When a particularly offensive and sexually graphic book lands on the shelf of an Alaska school library, or is included in a district’s collection, outraged parents understandably ask, “Who’s responsible?”
In most cases, it is extremely difficult to pin down. With a litany of subcommittees, advisory groups, controversial committee boards and scores of school librarians and educators, it’s hard to identify exactly who is working to get these books into children’s hands.
On rare occasion, however, either through anonymous whistleblowers or Freedom of Information requests, we catch a glimpse into the inner workings of how these books are embedded into our schools.
Over the last few months, Anchorage political activist Jay McDonald has been reading – during school board meetings – some of the most sexually graphic books that circulate through the school district.
These meetings have stirred considerable media reports, including national coverage. They have also sparked some hand wringing and agitation among hard-leftist educators who desperately want impressionable children to access books that encourage to explore anal and oral sex, masturbation, cross-sex surgery and the creation of pornographic text messages. All of that and more is covered in several books, which the Anchorage School District allows in its school libraries.
It turns out that principals, teachers and librarians are now worried that McDonald’s highlighting of these books, might stir up community opposition.
How do we know this? McDonald used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain emails from district employees discussing these books.
He uncovered several revealing exchanges between educators that exposes an educational culture which has fully embraced the idea of exposing impressionable students to highly graphic accounts and images of various sexual fetishes and practices, as well as how to engage in them.
This past October, McDonald read from “This Book is Gay,” which was available in several school libraries. It contains numerous references to anal sex and claims that everyone has fantasized about having sex with both men and women. Other passages talk about how to give or receive pleasurable blow jobs and hand jobs.
A few days after McDonald read some of these passages at the Oct. 18 school board meeting, several local school librarians, teachers and principals began sending emails about the book. Some of these exchanges were about how they could defend the book from parents and others who might raise objections.
In an Oct. 27 email from Bartlett Librarian Becky Forsyth to Bartlett Principal Sean Prince, Forsyth references McDonald’s school board testimony regarding “This Book is Gay.”
“Not long ago, we had two copies, but one walked off,” Forsyth wrote. “This frequently happens with books appealing to the LGBTQIA+ community for one of two reasons: someone wants it and takes it to keep, or someone doesn’t want it circulated.”
She then coached Bartlett educators in ways to combat any “parents or other community members” who may be angered over the fact that Bartlett provides this book for youth.
“It is shocking to hear out loud,” she admitted. “At this point, I feel it should stay in the library considering we are a 9-12 grade school. It has positive reviews in School Library and Journal and Booklist. They both recommend it for ages 8th to 12th grade. It is filled with factual information, including talking points for how to challenge homophobic language and come out to family and friend.”
She also pointed out the fact that the book instructs kids on how to access professional cross-sex hormone therapy.
“Furthermore the book is written by a transgender woman who is on the other side of this difficult journey that many students are just beginning,” Forsyth added.
She then made the argument that the book should remain available to students because the school has “at least one other book about heterosexual sex, and other books on the reproductive system and anatomy.”
Forsyth claimed that the school needed to “have balance if we are going to have books featuring relationships, dating and sex,” and noted that Bartlett already has “numerous fiction books describing sexual acts, both heterosexual and gay.”
“Where would we draw the line on how explicit the books should be or not be?” she asked. “Who is expected to take the time to read each book and find out?”
Forsyth then asserted that teens have a “free speech” rights to access graphic gay sex books. For those who question this wisdom, she said the book contains a “warning … in case younger readers (or anyone else) wants to skip it.”
She proceeded to argue that the school board should reconsider allowing a parent to even read from school library books because it subjects people to “listening to someone engendering controversy.”
Forsyth noted that kids are “never forced to read a book in the library,” but that the school’s collection should “reflect the community we serve,” by providing transgender and gay sex books.
“If you are asked about the books in our library, you are welcome to share this message as you see fit,” Forsyth advised.
Later that day, Bartlett Principal Sean Prince responded to Forsyth’s email.
