Last week, Awake IL received information regarding a "secret lunch club" coordinated by a 5th grade teacher in Oregon, IL school district (CUSD 220).
Elementary school parents were alerted to this flyer/coloring page which was traced to a secret LGBTQ lunch group coordinated by 5th grade teacher Ms. Elizabeth Garncarz. As early as October 2022, these secret lunch meetings were held in her classroom and grew to 40 students in the 5th/6th grades. School district administrators intervened to halt these lunch meetings after parents voiced their concerns. No parents/guardians were notified nor was permission granted for their children to attend segregated lunch meetings.
Ms. Elizabeth Garncarz, referred to these secret lunch meetings as a "safe space" in her February 8, 2023 email communication with school staff. According to Garncarz' email:
"[The lunch meetings] started as a place for students who feel like they are not accepted and want to find a group who supports them. These are students who are questioning their identity as gender or orientation."
Later that afternoon, Oregon School District Superintendent Thomas Mahoney sent an update to the District 220 Board of Education:
"[School administrators] explained to Mrs. Garncarz that while we support all of out students, it would be inappropriate for the school creating an LBGTQ+ group. The students can seek to create groups but teachers cannot impromptu create groups."
We respect the Oregon School District 220 administrators for intervening and we encourage all stakeholders in the district to adopt improved measures of transparency and staff conduct-see below.
After sharing this story via our Twitter account, it went viral. However, the anti-child, anti-parent bullies reported the tweet and Twitter censored it. They cannot censor our blog.
The fulfilled Freedom of Information Act* documents are available to download below containing timeline of events, parent concerns, and staff acknowledgement of the incidents.
FULFILLED FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT DOCUMENTS:
Awake Illinois supports the fundamental rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children. Awake Illinois also believes any adult who is promoting secrets between themselves and minors is grooming a child. This is a violation of parental rights and in a school environment, is harming and eroding the trust between parents and school staff.
The following resources are available to any parent who is defending their children against indoctrination, grooming, and/or any interaction that may violate your expectations:
A involved parent is the ultimate barrier between children and any person or agenda seeking to harm.
See "Groomer Schools" by Dr. James Lindsay:
Transparency is area for improvement that ought to be openly addressed by school district boards of education, administrators, and staff. We encourage all school districts to develop a mission statement focused on parental rights, student privacy, and ethical standards of student engagement. Awake Illinois is prepared to be a resource to any district when developing a mission statement. Contact us for assistance. Onward for kids and community!
*The Freedom of Information Act Request was submitted by Aaron Mudge, an Oregon, IL resident and candidate for CUSD220 Board of Education.