Outpouring of Support for Solon Springs Teachers & LGBTQAI+ Students

Solon Springs is a picturesque village of about 600 people in northern Wisconsin.  One of its claims to fame is being the site of a Brule-St. Croix Native American portage, which connected the watersheds of Lake Superior and the Mississippi River.  It’s also one of a shrinking number of rural communities in the state that has been able to keep alive its own school district.  But unfortunately the small Solon Spring School has become the site of battle over the existence and rights of trans students.

Earlier in this school year the School Counselor, Russ N, addressed students about gender identity.  The Counselor, and the other teachers who helped, were seeking to address ongoing issues of bullying and insensitive behavior by some students towards non-binary students.  Their goal was to try and help create a safe and inclusive space within the school.  But this simple act elicited a backlash by a group of reactionary parents and community figures.

Spearheaded by Ashley N, a local business owner, and Ben K, pastor at The River Church in nearby Minong, about twenty people packed the otherwise sleepy School Board meeting in April.  They expressed outrage that the topic of gender identity was even being discussed in the school.  Many insisted there were no non-binary students in the area.  Some speakers were upset because the curriculum used by the teachers was developed by the Sothern Poverty Law Center – which they deemed to be an “anti-Christian” group.  And others spewed forth a truly bizarre conspiracy theory that gender dysphoria was some kind of plot by Black Livers Matter to divide and weaken whites. 

Reactionary ideas can sound absurd to those who don’t subscribe to them, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous.  Particularly when they are promoted by prominent members of a community.  And this coordinated outburst of reaction cowed the School Board issuing an apology to the parents, and agreeing to investigate whether or not to discipline or fire the school staff involved.

In the aftermath of the April School Board meeting though, the Wisconsin teachers union issued a statement defending the Solon Springs teachers, and calling for support for the teachers and LGBTQAI+ students.  This galvanized an outpouring of solidarity. 

Over 1200 people from throughout the region signed on to a solidarity statement written by Kim K, the Wisconsin AFT president.  This was followed up by a call for a solidarity picket at the May 17 meeting of the Solon Springs School Board.  Somewhere between 40-50 parents, students, LGBTQAI+ youth, education workers, healthcare workers, retired teachers and others responded to the call, signs in hand.  And adding an amazing artistic component to the picket was an array of larger than life puppets of LGBTQAI+ historical figures and role models that were brought by Mary P. of Duluth.  The picket was endorsed by the Northwoods Socialist Collective, Twin Ports Black Lives Matter, Duluth Teachers Federation, Northland Allies, the Justice City Coalition, Politics Off My Body, and the Northern WI Activism Action Hub, and this blog, the Northwoods Worker.

More than 50 subsequently packed the School Board meeting itself, with dozens more attending online.  There were numerous speakers in support of the teachers, School Counselor and LGBTQAI+ students, and this time, there weren’t any from the reactionary faction.  Dorothy W, the parent of a non-binary adult, kicked off the speeches with a powerful call for the need to have inclusive and welcoming schools.  Alexa C, a local mental health worker, spoke about the difficulties LGBTQAI+ students often have, and mentioned actual scenarios of parents and students being abusive to LGTQAI+ students in the area.  A statement was read in support of the School Counselor that was signed by 20 teachers at the school.  But most powerful of all were the speeches by trans students themselves, speaking about their experiences.  Alex S, one of the last speakers of the evening, made the powerful point about how important it was that non-binary students be acknowledged and seen, and not treated as being invisible.

All in all it was a beautiful display of solidarity that saw unions, parents, students and community members coming together.  This fight is not over yet – the School Board has yet to make its final decision after all.  However, this was an important outpouring of support for equality and inclusivity – and was a demonstration of an effective and powerful way to respond when bigotry and reaction rears its head.

>> The article above was written by Adam Ritscher.  While all of the people mentioned in the article above have given their full names at the public meetings mentioned in the article, for safety reasons we've chosen not to list anyone's full name here.