A Colorado teacher at a public K-8 school is fighting the urge not to “burn things down” that he doesn’t “find equitable,” private emails obtained by a public record request reveal.
Casey Menninger, a diversity teacher in Jefferson County Public School District’s Foster K-8 school, found that his fellow staffers were “talking trash” about him and, by his estimation, lack an “equity lens,” and stated “a lot of restraint” is needed for him to cope.
According to Fox News Digital, which reviewed the emails, “Menninger wanted classes to be focused on bad things done by White people.”
Casey Menninger is a diversity teacher in Jefferson County PSD Foster K-8 school. Menninger was involved in crafting the curriculum for other teachers to present to their classes.
Menninger wanted classes to be focused on bad things done by White peoplehttps://t.co/QNZlbxSEu7
— The Conservative M. D. ️ (@WarriorsForAll) August 28, 2023
“I will have a quick presentation for 8th grade in the next couple weeks…” Menninger wrote in an email dated January 2022. “I just want them to work on some of the communication skills and understand some terrible things White people did.”
Months earlier, in August 2021, he confessed, “The meetings are very difficult. “I am trying to impact change in a positive way, but it is very hard to not want to burn things down that I don’t find equitable.”
His colleagues, he said, were being mean to him.
“I am learning a lot of restraint. I don’t think anyone else on the team has that equity lens, so it is challenging to impact change where they don’t see a need,” he wrote. “I am also trying to learn how to respond to emotional outbursts from adults. It is difficult. I don’t like it.”
“I am struggling with not-so-subtle shots at me,” he said. “I have heard people talking trash about me multiple times already.”
Nicole Head, who also worked on the mandatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) class, was the recipient of Menninger’s email.
“You may not always love the content… yet you are asked to represent the class as their teacher anyway. I imagine many (or all) of you have held back on giving me feedback for fear of offending me or sounding judgmental,” she said. “I have also chosen to hold back on feedback. I often felt either unsupported or completely out of touch with how this class was going for your students.”
“Now, we’ve arrived at conflict’s door,” Head continued. “I’m hoping against hope that we can use this as an opportunity to grow stronger as a team instead of becoming divided. I’m hoping we can use it to practice healthy, productive conflict instead of drowning in feelings of being misunderstood or underappreciated.”
“I feel strongly that the missing link is an assumption of positive intent,” she said. “I am willing to do the work, and receive the feedback from you, that it would take to get there.”
According to Sarah Fields, the president and Director of Advocacy for the Texas Freedom Coalition, “a network of conservative activists and patriots who advocate for constitutional government in the state of Texas,” the “Diversity Class” in question was taught to grades 6 – 8.
A mandatory class was held for two years at Foster Pre-K 8 in Jefferson County CO (Jeffco Public Schools) named “Diversity Class”. @school_foster
The class was taught by Casey Menninger and Nicole Head to grades 6-8. At the time the class was running, Casey was the middle… pic.twitter.com/xbr2eX6HwI
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) August 26, 2023
“At the time the class was running, Casey was the middle school Social Studies teacher and Nicole was the school counselor. Both are still employees in the district,” Fields reported on X. “Casey was demoted to PE teacher at Foster, after he decided not to come back once the non-binary gym teacher decided not to return, and Nicole now works at Jefferson County Open School as a preschool Advisor.”
“According to an open records request for all emails, Leigh Hiester, the lesbian principal with a ‘trans child’, is shown praising Casey for addressing January 6th with the middle school,” she wrote. “Casey also expressed his desire to help children understand ‘some terrible things white people did.'”
“Last year, the class was switched from a mandatory middle school class to an optional club without explanation,” Fields continued. “According to a source, children were told not to tell parents what was being taught in the class if they thought their parents wouldn’t support the content being taught.”
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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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