CA Teachers Association caught spying on parents.

Never underestimate the power of a Public Records Act (PRA) request. 

Emails obtained by the Parents Association revealed that the California Teachers Association (CTA) spied on local parents and parent groups fighting for schools to be reopened during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the April 2021 emails, Ann Swinburn, a CTA Strategic Research Assistant, asked two union operatives if they could provide information on Parent Association, a North San Diego County education reform group, along with other “reopen groups.” 

“I am a researcher with CTA and am currently doing some research into the various ‘reopen’ groups around the state,” Swinburn wrote. “York Chang gave me your contact information and said you all have lots of information regarding the Parent Association.”

Chang is a CTA staff attorney who was previously a longtime attorney for the Service Employees International Union.

One of the activists helpfully forwarded Swinburn’s email to several others, noting, “York mentioned that [CTA staffers] are looking at uncovering some of the ideological leaning [sic] of groups that are funding the reopen lawsuits.”

Swinburn’s investigation was aimed at identifying parents, education reform groups and others fighting a dramatic court battle over Covid closures of local schools. In December 2020, the local teachers' union, the San Dieguito Faculty Association (SDFA), sued its San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) to remain closed — with the help of CTA. In March 2021, local parents and the Parent Association successfully sued to open the schools. Swinburn’s email inquiries began the next month.

But in forwarding Swinburn’s request for help, one of the activists inadvertently added SDUHSD principal Adam Camacho. That would make the emails public documents, and subject to the California Public Records Act, or PRA.

When one of the activists realized the mistake, she replied, “I think you accidentally included Adam Camacho on your reply. Not sure if we need to do any damage control?”

“I don’t think there will be an issue. Unless someone does a record request for his work email,” replied another.

“Do you know him well enough to ask him to delete and disregard????” came the panicked response.

“He’s so busy I’m sure he’ll be happy to delete,” was the not-so-subtle cue to Camacho that he should delete the email.

But Camacho did not delete the inculpatory email chain. And the communications were ultimately exposed through a PRA request.

Allison Stratton, the SDUHSD parent and a co-founder of Parent Association who filed the PRA request for Camacho’s emails, wasn’t surprised by the documents.

"We already suspected (it) because we see the same people show up at every school board meeting saying the same things, echoing what the union is saying. So, it’s not a surprise," Stratton told Fox News. "They were working as hard as they could against parents who wanted school reopened."

The emails Parent Association received through the PRA were shared on social media by Reopen California Schools, and the story was quickly picked up by the New York Post and Fox News. Both news outlets quoted Lance Christensen, Vice President of Education Policy and Government Affairs at California Policy Center:

“Conducting opposition research is a common practice in political campaigns. But to have the teachers’ union dedicate personnel to politically target moms and dads protecting their own children and expressing their First Amendment rights is both startling and disgusting,” Christensen told Fox News. 

"Entrenched special interests have used their war chests over the last two and a half years to intimidate and threaten anyone who dares to challenge their ineffective reign over public education. This must end," added Christensen.

No word yet from California’s mainstream media on the CTA spying scandal. Fortunately, when it comes to education issues in California, hardworking groups like Parent Association, Reopen California Schools and so many others continue to expose the anti-parent and anti-student agenda of California’s teachers' unions.

Indoctrination exposed in three SoCal school districts

There’s an old saying in the newsroom: a “trend” is three examples and a 3 o’clock deadline. Here’s three:

First, a teacher at Madison High School in San Diego wrote on his classroom whiteboard: “As it is currently constituted, the Republican Party is now a fascist organization that no longer fits the category of a conventional Democratic [sic] Party.” A heads-up student snapped a picture of the board and shared it with Washington Examiner commentary writer Christopher Tremoglie. 

But that’s not all. The teacher went on to write “fascist” on the board, underlined it, and listed the qualities of fascism: Trump, heterosexual, white, Christian, and hatred of foreigners, immigrants, and minorities. According to Tremoglie, the student reported that the teacher also “immediately made the comparison of the Republican Party to the Nazi Party.” 

“And that’s just ridiculous, and I took offense to that. So I took a picture of it,” the student said.

“This is the dangerous kind of indoctrination that occurs in schools today,” Tremoglie explains. “Their priority is spreading radical, left-wing political ideologies. They want to indoctrinate, not educate. And they feel so comfortable about it that they do it openly.”

“Parents who lack alternatives to public schools must be vigilant,” Tremoglie warns. 

The teacher, known as “Flint” but reportedly identified as Danielle Serio on the school’s website, promotes her library on TikTok. 

“I’ve been wondering lately why it’s so hard for so many people in the general public to trust educators about education — the thing that we studied and do every day,” Flint said. “It’s been so long since they were in school, I’m wondering if they have extreme or outdated views about what’s happening in the classroom.”

Shocker: Danielle Serio “Flint” is also a teachers’ union “Representative Council Member” at San Juan Hills High School.

In response to the Fox News story, the school district issued a statement explaining that they “initiated a review” of the books, which they said were "not considered instructional materials" but instead “were available through a high school extra-curricular club.” 

We’ve come a long way from 4-H!

Finally, the Los Angeles Unified School District announced that it will again be hosting a “Rainbow Club,” which the district describes as a "10-week, district-wide, virtual club for LGBTQ+ elementary school students, their friends, and their grown-ups.” 

The club is for students as young as 4-years-old in Transitional Kindergarten through 5th grade.

The hour-long Zoom meeting is scheduled to take place every Wednesday through November.

“From 2:45-3:00pm, we set aside time for parents and other interested adults to ask questions and learn about the group,” the district advises. “At 3:00pm, our student-centered space begins. Guests of students are always welcome!”

Students in LAUSD are trailing the nation in reading and math scores, and the district has lost tens of thousands of students over the last two years, but this club for kids up to 11-years-old made it to the top of the district’s “To Do” list.

And what about some extra time for catching up after the devastating learning loss LAUSD students suffered while their schools stayed shuttered during the pandemic? Well, the district did propose adding four extra school days to this year’s calendar to help students get back on track, but the teachers’ union launched a campaign to kill the proposal, including a teacher boycott.

Is it any wonder why so many parents are running for their local school boards this year to save California’s public schools? November can’t come soon enough.

 

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