“Thank you for the email, Becky. I did hear the ‘testimony’ and want you to know our admin team discussed it,” Prince wrote. “I am still standing firm and resolute to never be party to banning books, burning books or limiting the information that informs our society writ large. I will always stand by to defend the flag and people’s right to also burn that same flag in protest. I believe that the defense of those rights and the education of our citizenry is true patriotism.”
Three days after McDonald’s testimony, Polaris Principal Carol Bartholomew emailed the school’s librarian Rachel Gregory to find out how many times “This Book is Gay” has been checked out by students in the K-12 grade school.
Gregory began by defending the book as being “award winning” with high marks from the American Library Association. She said it was first purchased for Polaris students in November of 2020.
“It was brought to our attention that our LGBTYQ section was lacking – we looked to expand it,” Gregory explained, adding that “This Book is Gay” was not intended for elementary age kids.
She said the book was checked out in Dec. of 2021 and lost, but that students could still access it through the Loussac Library. “A hard copy might only be in 3-4 schools, but students can get ahold of this text,” Gregory said.
She added that she was “professionally advised that this text – due to reviews, subject matter, population and information – makes sense in a young adult collection – and is a thoughtful choice – provided in our K-12 library it is not accessible to elementary readers.”
Gregory finished her email by noting that she was in the process of reading the book.
“It is graphic and blunt in a cartoony, keep it light way – but there is a tremendous amount of good information for a lost student in this situation – no one to talk to or ask questions of,” she said. “This is a book of information for the LGBTQ community. The reading level is 14+ and the author constantly discussing safety, safety, safety. He touches on STDs, condoms – gay terms, graphic pictures (in cartoon image) but nowhere does he encourage unsafe behavior (this will be argued, I am sure).”
Gregory worried that the book might be banned due to objections over its content.
“I fear it will be pulled off the shelves in our ASD libraries,” she said.
In her last sentence, she compared the gay sex book to the Holy Bible, saying the Bible refers to sodomy and sexual behavior several times and that banning a book would create a “slippery slope.”
Another email from West/Romig Librarian Staci Cox shows that she wanted to include the book in a bulk purchasing order from Barns and Noble in September of 2022.
Finally, an email exchange between Steller Secondary Library Assistant Bonnie DeArmoun and Stellar Secondary English Language Arts Teacher Ashley Van Hemert shows that DeArmoun wanted to buy a whole host of controversial books featuring gay sex and relationships for a new “censorship” class she was planning.
These are some of the books that she said looked “like a good fit for our readers.”
— “All Boys Aren’t Blue” – Describes graphic anal sex acts.
— “Lawn Boy” (by Jonathan Evison) – Describes 10-year-old boys engaged in oral sex at a church youth group meeting.
— “Beyond Magenta” – Includes accounts of six-year-olds kissing older guys, making out with them and performing sex acts.
— “This Book is Gay” – Includes graphic descriptions and instruction on a who host of gay sex acts, fetishes and the creation of sexting porn.
Librarian DeArmoun said she was interested in buying some of these books for the school, especially “Beyond Magenta.”
She then told Van Hemert to let her know if she had any recommendations of which books she should purchase.
“When do you teach this class?” DeArmoun wrote. “If I act fast you could use them.”
TAKING ACTION
— Contact Bartlett High School Principal Sean Prince at Prince_Sean@asdk12.org
— Contact Bartlett High Librarian Becky Forsyth at forsyth_becky@asdk12.org
— Contact Polaris Principal Carol Bartholomew at Bartholomew_Carol@asdk12.org
— Contact Polaris Librarian Rachel Gregory at gregory_rachel@asdk12.org
— Contact West High/Romig Middle School Librarian Staci Cox at cox_staci@asdk12.org
— Contact Steller Secondary Library Assistant Bonnie DeArmoun at dearmoun_bonnie@asdk12.org
— Contact Stellar English teacher Ashley Van Hemert at vanhemert_ashley@asdk12.org
— Click here to contact the Anchorage School Board https://www.asdk12.org/Page/1442
— Click here to contact Anchorage Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt
51 Comments
They believe that graphic gay sex books need equal time with anatomy books. Did someone drop these folks on their heads?
