The Scottsdale community has come together to donate positive, wholesome books to the 29 libraries in Scottsdale Unified School District.
The book donation offer is the result of a parent-led initiative called The American Pride Library, which was launched by members of Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity.
After a months-long fundraising effort, the group is proud to announce that an official donation offer has been submitted to Scottsdale Unified Superintendent Scott Menzel. The offer includes a full set of age-appropriate Tuttle Twins books for each K-5, middle and high school campus. Elementary libraries will also receive A is for the American Dream, a book created by The Goldwater Institute.
“Arizona Women of Action congratulates Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity and American Pride Library on reaching their funding goal to provide kids in public schools with such positive and truth-based materials!” said Kim Miller, President and Founder of Arizona Women of Action.
In addition to many individual donors, Western State Bank donated $500 to the cause. One generous donor personally matched the first $750 in donations received in February 2024.
“The American Pride Library project is a patriotic lifeline for families in the Scottsdale School District. It is one way to ensure factual books related to American history are available to students in their campus libraries,” said Sheila Roe, member of the Palo Verde Republican Women’s Education Committee and personal supporter of the American Pride Library program.
Per board policy, all donations offered to the Scottsdale district must be approved by the governing board members. The Scottsdale district plans to present the book donation offer to the SUSD governing board for approval at the April 9, 2024, board meeting. Donation items are typically included in the consent agenda portion of the board meeting and approved as a group in a single vote.
“Scottsdale’s students deserve to learn the truth about America’s history, both the good and the bad, from the struggles and injustices to the achievements and triumphs,” said Mike Bengert, the grandfather of two SUSD students and member of Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity.
A search of the online library catalog for Scottsdale Unified reveals that currently no copies of any Tuttle Twins books are available for Scottsdale students in the 29 district schools, thus the donation will be expanding the content available to SUSD students. A is for the American Dream will also be a new book on all SUSD library shelves.
“The Tuttle Twins team has had the pleasure of watching the community of Scottsdale come together through Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity to bring Tuttle Twins books into all of the schools within the Scottsdale Unified School District. We appreciate the hard work and dedication of the teachers in SUSD and are excited to support them in building a freer society by providing materials to enhance critical thinking skills, knowledge of free market economy and entrepreneurship, and increasing proficiency in the history of our country. Our goal at Tuttle Twins is to distribute our books to all schools in the nation and assist in bringing a new culture of liberty for our rising generation. Thanks to Scottsdale Unites for Education Integrity, the students of SUSD will have the ability to pave their way to a better future!” said Andrea Ford, Education Outreach Coordinator, The Tuttle Twins.
“It is important that the students in Scottsdale Unified School District have the opportunity to read the factual historical account of how our great country was formed. They need to know who the Founding Fathers were and their beliefs and the American Pride Library will provide patriotic books on K-12 levels so that our children can understand and have pride in the United States of America!” said Jan Stephenson, Education Committee Chairman, Palo Verde Republican Women.
