On February 6, 2024, at East Noble’s South Side Elementary, a 2nd-grade boy was said to have been brought to the front of his class by his teacher (shown on EastNoble.net as Jennifer Roberts) and encouraged to speak about his gender identity.  This allegedly started because of a teacher-led activity in the classroom where students were instructed to call upon each other by their gender, at which time the boy expressed that he was gender fluid and wanted to be called a girl.

It was reported that he said something to the effect of  “If you believe in your heart that you’re a girl but you’re actually a boy, it will (become) true.”  Students were then left by the teacher to ask the boy more questions about his gender identity.   This discussion continued after the school counselor (presumably Jessica Carden – the only counselor listed for the school) entered the room, and she permitted it.  It was only sometime later that she asked students to see her if they had any questions about these topics.

Both Ms. Roberts and Ms. Carden have been contacted and asked for their perspectives.  At this time, no reply has been received.

The boy who spoke is well-known in the school for his extraordinary flamboyance and feminine behavior.  He sometimes comes to school in girls’ clothes, including a skirt.  Some say that several teachers appear to encourage or celebrate the behavior by granting the boy extra special attention and positive reinforcement.

The event was troubling for parents of 2nd graders who believe that the sexualization of students and gender ideology has no place in K-12 education.  Questions have been raised about how the counselor was so quick to arrive, and why, of all weeks, this occurred while the Principal was reported to be out of the office.  We have since learned that the counselor is said to have received a text from the teacher ahead of the planned classroom activity and knew what was going to take place was not proper.  But, given the opportunity, there is nothing to suggest that she did anything to stop it or even cut it short.

East Noble has since released a vague and confusing memo to only some parents where they admitted that “the classroom discussion about gender identity was not age appropriate or conducive to the developmental stage of(our) elementary school students”.   They went on to lightly apologize for the classroom discussion about gender identity, but only if it caused “discomfort” or “concern”. 

The memo really lays the groundwork for such gender identity discussions to occur in later grades: “Moving forward, we commit to being more mindful of the topics we introduce in the classroom and ensure that they align with the age and maturity level of our students.”  But, this does make it sound like East Noble did indeed introduce the gender identity topic in their 2nd-grade classroom.

Regarding the legality of what happened at East Noble, Indiana HB 1608 is a bill that prohibits any person, entity, or vendor working in an official school capacity from providing instruction on human sexuality for grades K through 3. The bill was passed 65-29 by the Indiana House on February 23, 2023.  Reference

The teacher is not known to have faced any discipline, other than having a few days off.  The counselor was not known to have any consequences at all.

Superintendent Gremaux is well-known at North Manchester and East Noble for repeatedly expressing her priority to put basic minimal legal objectives well ahead of what is good, necessary, and appropriate for K-12 education.   It is likely that under her leadership the school will attempt to claim that it was a student-initiated discussion and claim it was all perfectly legal, despite appearances otherwise.

Some conclude that the fruits of Gremaux’s leadership show a disturbing trend toward transgender activism, and someone who carefully exploits weaknesses or vague laws to the advantage of an agenda.  Her light response to this event does nothing to suggest otherwise.

The information above was gathered 2nd hand from parents who were involved, and who attended a meeting on Monday, February 12 on the matter.  If you have further information or corrections to this information, please contact us immediately.