Tallahassee Reports has learned that the local reporting about the controversy surrounding Canopy Oaks teacher, Chloe Bressack, failed to include any reference to Bressack’s participation in a February 24th, 2017 demonstration for transgender student rights.
At the demonstration Bressack was a featured speaker.
TR first learned about the demonstration after Greg Marr Jr., a morning talk show host on Freedom 93.3, referenced a FAMU Online report about the demonstration.
Tallahassee Reports reviewed three stories by the Tallahassee Democrat, three stories by WCTV and two stories by WTXL that addressed the controversy generated by Bressack’s request that her fifth grade students use gender neutral language when addressing her in the classroom.
None of these eight reports referenced Bressack’s role in the demonstration.
Why is this important?
When the controversy arose, Canopy Oaks Principal Paul Lambert assured parents that Bressack’s “only agenda is teaching math and science at the greatest level she can.”
Also, Superintendent Rocky Hanna stated “I can assure you that teachers in our district will not be allowed to use their influence in the classroom to advance any personal belief or political agenda. At this time, I do not believe that is the case in this instance.”
However, statements by Bressack at the demonstration raises questions about these assurances. At the demonstration Bressack said:
“I will not be spending my entire life pretending to be someone that I am not. I refuse to show students that their gender identities are something to be ashamed of. I refuse to show students that their gender identity makes them a danger to other students.”
This statement appears to indicate that Bressack had an agenda beyond teaching math and science. Bressack was ultimately transferred out of the classroom.
After the transfer Superintendent Hanna said the district has a “responsibility to provide a productive educational environment…free of distractions for our students, teachers, and staff.”
Local Reporting Omitted Teacher Transgender Activism added by Staff on
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When I was in third grade back in the 1960s my teacher told us to call her Ms. Johnson. This salutation did not indicate her marital status. How radical it was then. Now pretty normal and standard. Did it call discussion? yes. Did it affect learning or our love for her? No.
Probably the best statement on this issue, Phil. What we find radical today will be commonplace in the near future. If learning math and science is the goal, let’s ask ourselves if that was happening. If it was, then…this is a non-issue. If her special requests were impeding students’ learning math and science, then she’d need to forego that request or move along.
Wow….this is so sad….redneck bible belt is the next…guess what the happens next..
I think wanting to be called Mx could be construed as offensive, discriminatory, and bigoted towards Mexicans.
This type of reporting is reprehensible. The front page story should be that this teacher civil rights were lately mishandled by superintendent Hannah when he moved this teacher. This should be the headline. I don’t understand how any investigative reporter such as yourself or anyone else would go after a 23 year old teacher when at the same time no one held the current superintendent accountable for not paying child support for 10 years, for voter intimidation that was never looked into, for him dating teachers he supervised and lying about it and no one from the media looked into it.
Chloe is a popular girls first name. Might this person want to change this name in order to practice what she preaches. No matter the Mx request, Chole defines her as a female.
Chole is a popular girls first name. Might this person want to change this name in order to practice what she preaches. No matter the Mx request, Chole defines her as a female.
Simple creed. Live and let live. I don’t expect you to say The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, but I will. I don’t expect you to stand for The National Anthem, but I will. So if you look like a woman and I say thank you Ma’am, except it and move on. If you look like a man and I say have a good day Sir, except it and move on. If you preach to my kid that men can be women and women can be men and I kick your ass, except it and move on. As far as Rocky Hanna, I’m still mad at him. I got an automated call from him before Irma saying no school on Friday and he would call back over the weekend about Monday. Although the Governor had already cancelled school for the whole state for Friday and Monday before Rocky ever called. Anyway he never called back. Had to get school closings from the media.
This Mx. nonsense is yet another example of why I am so happy that my kids have been attending a couple of Tallahassee’s finest private schools.
Reporters are going to look into this teachers past statements when Rocky Hanna admitted he knew of no wrongdoing doing yet he made up a notebook that launched an FBI investigation trying to ruin a man and his family. Rocky Hanna is the one with an agenda. He outwardly lied, nobody reported on his true agenda when he had to be sued for child support. The truth is all of the reporters looked away and now you want to go after a teacher. Sad. Very sad.
Maybe you should actually know what you are talking about before bringing up the infamous notebook and FBI investigation and bashing the current Superintendent while defending the last. The notebook and investigation as well as the ouster of the previous superintendent has put an end to a numerous amount of scandals, law breaking, embarrassing pay for play incidents, and illicit acts committed by the previous administration. Your feelings are not the facts.
Regarding this current LCS embarrassment…A teacher has a job to do and that is teach his/her/it’s educational subject, not spread their personal agenda!
