Students at Scottsdale’s Chaparral High School are voicing their objections to the district’s unwavering commitment to radical gender ideology.
Using Let’s Talk, the district’s communication platform, a senior student submitted an anonymous message for Superintendent Scott Menzel.
“A majority of my teachers have asked me what ‘pronouns I prefer’ or ‘what name I would like to be called’,” said the teen. “Can you ask our teachers to stop doing this?”
The student indicated that Chaparral High School seniors have conducted their own research and determined that only on 2-4% of students are “gender identity issue kids.” Based on these low numbers, the teen questioned why the district forced processes on the entire student body.
“A.R.S. 15-117 prohibits school districts from inquiring and surveying ‘regarding sexual behaviors or attitudes.’ SUSD’s woke agenda is employing language acrobatics to circumvent statutes and deceive and cross legal bounds,” said Shiry Sapir, founder of WinLocaLPAC, former candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction, and current Second Vice Chairman, AZGOP.
Several SUSD documents have been discovered by parents that confirm that Scottsdale Unified teachers are not only surveying kids about their imaginary gender, but also asking if they should hide the information from parents.
Below: Pronoun survey given to Chaparral High School students.
In December 2023, Menzel admitted publicly that he does not require SUSD staff to inform parents if their child changes pronouns to socially transition at school:
PARENTS: Superintendent Menzel confirms that @ScottsdaleUSD staff are NOT required to tell YOU if your child changes their gender at school.
A.R.S 1-602 states: parents have a right to make health care decisions for their child. — Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity (@ScottsdaleUnite) December 21, 2023.
“The constant drumbeat of teachers asking kids their pronouns is not only inappropriate; it is manipulative and utilizes the power of suggestion. No child goes off to the first day of school thinking, ‘I wonder what pronouns I should pick…’ unless someone or something has planted the thought in their mind,” said Tamra Farah, Director, SMART Families Network, an affiliate of Arizona Women of Action.
According to Adrienne Johnson, Director of Arizona Women of Action’s SMART School Boards, “The use of pronouns is one of the first steps a student might take if they’re struggling with gender dysphoria. Changing pronouns is a part of social transitioning and often sets the child up for a path that is hard to reverse due to pressures within the trans community and identity struggles.”
“Following social transitioning is often puberty blockers and hormones then surgeries therefore school staff should not hide a change in pronouns, and it must be shared with the child’s family,” warned Johnson.
While many SUSD staff support the gender propaganda being pushed onto students under Menzel’s leadership, one SUSD teacher stood up for students and leaked information about the inappropriate use of a storage closet at Mohave Middle School. The closet had been decorated by staff with trans, lesbian and pride flags and secretly used for lunch detentions, student club meetings and counseling sessions. The Mohave storage closet also included large, hand-written posters that reminded students of “confidentiality,” to “stay focused and on track, unless the teacher says” and “what is said in here stays in here.” Menzel publicly defended the school’s use of the Mohave storage-closet-turned-sexuality-safe-space during a ‘Q&A with the Superintendent’ session at the Scottsdale Parent Council’s December 20, 2023, meeting.
Below: Scottsdale Unified’s Mohave Middle School staff decorated a storage closet with lesbian, trans and pride flags and confidentiality messages and used the space for lunch detention, student meeting rooms and PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention Support) counseling sessions.
There’s a “room at Mohave, with posters from students, student groups, there’s an anxiety group, a girl’s group that meets in that room. That is not a classroom with a teacher instructing kids to hide things from parents. We’ve talked with the principal; we know what the room is for. It was a repurposed storage room,” said Scottsdale Superintendent Menzel.
“… that space has been used for a lot of different things … it’s used for lunch detentions, it’s used for positive behavioral support [with school counselors], it’s used for some of these groups … and I don’t know who took the picture, but it’s designed to tell a story that’s not the actual story of what’s happening in the room,” continued Menzel.
Yet, after Menzel declared that the sexuality closet’s use was justified, the district removed the pride flags from the Mohave Middle School storage/meeting room.
“Parents regularly encourage their kids to listen to their teacher, so teachers are likely the second most trusted adult in a child’s life. So, when a teacher asks a child about their pronouns, it pressures them to answer the question and to likely answer it under the influence of peer pressure. It is not the job of teachers or schools to ask children about their pronouns or to provide any guidance or information regarding their sex or sexuality. Those conversations belong around the family dinner table, not in front of the chalkboard at school,” said Farah.
“Parents and even students are discerning enough to recognize this pronoun madness is irrelevant for most children (as it should be), and they should not be required to partake in it. Districts need to understand that they have overplayed their hand. If they believe they have widespread support, they are sorely mistaken. Over 70,000 students are enrolled in ESA (Empowerment Scholarship Account) today, compared to only about 11,000 before the universal ESA became law just 17 months ago. The message is clear; if SUSD doesn’t want to lose more pupils, it’s time for them to listen to their audience,” said Shapir.