Minnesota elementary school principal promotes transgender book to kindergarteners, later apologizes

A Minnesota elementary school principal was forced to issue a public apology after promoting the gender-bending book “Jack (Not Jackie)” to students as young as five. 

In a video posted to the…

A Minnesota elementary school principal was forced to issue a public apology after promoting the gender-bending book “Jack (Not Jackie)” to students as young as five. 

In a video posted to the school’s Facebook page, Stacey DeCorsey, principal at Excelsior Elementary School in Minnesota, suggested the book on gender identity to her students in kindergarten through the 3rd grade, calling it a “phenomenal read.”  

She added she was pleased the book will be available in the school’s media center for the upcoming 2022-23 school year. 

“Jack (Not Jackie)” is a picture book about a toddler who becomes a transgender boy and how her sister struggles with, but ultimately accepts, the change. 

“In this heartwarming picture book, a big sister realizes that her little sister, Jackie, doesn’t like dresses or fairies — she likes ties and bugs! Will she and her family be able to accept that Jackie identifies more as ‘Jack’?” the book description reads.  

“She wants to play with mud and be a super bug!” the description adds. Jackie also doesn’t like dresses or her long hair, and she would rather be called Jack … Readers will love this sweet story about change and acceptance.”  

After her recommendation of the book, which she says struck a “nerve in the community,” DeCorsey issued an apology July 29 and deleted the original video from the school’s Facebook page. 

“One of the books I spoke about specifically, which has struck a nerve in our community, was intended to support our transgender students who are often overlooked and misunderstood in schools,” DeCorsey said in her apology video. “Please know this is not a required reading for students, it was simply meant to be a suggestion for families who are looking for these types of resources,” she added. 

The incident is just the latest in a growing trend of schools pushing radical transgender ideology on children, which runs contrary to the science showing transgender education doesn’t belong in schools in the first place. 

While gender dysphoria may cause extreme distress, only a miniscule 0.6% of the adult population has it, according to the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, an LGBTQ think tank, making it a very rare condition.  

Most gender dysphoria manifests in early childhood, according to a 2020 study at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. So, while schools might be prepared to offer families help in this area, the study suggests there is no justification for making “gender identity” part of the curriculum, or for promoting transgender ideology to the 99% of children who do not suffer from the condition, especially in early grades.