I disagree, Rocky has not cleaned things up as promised.
Mimi, There is not a lot Superintendent Hannah can do to clean up until investigations are complete.
Rocky Hanna is a bully. He did far worse as a principal when he dated a teacher he’s supervised he should have been removed for ethics violations. I’ve taken my children out of the Leon County school system because Mr. Hanna is not someone that I want my children looking up to or taking guidance from. This issue is bigger than anyone knows. Look into what happened at Fairview Middle School a few years ago and you’ll find that the principal is Mr. Hanna’s best friend. Bullying is Alive and Well in Leon County Schools!
Seriously, your kid isn’t going to “become transgender” because a teacher asked to be addressed in a gender neutral manner. You actually want to ruin this teacher’s life and career because of… What, exactly? I can’t see what anyone here is actually scared of or worried about?
Here we go again. No one is trying to ruin a life. How about a little less dramatic. Geez.
She opened her mouth, chose what she wanted to say, tried to forward her agenda on others and now was informed it was wrong time and place. Sorry, its called suffering the consequences of one’s action.
Oh yeah, we don’t hold people responsible for their own actions anymore, do we?
It is simple.
No one wants to ruin the teacher.
The distractions became too much for the classroom.
Hanna is light years better than the former superintendent.
The teacher was supposed to *Gasp* teach the subject matter/tasks according to the state and federal guidelines,not her agenda.
Hanna stuck by his teacher until it continued to distract from the classroom.
Wow. Sick of all the whining from the social justice warriors.
Outrageous. At what point should our children not be a pawn of adult sexual orientation wars? Allowing a transgender activist to hijack a classroom and force this on kids is simply deplorable. I remember having a gay teacher that we liked in HS. We appreciated that he didnt push an agenda. He just taught. He was good and he was funny and we liked him.
This was a pre meditated action by the trans-gendered teacher. She knew exactly what she was doing and willingly started this controversy. Stop acting like this person was drawn into some debate.
GMAGDB
Outlaw superintendent leads to outlaw teachers. Hannah bucked the chain of command as a principal and should have been fired now he is at the top. Careful what you vote for , you just might not know what you are getting.
Problem was, we DID know what we were getting with the other guy. As much as I don’t like Rocky now, it was time for ol’ Pons-i to go.
I don’t think them will be able to change at this point. However they can always move out west where it seems they might be more comfortable. Just trying to use the other non specific words is hard!
Wow…such garbage…if the one particular parent would just home shcool there kids, they would learn all about the flat earth, 6000 yr old earth, global cooling and, there beloved Bible myths……
Transgender speeches in support of such trash, and then teach my kid in a public school more garbage to reinforce your screwy views on life? Where in the world do we get such people from anyway ?? In my generation , such people would get the boot , and find themselves looking for another job !
TR should be embarrassed by this anti-LGBT tract. I’ve followed TR since its inception. Little did I know that it is published by bigots. I will never read this wannabe Breitbart again.
This is not anti-LGBT. This is about activism in the classroom. Is Rocky Hanna a bigot? Your name calling and inability to see the difference is troubling.
One of the main problems with “political correctness” as it’s attempted to be forced on our society today is that LGBT, Black Lives, and the Left in general now want to make it a crime if anyone dares raise the SLIGHTEST disagreement, question, or shows any lack of cooperation with the Leftist Agenda in all it’s forms. You must agree to all they demand. Look at the targeted Christian cake bakers who were deliberately sought out by LGBT activists to bake wedding cakes, despite there being plenty of LGBT cake shops in the same cities. The targeting was planned and deliberate as part of the LGBT agenda.
So in this local case, it now is a “crime” for anyone (parent, student, co-worker, perfect stranger etc.) to even slightly disagree, question, or differ with anything the LGBT (or any other aforementioned group) tries to inject into the classroom or any other area of life.
This is “intolerance” in the purest of forms and the greatest hypocrisy of the Left: because they feel one way about a subject, it is a crime to disagree with it, be it LGBT in the classroom, “global warming”, or any other Leftist Agenda subject. I’m a Christian and a political Conservative, but I certainly don’t demand everyone else be that, and they can disagree with it if they choose. I also don’t try to force it on everyone else around me (much as the Left would insist that I am). If only the Left would extend the same rights (tolerance!) to me or others that disagree with any of their Agenda items.
Mx. Chloe’s job is to teach her subject, period. Her personal beliefs are hers and hers alone, and she should not force her students to conform to her own personal set of pronouns to suit her personal preferences. She can do that all she likes in her personal life, but in the classroom you are on the taxpayer’s payroll, and personal preferences are not part of your job description, period. Ask any boss in most any career path and you’ll get that same answer.
True!