Following are the books included in the American Pride Library donation offer to Scottsdale Unified:
Elementary schools will receive:
- America’s History Vol 1
- America’s History Vol 2
- The Tuttle Twins and the Law
- The Tuttle Twins and the Miraculous Pencil
- The Tuttle Twins and the Creature From Jekyll Island
- The Tuttle Twins and the Food Truck Fiasco
- The Tuttle Twins and the Road to Surfdom
- The Tuttle Twins and the Golden Rule
- The Tuttle Twins and the Search For Atlas
- The Tuttle Twins and their Spectacular Show Business
- The Tuttle Twins and the Fate of the Future
- The Tuttle Twins and the Education Vacation
- The Tuttle Twins and the Messed Up Market
- The Tuttle Twins and the Leviathan Crisis
- The Tuttle Twins and the 12 Rules Bootcamp
- A is for the American Dream by The Goldwater Institute
Middle schools will receive:
- America’s History Vol 1
- America’s History Vol 2
- The Tuttle Twins Guide to Logical Fallacies
- The Tuttle Twins Guide to Beware Your Bias
- The Tuttle Twins Guide to Inspiring Entrepreneurs
- The Tuttle Twins Guide to Modern Villains
- The Tuttle Twins Guide to True Conspiracies
- The Tuttle Twins Guide to Courageous Heroes
High schools will receive:
- America’s History Vol 1
- America’s History Vol 2
- The Tuttle Twins and the Hyperinflation Devastation
- The Tuttle Twins and the Little Pink House
- The Tuttle Twins and the Case of the Broken Window
- The Tuttle Twins and the Play For Power
- The Tuttle Twins Guide to Logical Fallacies
- The Tuttle Twins Guide to Beware Your Bias
- The Tuttle Twins Guide to Inspiring Entrepreneurs
- The Tuttle Twins Guide to Modern Villains
- The Tuttle Twins Guide to True Conspiracies
- The Tuttle Twins Guide to Courageous Heroes
K-8 schools would receive the elementary and middle school book packages.
Parents were inspired to launch the American Pride Library to create positive change. Library shelves have limited space, and children have limited time to read.
Scottsdale Unified parents report finding books they call “concerning” on SUSD library shelves which expose school children to mature themes such as rape, sex, incest, prostitution and drug use, and non-scientific themes such as the idea that young children can choose their gender.
And, while the group feels that exposing books so that parents can make an informed choice for their child is valuable work, the parents believe that a void would exist if they didn’t make an effort to stock SUSD’s library shelves with the books they do want their kids to read.
Several community members and one elected official spoke about their concerns regarding public school library book offerings and the positive impact offered by the American Pride Library:
“The Palo Verde Republican Women strongly believe that instilling our children with a deep understanding of the blessing it is to be American is truly the greatest gift we can give future generations. However, in a country as great and prosperous as America, isn’t it unfortunate that parents still have to fundraise for books about American pride and heroes because our public schools do not provide them?” said Cynthia Hill, President, Palo Verde Republican Women.
“In the past few years, we’ve seen a disturbing trend of leftist, anti-American, and even sexualized books entering our public-school libraries. That is why it is encouraging to see parents take a stand with Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity and donate patriotic, age-appropriate books to K-12 public school libraries here in the Scottsdale Unified School District. As your representative, I have supported accountability and transparency in our public school system and opposed the dangerous comprehensive sex education in our elementary schools. I am proud to support the American Pride Library program which will counteract leftist activists by bringing pro-American resources to our public schools here in Scottsdale.” Joseph Chaplik, AZ State Representative
“Today, GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) is promoting Rainbow Library kits to SUSD librarians, and encouraging staff to create elaborate displays to highlight sexual orientation and gender identity books to children. What if schools were instead provided the resources to create pro-American displays in every library? To my knowledge, there is no other organization offering this service, so it’s a blessing that the American Pride Library program was created to fill this void,” said Adrienne Johnson, Sr. Advisor for Arizona Women of Action.
“In a time when the American Library Association is being led by an anti-American, self-professed Marxist and the National Education Association is advocating for stocking schools with sexualized books, we can’t sit on the sidelines and hope things change for the better. As parents, we must be the change we want in our schools,” said a member of Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity who is a SUSD parent, former SUSD employee, and curator of the American Pride Library book collection.
Regarding the parents who organized the American Pride Library, they hope to continue the program and inspire others to take action:
“The American Pride Library book collection is offered to Scottsdale Unified to expand current library book selection and provide students with a deeper understanding of American government, history and culture.” said Jill Dunican, SUSD parent and Founder of the American Pride Library. “We hope that our efforts will inspire parents in other districts to launch an American Pride Library program for their community.
American Pride Library donations are still being accepted, online or via check, and additional books will be donated to Scottsdale Unified School District based on the success of on-going fundraising efforts.