• About
  • ESA and School Choice FAQ
  • Stories
  • Take Action
  • Subscribe
Friday, May 9, 2025
OAK - Opportunity for All Kids
  • Login
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • ESA and School Choice FAQ
    • Staff
  • Articles
  • Charts
  • Testimonials
  • Videos & Podcasts
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • ESA and School Choice FAQ
    • Staff
  • Articles
  • Charts
  • Testimonials
  • Videos & Podcasts
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
OAK - Opportunity for All Kids
No Result
View All Result
Home Education in MN

The Divisive Values Working Their Way into a Hopkins Elementary School

Annie Holmquist by Annie Holmquist
March 6, 2024
in Education in MN, Education Philosophy, School Choice
0
The Divisive Values Working Their Way into a Hopkins Elementary School
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Should parents be forced to send their children to a school that doesn’t reflect their values?

That’s a question I recently explored in an article highlighting several pro-LGBTQ bulletin boards in a Hopkins, Minn., middle school. Some parents who send their children to North Middle School in Hopkins likely approve of those values. Others, however, do not, and as such, it seems a bit unfair to force that latter group of parents to send their children to a school promoting a values system that opposes their own, does it not?

Unfortunately, it appears this divisive ideology and values system present in the aforementioned Hopkins middle school has also trickled down to at least one of the district’s elementary schools.

A concerned parent from the Hopkins district sent me the above picture she snapped last spring in Eisenhower Elementary School. This bulletin board, she explained, was posted in the hallway from March 2023 until the end of the school year, and heavily promoted transgender ideology. A similar one is expected to appear at the school this year.

Disturbed by the values this bulletin board was promoting to her child, a student at the school, this parent approached leadership and found her concerns dismissed. The purpose of the bulletin board was not advocacy, the principal assured her, it was support. “It is very important to me that all of our students feel safe and welcome at school,” the principal said.

That’s all well and good for the students and parents who share the values promoted by the bulletin board … but what about those students and parents who don’t share or ascribe to those values? Are their values and beliefs safe and welcome at the school?

Furthermore, if the goal of such bulletin boards is not advocacy—a passing along of certain values—then how does one explain the almost cultlike mantras which grace the above bulletin board? They read:

“Trans Existence Is Power”

“Trans Health Is Power”

“Transness Is Power”

“Trans Brilliance Is Power”

“Trans Strength Is Power”

“Trans Joy Is Power”

“Trans Expression Is Power”

For the young, impressionable minds in elementary school which saw these messages on a daily basis for roughly three months last year—and will likely see something similar this year—the message which comes through is that power = trans.

Like its corresponding middle school, Eisenhower also has a special message on its statistics page on the Minnesota Department of Education website, prominently highlighting its commitment to “excellence and equity” for every student:

We are committed to excellence and equity for every student, every day. Beyond the basic skills of literacy, math, sciences, social studies, arts, Spanish language, and physical education, our caring teachers tap into the unique needs of each learner and inspire them to reach their potential.

We are a leader in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning, using Engineering is Elementary (EiE), developed by the Museum of Science in Boston. We are one of only three school districts in Minnesota to have this advanced curriculum.

Yet given Eisenhower’s academic proficiency rates in the last five years, it seems the school may be working harder to promote equity than excellence. In 2023, the same year the above bulletin board was posted, only 31.6% of Eisenhower students were proficient in reading, only 18.5% were proficient in math, and only 13% were proficient in science.

What are parents like the one who supplied the above photo supposed to do in this situation? Must they be forced to keep their children in a school that seems more focused on instilling these divisive values in their children’s minds than in teaching them the foundational basics of a good education?

Unfortunately, it’s likely that such a situation is not limited to the parents and students in the Hopkins district. Chances are, there are many more parents in districts across the state who have also snapped pictures of billboards or curriculum teaching values different than those they want to pass along to their children, yet because of financial constraints, they feel they are stuck.

Given this situation, why don’t we just let education dollars follow the student to the school of their choice? That way, individual schools could promote the values they want, using them to attract parents and students to spend their education dollars at a school whose values align with their own, whether they be in line with the “trans is power” mantra or more traditional standards of morality. Doing so may be the only way out of the values-based disagreements which increasingly threaten to rip communities apart.

—

Image courtesy of a concerned parent in the Hopkins Public School District.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Tags: Hopkins Public School Districttransgenderismvalues education
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
The Growth in School Administration Is a Major Reason Why We Need School Choice

The Growth in School Administration Is a Major Reason Why We Need School Choice

January 22, 2024
ESA and School Choice FAQ

ESA and School Choice FAQ

October 4, 2023
Parents Are Increasingly Concerned About School Violence … and This Video Explains Why

Parents Are Increasingly Concerned About School Violence … and This Video Explains Why

September 28, 2023
The Best School Districts in Minnesota … and How Each Performs Academically

The Best School Districts in Minnesota … and How Each Performs Academically

June 21, 2024

A Victory for Kids!

0

FOX9: Hope Academy in North Minneapolis: Private school lets parents decide between in-person or distance learning

0

Catholic school in North St. Paul has built up a waiting list for enrollment with families who don’t want to start the year in hybrid or distance learning

0
ESA and School Choice FAQ

ESA and School Choice FAQ

0
Nearly 3/4 of Public School Teachers Support ESAs

Nearly 3/4 of Public School Teachers Support ESAs

May 5, 2025
A Tale of Two Eras: Minnesota Math Over the Years

A Tale of Two Eras: Minnesota Math Over the Years

April 22, 2025
Homeschool Freedom and Education Savings Accounts — What Happens?

Homeschool Freedom and Education Savings Accounts — What Happens?

April 17, 2025
Education Savings Accounts: Flexibility and Innovation for Minnesota Education

Education Savings Accounts: Flexibility and Innovation for Minnesota Education

April 22, 2025
OAK - Opportunity for All Kids

© 2023
Opportunity for All Kids

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • About
  • ESA & School Choice FAQs
  • $7k for Kids
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • ESA and School Choice FAQ
    • Staff
  • Articles
  • Charts
  • Testimonials
  • Videos & Podcasts
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

© 2023
Opportunity for All Kids