Agreed and well said
it seems the math teacher was asking students to use improper English. She must not have kids either because I can ask my child to say yes ma’am and no ma’am 100 times and I have to remind him every time. You will wear yourselves out trying to change 30 plus grade school kids. Pick your battles in life you can’t fight them all.
She is 23 years old. What worldly experience can someone have at 23 years old?
Here is an idea, Have a child, have two or three. When one of those children does not fully embrace their god given chromosomal traits, you should then get on a pedestal and scream that the other 15 billion people in the world need to straighten up and respect your child’s ‘uniqueness’. Conform, give me special rights. BS.
You can still love this different kid. Perhaps you should teach your kid that no, you are not all that special, sorry, you will have to conform as tought as it may be.
Seems our newly elected superintendent just doesn’t have it in his Gut or in his Heart to be a leader.
“This statement appears to indicate that Bressack had an agenda beyond teaching math and science.”
Yes – respecting her students. What a monster. Your website sucks.
How can you say she is respecting her students when she is forcing them to go against what they have learned(about using pronouns) in earlier grades. She is just confusing them. What teaching method allows for confusing students in this manner?
Learning new information shouldn’t be that hard, you would think? I think if they learn some new information in 3rd Grade they’ll be alright.
Where does this “new information” stop? If I was teaching, would it be okay to teach my pro-life issues? It’s hard to refute science and the fact that life begins at conception. Plus, I could be the result of a botched abortion and therefor really value life and this issue has become who I am and what my purpose in life is.
The problem with your statement remains, it’s not Chloe’s job to teach that new information. Chloe’s job is to teach math and science. Teachers hold a great deal of power and authority to be molding our children. It should be the parents right to decide if this “new information” is information they think their children can handle. While I respect Chloe’s choice, Chloe should not be implementing Chloe’s lifestyle on my child. All Chloe had to do was tell the children that Chloe would like to be called, “Chloe or Teacher”. No explanations needed. But Chloe couldn’t do just that because Chloe had an agenda. Just like if I explained how I was a result of a botched abortion to my students rather than just introducing myself, I would have an agenda.
Jacob, Sucks? Ironic choice of words?
Amen
Local News (besides FAMU Online, Greg Marr, and Tallahassee Reports) = Unfair and Un-Balanced.
Rocky Hanna and his minions just figured that little “insignificant” part of the true picture of what your precious children were subjected to be just a little something you all voting sheeple Moms and Dads do not need to know about.
Local news and Rocky Hanna’s School Board organisation seem to have participated in a coordinated cover-up of the truth and are rotten to the core.
A tip of the hat and a big thank you to FAMU Online, TR, and Greg Marr.
By asking to be addressed as Mx. Bressack and the pronouns they/them, they are 1) not pretending to be someone they are not; and 2) refusing to allow gender identity to be something they are ashamed of. Only the controversy or this non-issue has shown students that their gender identity “makes them a danger to other student.”
Standing up for oneself should not be construed as a political agenda — and also shouldn’t be necessary.
This article is shameless exploitation of a political witch hunt.
Amen
Completely disagree! As a teacher one should look to educate what the subject matter is, and that only. What she did, as stated in the article, is not be forthright by putting her own agenda in the classroom, and to a bunch of aspiring elementary-aged young minds at that.
I am sick and tired of people crying foul because someone called them out when they do not use there own time or place to forward their way of thinking. Her opinion is her opinion because it is her opinion, but the manner, or place, in which she shares it was not prudent nor professional.
Much like the NFL situation, where you work is not the place for your free speech. I for one would have raised h##$ if my child had been in the class, why, because the LCS would not allow me to go into any classroom and spread my opinion. But my child is subject to hers? No, no way, thank you very much.
This does raise a bit of a legal conundrum. If discriminated against due to race, creed, color, religion and/or sexual orientation then there are applicable means to redress. I’m not sure where gender orientation (or more accurately disorientation) in conflict with actual gender is going to fit. I doubt a claim of unfair treatment based on a declaration of gender neutrality is going to mean anything.
I believe sexual orientation covers the gamut. In addition, what no one has talked about is the statement that the school board made about the teacher. I cannot imagine that a competent attorney would have signed off on that language. It basically said it was best for the teacher’s “career” to transfer and not teach children, implying her “career at LCS”. Why would you blatantly say that? No matter where you fall in the spectrum of opinion on this matter, the taxpayers are going to wind up paying for what could have been avoidable litigation if this had been handled more artfully.
Is sexual orientation protected by LCS? I am not sure thus why I am asking. Typically cases like this are covered more by gender identity than sexual orientation.
Is she a probationary status employee? If so why put her in another job?
Scared.
True!