In the Leftist/Marxist colleges there is no right and no wrong. This leads to selfishness in our citizens and they grow up learning to be selfish and having no moral compass. In our search engine we found “Moral Foundations Theory” In Steve Turley’s podcast he referred to this theory and the reasoning behind American Family Values. President FDR said that “we need to protect Christian Civilization” in one of his speeches.
In Fairbanks in 1990 we experienced the first attack by the union putting in scary occult themed elementary readers into the government schools. The educators had written a “defense kit” with talking points of how to handle the parents by calling us “book banners” in this war between educators and parents. Who decides what our children learn and how do we “train up our child in the way they should go.”
Steve Turley referenced Yuri Bezmenov who worked in the KGB in Russia specializing in propaganda.. Bezmenov defected through India to Canada. He was sorry for what he had done, and wrote a book under the pen name of “A Love Letter to America.” He described a 4 step process Communists/Marxists use to attack the moral foundation of America. The first step is destabilization. This treachery against America, began before we were born. Type in Bezmenov or Den Abramowitz, and learn the steps as to how this works. Oral and anal sex are principal experiences in sodomizing the children. The Communism is in China, Russia, and other dictatorships use the same steps in brainwashing and subverting America. The brainwashers call us “useful idiots.” The training in the teachers colleges such as I attended in the late 60s and early 70s attacked our Constitution, individual rights, limited constitutional government, free enterprise, patriotism, and in addition were “dumbing down” the children and burying our true history.
The pushback from this gentleman and up here former school board Member Matthew Sampson is the right response. We either pushback or get taken over. In Fairbanks we needed to recall some of the board members but lacked the energy to both homeschool our children and take on school boards. Keep up the pressure and embarassment!
Excellent comment! Thank you.
Thanks, Ruth.
Thanks, Ruth.
Well said, Ruth!!
People need to share these articles on social media to get the information out there!
Hey FoH !
Citizenkane
February 25, 2023 at 12:30 am
Now if we can just find out where these good folks live we could really let them know how we feel about them. Good for the goose and gander. Right?
What do you call that ? Good thing that the FBI is monitoring this website
Citizen Blaine, don’t be an idiot trying to start things. This is not a case of what is good for the goose is good for the gander. People need to share this information so that others can learn and decide if they want their children being groomed or not.
Anal sex in the Bible? Looking under every rock for what your depraved heart longs for is evidence that you need to repent and be redeemed
I think it is a big mistake to name specific school principals and librarians. The problem is systemic, it is much bigger than a specific teacher, librarian, principal, etc and the school board is leading the effort. Naming lower level employees detracts from the larger problem. Aside from that, I don’t want specific lower level employees at ASD to feel like they are being targeted or threatened.
In the copies of these emails I released to the public I blacked out identifying information for these reasons. In the copies I released to journalists directly I did not redact anything so that the documents could be verified to be truthful.
Oops, cat’s out of the bag now, eh, Jay ?
With rights, come responsibilities, bud.
Jay,
You are correct that this is a systemic problem, meaning it reaches into all levels of the school district. In fact, the school board, in and of itself, cannot address this problem without highlighting the fact that teachers, librarians, principals and members of the administration are on board with these books. The people who make these decisions, at every level, need to be known. They are agents of our government and as such have an obligation to do their work in the full light of day. If shining a light on their work is uncomfortable for them, then so be it – they work for us. On a related note, many, many times those who work in the lower levels of government stake out little “kingdoms” where they tweak curriculum, order books, develop programs and significantly influence the climate of our schools. Often times, their work goes unnoticed by the public. That needs to change. If we would celebrate a teacher or librarian for developing an innovative program or revamping the collection, then we must also reveal when they are abusing their positions. On a final note, there is a great amount of accountability that comes from parents whose children attend these schools. In fact, this is often the most effective – parents bringing their questions and concerns directly to those who made the lower level decisions. Parents cannot have these discussions if they never know who the movers and shakers are.
Thank you Joel. Your statement reflects my response and more! I feel that we cannot address the big picture without bringing all the pieces together to get an overall view and how each piece fits into the overall view. Additionally, every parent has the right to know what is happening at their children’s school and which faculty cannot be trusted to protect the children.
