengthened over the past week will propel this work forward. It isn’t possible to list everyone who rallied to support our youth, but here are some examples:

• Nearly 300 of you pledged to attend the School Committee hearing to show support for our youth, and over 50 of you made plans to offer testimony.
• The Arlington Education Association alerted its members about the School Committee hearing and encouraged educators to attend. Numerous APS teachers and staff members planned to offer testimony in support of safe, inclusive learning environments for all students.
• Countless parents and caregivers dropped everything to ensure support of the curriculum by rallying their friends and family, and preparing testimony.
• Rainbow groups across the district helped spread the word and rally support: the APS LGBTQIA+ Leadership Task Force, the elementary school Rainbow Alliances, the middle school QSAs, the AHS GSA and the leaders of those groups who advocate for LGBTQIA+ students each and everyday.
• Over Easter weekend, First Parish of Arlington, St. John’s Episcopal Church, and Calvary United Methodist Church alerted congregants to the School Committee hearing and urged folks to support our youth.
• Leaders in town government including Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Jillian Harvey, and Chief of Police Julie Flaherty prepared to offer testimony in support of our youth.
  The Human Rights Commission submitted testimony in support of safe, inclusive learning environments.
• The Diversity Task Group of Envision Arlington mobilized their members to turn out on Thursday in support of our youth.
• Staff from the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Commonwealth’s Commission on LGBTQ Youth planned to attend the hearing in support of our youth.
• Numerous community groups including the school-based Diversity and Inclusion groups, LexPride, Arlington Fights Racism, and many, many others helped to spread the word and mobilize support.

Thank you again to every one of you who read our emails, forwarded them to family and friends, posted to social media, and helped build support for our young people. Onward!

On Thursday, April 13, 2023, the Arlington School Committee is holding a hearing on the district’s Grade 4 & 5 Human Growth & Development curriculum, which was updated throughout 2021 and 2022 in a pilot program. The pilot program included new lessons that are inclusive of all genders. The hearing is being held in response to a formal challenge to those curriculum updates.

To see the Arlington School District’s February 9, 2023 presentation to parents about the updated Grade 4 & 5 Human Growth & Development curriculum, please click here.

Below is the testimony from an Arlington parent who has given the Rainbow Commission permission to share it. Click here to read the Rainbow Commission’s testimony.

“My children are in K and 3rd grades, so the topic of the curriculum hasn’t been on my radar yet; however, I learned that the curriculum is inclusive and that inclusivity is being challenged. Now, I am feeling simultaneously happy that APS has prepared an inclusive education but also worried that this education won’t be available for my son next year when he is in 4th grade (I can’t even think about it not being available to my daughter, currently in K, because I refuse to believe inclusivity would still be challenged when she is in 4th grade).

“APS offering curriculum that represents its student body, its students’ families, and our community is critical to developing children who will be inclusive, who will be curious, who will act as allies, who will defend marginalized or bullied people, who will understand the importance of acknowledging and knowing others’ stories, who will be respectful, and more. I don’t think that anyone could argue with any of those points, but the key point so that we can’t pick and choose the representations — it is race, it is religion, it is family make-up, and it is gender diversity.

“Arlington students, family members, and community members are not just cisgender, and excluding gender diversity from the curriculum excludes transgender and non-binary students, relatives, neighbors, etc. from being recognized as equally valuable. I won’t speculate on why this is being challenged, but I can say with certainty that it is very possible, and highly valuable, to present gender issues to children in an age-appropriate way. I’ve had the conversation about gender (describing and discussing cis, trans, and non-binary), at different depths, with both of my children already. And honestly, it was beautiful to see the acceptance that children have — there were some questions, but at the end of the conversations they just said “people should be able to be who they are”. I want this acceptance for all children in Arlington, so that in many years when we send our kids to college and then out into the ‘real world’, they are good people who want a better world for all.”

On Thursday, April 13, the Arlington School Committee will hold a hearing on the district’s Grade 4 & 5 Human Growth & Development curriculum in response to a formal complaint by an Arlington parent objecting to the fact that the curriculum is inclusive of transgender and gender diverse youth.

PLEASE JOIN US in attending that meeting to express support for the updated curriculum, which brings Arlington’s health and wellness curriculum in line with recommended national standards.

On Thursday, April 13, 2023, the Arlington School Committee will hold a hearing in response to a formal complaint about the district’s Grade 4 & 5 Human Growth & Development curriculum that has been filed by an Arlington resident. The resident objects to the fact that the curriculum is gender inclusive.

To see the Arlington School District’s February 9, 2023 presentation to parents about the updated Grade 4 & 5 Human Growth & Development curriculum, please click here.

Below is the testimony that the Rainbow Commission submitted to the School Committee in support of the Grade 4 & 5 Human Growth & Development curriculum.

Dear School Committee Chair Kirsi Allison-Ampe and Committee members Liz Exton, Laura Gitelson, Len Kardon, Jane Morgan, Paul Schlichtman, and Jeff Thielman: 

Thank you for your on-going support of LGBTQIA+ students and families, caregivers, faculty, staff, and administrators. Your appointment of a liaison to the LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Commission led directly to the creation of the district’s LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Leadership Task Force. Over the past two years, the Task Force has advanced important equity initiatives to ensure Arlington schools continue to create safe, inclusive learning environments for LGBTQIA+ students.