In March of 2021 many Grand Haven Area Public School children ages 5-9 were encouraged to read the electronic book provided to them by their teachers, Call Me Max by Kyle Lukoff which features a transgender main character. Be sure to read previous articles on this topic if you haven’t already.
At least two of the elementary school principals created form letters in response to Call Me Max concerns that could be sent to any parent who asked questions. Andrew Smith from Mary A White doubled down and pushed the transgender agenda, while Kevin Blanding from Rosy Mound tried to calm parents by apologizing and explaining district policy. He was not interested in discussing the reason the books were chosen in the first place, but rather interested in preserving the image of the school district. Unfortunately, both neglected to truly address parent concerns with district representatives.
Andrew Smith from Mary A White talked about marginalized (color, ethnicity, gender and socio-economic status) populations and dominant culture, and then suggested parents who questioned decisions wanted to censor books. He neglected to address the true parent concerns of AGE APPROPRIATENESS and PARENTAL NOTIFICATION. He also suggested it is a parent’s responsibility to preview all materials presented to their children by the school.
He neglected to recognize that parents trust schools to protect their children. After all Michigan Law Section 380.11a General Powers of School District (3b) states schools have a duty of “Providing for the safety and welfare of pupils while at school or a school sponsored activity or while en route to or from school or a school sponsored activity.”
He told parents this book was optional for their student. He did not address the harm it caused children. Again, he neglected to address the concern that this book was offered to students without parental knowledge and expected students (age 5 to 9 years old) to make the decision not to read the book.
Then, in the final paragraph Andrew Smith attempted to belittle parents who did notice this book was available to their child and choose not to share this book with their child by suggesting they have “privilege”. Here is Andrew Smith’s form letter.
Kevin Blanding, the principal from Rosy Mound took a different approach. Thankfully his form letter did not push the transgender political agenda onto parents or students. Unfortunately, he did make the mistake of lying. Perhaps he did this because he was so stunned that the district would approve such a book be offered to students without parental consent? Regardless, in an attempt to calm parents and save the image of the school district he laid the blame on teachers. He sent letters to parents on March 12, 2021 stating their children’s teachers forwarded the book list to students before receiving direction from the district, when in actuality the book list was sent to the teachers from the district by Mary Jane Evink on March 1, 2021. In addition, Kevin Blanding noted the “standard practice” of the district regarding books with “sensitive topics” was to notify parents. Kevin Blanding knew the policy, why didn’t the Director of Instructional Services follow the policy?
Here is the email from the Director of Educational Services sent on March 1, 2022 to elementary school teachers young 5’s to 4th Grade. Because this email was sent from the district to the teachers, approval of the book Call Me Max from the district is implied.
Once Kevin Blanding realized a book about transgender had been read to students in his school he became concerned. He then confirmed that the book had indeed been approved by the district and notified teachers of the potential issue. Unfortunately, the majority of the damage had already been done. Mr. Blanding understood his duty to protect children in accordance with Michigan Law and he understood district policy on controversial issues.
Finally, in an attempt to preserve the image of the district while calming parents and addressing their concerns he wrote the following form letter response to parents.
The only question I have regarding Kevin Blanding’s response is why did he protect the district interests over the interests of his teachers? Perhaps this is because he has seen the power that has been exercised by those who have dared to challenge district leadership and he simply wanted to keep the peace and his job. Do you know who Ben Rogers is?