It’s a modern day witch-hunt
Mary Dyer, really? That is what you would call this? Why would you say this?
Amen!! Thank you, Joel!
Oh, but Kathy. They have the audacity to compare them to the Holy Bible.
Now, as a retired educator in the MatSu, I have recently perused the names of people pushing far left agendas and found a staggering number of retiredi local educators. Needless to say, I was shocked. So, this agenda goes,back many, many years.
Yes, the agenda does go way back, it was just more restrained. These days, as they opened their own version of the Overton Window, they can throw out whatever they want and call anybody who doesn’t agree with them a “bigot’. But the Overton Window works both ways, and we’ve already been called every disparaging name in the book, so most of us no longer care. After all, what is their opinion worth anyway? Keep the pressure on and don’t cower before them. Even better, make sure your children and grandchildren are not being socialized in the sick world of public schools. The public schools may be taken back if starved on the vine by people educating their children alternatively and perhaps by some kind of tax rebellion.
Correct Steve starving the system is effective! I feel like dunleavy is playing a couple of characters on the wizard of oz. 1) the lion “if only I had courage “
2) the scarecrow “ if only I had a brain “! This governor could and should turn off the spigot of money going towards killing the foundational norms and morals our children need to survive! But will he??
My kid got into Polaris a few years ago. They have so much eastern esoteric religious and satanic occult art on the walls inside that school, that it took me only two weeks to figure out what was going on in there…. Out I pulled him, and the departing discussion w Mrs. Bartholdi we didn’t go well, either. Clearly she has deep disdain for Catholics and traditional Christians. I’m glad it was so obvious. She didn’t get a chance to ruin my kids.
Okay, who did the spell checker change “Bartholomew” to Bartholdi? I wrote BARTHOLOMEW.
I know of a parent that worked at Polaris and the grandkids all went to Polaris because “it was the best school.” I guess that this explains their evil attitude that they had against certain people. How sad.
Okay, school board, at what age do you think it is appropriate for you to teach my son to commit sodomy? Please answer. I’ll wait. Until hell freezes over.
Now if we can just find out where these good folks live we could really let them know how we feel about them. Good for the goose and gander. Right?
Threatening people is not the answer.
Those that seek the ruination and destruction of traditional judeo/Christian values need to be exposed. If any adult tried to indoctrinate our children with this deviant perverted information, outside of a school building- they would be brought up on charges.
thank you for your bravery in publishing the Truth. That is the Left’s greatest enemy – the Truth.
Seriously? What a punk
Are you defending the groomers at the Schools harming the children
For evil to persist, good people do nothing. The sacrifice of innocence, pornography that is being exposed to children especially in public schools is evil
thank you for this, I believe if folks make policy that affects the public and especially children then we need to know how each individual voted. Gone are the days of being obscure.
The Bible speaks of homosexuality and sodomy in the context of how God views these deviant acts that defy nature, not in the context of being a “how to” manual complete with cartoon images, therefore, no comparison. The United States was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs with the Bible as the guidebook for acceptable and unacceptable. To deny or defy these standards is both Satanic and demonic.
Correction Ken Abramowitz Continuing on, the results of the Fairbanks book controversy was our using a process to return the books. A Christian contract attorney volunteered his time to find out where the contract said the books could be returned and reimbursed. Alaska Legal Council removed our attorney’s ability to practice law in this state. The district did not return the books due to some problems with money changing hands “under the table.” Parents pulled their children out of the government schools and homeschooled or used Christian Schools. 700 children were withdrawn which was the equivalent of 2 elementary schools. Our story was published by a writer Jill Carlson along with 7 other schools around the U.S.A. that were used as guinea pigs for the occult Impressions required readers. We had pushed back. The benefit to our family was that we used Christian curriculum and realized the government schools were using books that left out important details about our great country. We would not have known that had this curriculum had not been introduced. The Lord used something bad to turn us around from a secular mindset to a Christian worldview. Our grown kids are solid Christians and are passing Christian values on to their children. We will eamail every one of these educators and let us know that their ground rules are inappropriate. They are not paid by the state to undermine parents and teach the children against the Christian traditional values model. It is inappropriate for government schools to change the children’s worldview according to leftism/Marxism ideology and against God.
