CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Wake County teacher has resigned amid the controversy over the use of LGBTQ themed flash cards in her preschool classroom.
The preschool teacher, who was not immediately identified by the Wake County school system, resigned from Ballentine Elementary School in Fuquay-Varina on Friday, according to Lisa Luten, a district spokeswoman.
Some critics on social media had demanded that the teacher be fired, but a parent in that special-needs preschool class praised the teacher as being a caring educator.
“She is an amazing teacher who has worked tirelessly in an unpredictable school year to provide a safe, loving and inclusive classroom for our children to grow,” Jackie Milazzo, whose child is in the preschool class, said in an interview Tuesday.
The issue came to light on Friday, when N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore issued a press release saying Rep. Erin Paré was contacted by a constituent that the flash cards were being used to teach colors to children in a preschool class at Ballentine.
‘Not age appropriate’
Both Republican lawmakers focused on one flash card, saying it showed a pregnant man. The flash card shows a drawing of a pregnant person with short hair.
“A lot of loving families come in all different shapes and sizes and thank goodness for that,” Paré said in an interview Tuesday on Fox News. “Kids need loving families right now more than anything else.
“But I think when you’re looking at a card in front of a preschooler that has a mommy hugging a daddy with a baby in his belly, that’s just not age-appropriate material to be showing preschoolers, and I’m glad that this principal and the district acted immediately.”
Paré contacted the principal, who had the flash cards removed. In a statement Friday, the district said the principal did not know the cards were being used.
Wake, which is North Carolina’s largest school district, also said the flash cards were not part of an approved pre-kindergarten curriculum and called them an “inappropriate instructional resource found in a preschool classroom.”
‘Loudest hate-filled voices’
The issue comes as Republican state lawmakers are considering bills that would prevent instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation for some or all elementary school grades.
Milazzo accused Republican lawmakers of misstating how the flash cards were used. She said the flash cards weren’t used for teaching colors or any other direct instruction. Instead, she said they were displayed on a wall in the art center.
Milazzo called the controversy a publicity stunt because the flash cards weren’t on display at the time the issue was raised Friday.
“They wanted to get people riled up at the expense of the safety of our children,” Milazzo said. “My special-needs child is being used as a prop and I hope that anyone reading about this remembers this come November when it comes time to vote that this is not supporting our children, not supporting our teachers, not supporting our schools,
“It’s catering to the loudest hate-filled voices in the community that don’t represent the Ballentine community.”
Randy Rainbow and LeVar Burton
News about the flash cards has generated national coverage, with conservatives condemning the teacher, the school and the district on social media.
“A North Carolina preschool is using LGBT flag flashcards with a pregnant man to teach kids colors,” U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, tweeted Tuesday. “We went from Reading Rainbow to Randy Rainbow in a few decades, but don’t dare say the Left is grooming our kids!”
Randy Rainbow, an Emmy nominated gay comedian, responded by tweeting to Boebert that “your homophobia is showing.” Another Twitter user suggested that Rainbow, who does musical parodies, collaborate with Burton, the host of the “Reading Rainbow” television show.
Both men jumped at the suggestion.
“Butterfly in the sky, I’d say it’s worth a try… (Yes!!!),” Rainbow tweeted.
“Outstanding @RandyRainbow, excellent news! I’ve got an idea I’d like to share with you. #bydhttmwfi #RandyAndLeVar
#collaboration #rainbowconnection,” Burton tweeted back to Rainbow.
Police on campus Tuesday
Fuquay-Varina police officers were on campus Tuesday morning during carpool dropoff and will likely return during afternoon dismissal, according to Susan Weis, a town spokeswoman. She said the police were requested by the school district’s security department. No other elementary schools in town had police on Tuesday.
Luten said that no specific threats were made against Ballentine but that some parents were concerned about their children’s safety following the response to the flash cards.
Milazzo said parents in the preschool classroom are on edge, especially after last week’s mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. She accused Moore and Pare of putting the children’s safety at risk by making the flash cards a public issue.
“They’ve put a target on our children’s backs where our teachers are being called groomers and saying that our children are being brainwashed,” Milazzo said. “If they were concerned about our children’s safety, they’d be focused on commonsense gun reform — not drawings in a preschool classroom.”
‘Loved just as they are’
The flash cards make up the “Progress Pride Flag Rainbow Families” collection produced by ByUs Box, which says its goal is to guide families in raising anti-racist, inclusive children. It’s a set of 12 flash cards showing families of diverse races, ages, sexualities, genders and abilities.
Milazzo said that the school’s Pre-K class serves special-needs students. She says those flash cards help the children know that they are loved no matter the family dynamic.
“It’s important for these children and all children to be shown in the classroom that being different is not scary,” Milazzo said. “It’s OK. They’re loved just as they are no matter what their family looks like.”
Milazzo said she’s disappointed with how the school system called the cards not appropriate.
“I can’t imagine how it would feel as a parent represented by these pictures to have the district call them inappropriate or a child who may have seen their family in them have the pictures taken down,” Milazzo said.
