A New York City elementary school has drawn attention after its gender identity curriculum for kindergarteners was shared on social media.
Hillside Elementary School, part of the Hastings-on-Hudson Unified School District, has been teaching “gender curriculum” as part of its effort to promote “inclusion,” according to a Fox News report. The outlet reviewed the course materials, which include showing photos of children to “introduce vocabulary to describe characters of different identities,” including terms like “cisgender, transgender, and non-binary.”
“Our gender curriculum focuses on Hillside’s core value of respect and aims to center discussions on gender identity. The students will learn and discuss that there is a lot you can’t tell about a person by simply looking at them,” read the course description.
“The students will look at pictures of children and talk about what they notice and what they think they know about the children just from the pictures. Using their observations, we will then take the opportunity to introduce vocabulary to describe characters of different identities,” the school added.
The elementary school children discuss “gender and the pronouns that you use” and that “as we learn and grow, the words we use to describe our gender identity can grow too.” The school district’s communications team told Fox News that the lessons, which have been in place for years, reflect “Hillside’s core values of respect and fostering dignity for all students.”
“One 30-minute gender lesson is taught in each class one time per year. The classes are led by a certified educator, following a specific set of lessons designed to help students value the full diversity of their classmates,” said Superintendent William S. McKersie in a message sent to parents and faculty. “The lessons have been created in alignment with the NYS Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework.”
While the district usually posts courses publicly online, the gender lesson description was removed from its website after going viral. The X account LibsofTikTok shared the message sent to parents in a post that sparked millions of views and outrage about the lessons being taught to young children.
