News

By Tim Waggoner

SACRAMENTO, October 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Parents of students attending an elementary school in Hayward, California, are in a frenzy after learning the school allegedly made no effort to inform them their children were to participate in today’s homosexual “Coming Out Day” school event, reports the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), a legal firm specializing in the defense of religious freedoms and parental rights.

Parents of children at Faith Ringgold School of Art and Science were shocked to see a poster announcing the homosexual event, as they had not received any previous notification. In fact, according PJI, the school specifically decided not to inform parents ahead of time. 

Brad Dacus, president of PJI, commented on the issue, attributing the existence of such an event in a school in part to the legalization of same-sex “marriages” in California.

“Do we need any further proof that gay activists will target children as early as possible?” he asked. “Opponents of traditional marriage keep telling us that Prop. 8 has nothing to do with education. In reality, they want to push the gay lifestyle on kindergartners, and we can only imagine how much worse it will be if Prop. 8 is defeated. This is not a scenario most Californians want replayed in their elementary schools.”

The discovery of the planned “Coming Out Day” at Ringgold School has come at an opportune time for advocates of true marriage in California – in the final weeks leading up to election day, when Californians will vote whether or not to protect marriage in the state. Much of the battle over the true marriage ballot initiative, Proposition 8, has focused on California’s schools, with supporters of Prop. 8 saying if homosexual “marriage” is legal, it is only a matter of time before teaching acceptance of homosexuality is mandated in schools. Opponents of Prop. 8 have vociferously denied the claim, saying that homosexual “marriage” has nothing to do with schools.

The recent development at the elementary school, however, has provided powerful anecdotal fodder for the Yes on 8 campaign.

“Coming Out Day” is far from the first time children as young as five at Faith Ringgold have been indoctrinated with the pro-homosexual agenda.  The school is in the midst of celebrating “Ally Week” as part of “Gay and Lesbian History Month.”

When one mother asked her daughter earlier this week what she was learning in kindergarten at the school, the 5-year-old replied, “We’re learning to be allies.” The mother also learned that her daughter’s kindergarten classroom is regularly used during lunchtime for meetings of a Gay Straight Alliance club.

LifeSiteNews.com attempted to contact the school board regarding the issue. There was no answer, however, and the board’s phone mailbox was full. A representative at Faith Ringgold at first claimed she knew nothing about the “Coming Out Day,” but then said that only the principal, Diana Levy, could answer questions about the event.

Principal Levy is also the acting principal at an adjacent school, Markham Elementary. A representative at that school did confirm that “Coming Out Day” was indeed being celebrated at Faith Ringgold, but the principal was unavailable for comment due to the fact that she was in a meeting regarding the controversial event. 

Faith Ringgold seems to have set the promotion of the homosexual agenda as a priority on its 2008 calendar, as several other pro-homosexual events are slated in the coming weeks.

For instance, several parents have noticed numerous posters around the school promoting talks on the family scheduled for later this week; all of the posters, however, depict only homosexual “families.”  As well, On November 20, the school will host TransAction Gender-Bender Read-Aloud, where students will hear adapted tales such as “Jane and the Beanstalk.”

Contact:

Principal Diana Levy of the Faith Ringold School of Arts and Science

Phone:  510-889-7399

Or

Email:  [email protected]

  The Hayward Unified School District at 510-784-2600