On December 7th, Saline Area elementary students participated in a reading of a children’s book, “I Am Jazz,” that tells the story of Jazz Jennings, co-author of the book and a transgender girl, and how she learned and accepted her female identity.
Between eighty and one hundred students at each of the elementary schools were removed from the reading at their parents’ requests for various reasons.
The book was read aloud to students that Friday, the 7th, via a five-minute YouTube video. It incorporated portions of the book narrated by county community leaders, including Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor, Chelsea School District Superintendent and former Saline High School principal Julie Helber, and Saline High School senior Oliver Chapman. “I am Jazz” tells the story of someone different from most kids, and it teaches the lesson to treat every person with respect and dignity.
Backlash from some district parents followed the reading. Many of these parents claimed that the reading was hastily scheduled and attempted to subvert parent permission.
The day after the elementary schools held their readings, UpRoar!, the high school’s social justice and diversity club, hosted an event at which over one hundred community members came to celebrate and read “I Am Jazz.” The book was read aloud by middle school principal Laura Washington, assistant middle school principal Alex Schouw, and elementary teacher Becka Lantis.
The following Tuesday, December 11th, more than twenty parents and students spoke out about the video during the Board of Education meeting. A father of a recently transitioned transgender son spoke about how kids react to changes.
“Just a couple weeks ago, he did speak to his class. And it’s kind of an amazing thing because kids get it,” the father said. “In fact, what happens is they understand my son, and then they start thinking about their own differences.”
High school senior Brianna Camero-Sulak supports the “I Am Jazz” video not only as a student and volunteer in the community, but also as the sister to a transgender brother.
“I can tell you from years of this that it’s not an easy road. So having this type of space, this type of grouping filled with people in solitude, in support, in love, really fills my heart,” she said. “There have been many times where my brother has almost left this world because of the lack of support and the lack of love and the hatred he had faced in school, and that’s why I do so much for the community. It’s because of him, for him, because he deserves to stay here and be loved just like any other person.”
Michael Rodriguez, a transgender junior at Saline, says he was happy to see the school district embrace the story’s themes of inclusivity: “I figured out I was transgender when I was in seventh grade, and I had a very hard time with it,” Rodriguez says. “I started having really bad psychological issues, and I ended up attempting suicide 7 different times in the eighth grade; and I just think it’s really cool that we have come such a long way, and I have come such a long way.”
Thomas Frederick, a parent and former candidate for the school board, shared his opinion, which generally seemed to be the most common argument against the reading.
“My strong feeling [is] that the process for the ‘I Am Jazz’ event that was followed, to plan it, prepare it and present it to our children was rushed, ill-timed and carried out with recklessness and a lack of credentialed judgement and dare I say dismissively usurping parental authority,” he said.
Other parents spoke about the district’s poor communication regarding the video, claiming that not enough information was provided to parents prior to the date on which the video was scheduled to be shown.
Details about the reading were delivered to the parents through the weekly email. However, superintendent Scot Graden sent an email addressing the poor communication and apologized on behalf of the district.