Amen Ruth! I sure wish that we could get all parents to pull the kids out of public school and do home school or private school. That would flatten the need for public schools.
Most private schools, including Christian schools are also teaching children Communist/Marxist ideology. If public money is accepted in any form, vouchers included, you can be sure Leftist ideology is being imposed upon the students.
Nicole, pretty sure that you would find that not all educational systems support the evil narrative. Government funding is not needed if there are enough people interested in supporting a non-evil, non-government school. People should research the school and its curriculum.
PLEASE do email them, but that is not enough. There needs to be legal consequences.
Here is a good testimony from a mother whose child went along to get along at school and was led down a dark road. God, please bless Sage and help her heal. God bless the mother for speaking out and for being there for Sage through it all.
https://dailycaller.com/2023/01/31/mother-tearful-transgender-daughter-sex-trafficking-court-intervened-sages-law/
Here’s another video of a 6th grade boy reading a page out of a school library book. Unbelievable!
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/02/brave-boy-reads-pornographic-book-out-loud-to-school-board-members-that-he-checked-out-of-his-middle-school-library-video/
This is what child abuse looks like
In 2019, Alaska’s rate of sexual assault was four times the national average. In 2020, Alaska saw the highest rape rate in the nation. In 2023, Alaska ranks top of the list for STDs in the nation.
According to the CDC, teenagers account for 51% of all reported sexual abuse. Teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 are 3.5 times more likely than the general public to be victims of sexual abuse.
Simultaneously….
The Alaska System of Academic Readiness reported in 2022 that 70% of 3rd-9th graders were not proficient in English and 77% were not proficient in math.
Perhaps….
A little less sexualization of Alaska’s kids and a little more emphasis on reading, writing, and arithmetic in the classroom would be a good thing.
People protested outside of Supreme Court justices homes and no one was arrested even though there is a federal statute forbidding it. So Blaine, Witch, FoH, do you think these child molesting groomers have protection under those same statutes? No they do not, furthermore, it is not a crime to pay a neighbor a visit, nor is a “threat” to suggest others do so. Remember Maxine Watters? So settle down little drama queens, no one is suggesting violence except for the leftwards.
Drama queen? Lol Citizenkane, everyone breaking the laws or hurting other humans physically or mentally are going to get their behavior addressed in due time; whether by man’s “legal system” or by our Heavenly Father’s day of judgement.
yes, and it is FEDERAL, that means ILLEGAL NATION WIDE and is MANDATORY 10 YEAR MINIMUM in prison for any form of GROOMING ANYONE UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE
18 USC Section 2422 mandatory minimum 10 years to life no possibility of early parole
Just how exactly is advocating a visit to a neighbors house a threat? Maxine waters advocated harassing people she did not like , pro baby murder supporters harassed Supreme Court justices at their homes and none of them were arrested, even though they were in in violation of federal statutes. So just settle down snowflakes. I say DOX them! I say tell them in terms that will leave no doubt in their filthy evil minds how we view them. And I say SCREW the FBI slime.
perhaps this, through the diligence of the Watchman, will show Alaska that ALL our systems are permeated with a layer of citizenry indoctrinated so fluently, that we are ON that slippery slope of Communism and Facism ideaology. Make sure you have a vintage dictionary (read unrevised by Progressive rule) before looking up any important words.
If you as a parent have children in the public school system , then you are to blame.
Take your kids out of the child abuse system
obama and the democrats “fundamental change” thingy on full display.
Push back hard. If you have been pushing back hard, push back harder. This stuff has got to come to an end.
Gov Dunleavy is such a strong leader and champion, I am sure he is doing everything in his power to bring this to light and fight for our children… oh wait… silly me… he is as feckless as he is giant in physical stature.
Everyone of those people who directly impact access to these books should be arrested by the Troopers and charged… yes, it is that simple and reasonable.
Dunleavy should be so ashamed of himself.