Online Notes for the October 2025 Newsletter

References, links, & notes to the October 2025 Newsletter:

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1. Stillwater's scores were reported in the Stillwater Gazette and the Center of American Experiment https://www.americanexperiment.org/third-grade-reading-how-does-your-district-measure-up/. Always the cheerleader for the District Administration, the Stillwater Gazette put a positive, euphemistic spin on the results, saying that Stillwater Area Public Schools (SAPS) was not below the State average: https://www.hometownsource.com/stillwater_gazette/news/education/stillwater-schools-outperform-state-in-mca-reading-and-math-scores/article_14b6ab3a-e7a3-4657-8270-c48f3d5518ac.html
2. See more about the District's Minnesota Government Data Practices Act violations here. The District's invoice for obfuscation services from Squires, Waldspurger, and Mace, P.A. is here. Click to view our one-pager on using the MGDPA, which is the state-level equivalent of a FOIA request.
3. Click here for the four anti-Trump cartoons found in the 9th Grade English instructional material.
4. Click here to view all links for the 47 Meditation and similar-type videos that were coursework in the 9th Grade English instructional material.
5. Click here for the partisan Immigration Rap video, "The Hamilton Mixtape: Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)," featuring the star of the Broadway show "Hamilton," Lin-Manuel Miranda; this was taught as instructional material in 9th Grade English.
6. Click here to view various worker struggle and racial oppression history videos that were instructional material in 9th Grade English.
7. Click here to view Elton John's "Rocketman" music video that was instructional material in 9th Grade English.
8. Click here to view the SNL skit.

9. Contemporary progressive pedagogy, particularly in elementary and high school settings, has increasingly incorporated elements of psychological support, such as trauma-informed practices, social-emotional learning (SEL), and mental health interventions. While these approaches aim to address student well-being, problems arise given the push of unlicensed educators into roles resembling psychological therapy or analysis, for which they lack training, licensing, or resources. This can lead to misdiagnosis, emotional harm, teacher burnout, and blurred professional boundaries. Stillwater should reject the outside pressure for teachers to act as de facto therapists.

   1. https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/quit-asking-teachers-play-therapist
   2. https://edsource.org/2022/teachers-are-not-therapists/665250
   3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24313321/. "Teaching trauma is not the same as trauma-informed teaching."
   4. https://www.educationworld.com/teachers/teachers-are-not-mental-health-professionals-drawing-line
   5. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8357891/. Review of "School-Wide Trauma-Informed Approaches"
   6. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8717545/. Progressive study advocating "Education as Mental Therapy"
10. See the homework assignment asking students to report what television shows and stations that their parents are watching. [Updating link]
11. View the Minnesota Department of Education's announcement of EDI.
12. View our Policies Hub here, which contains multiple pages dedicated to tracking and analyzing SAPS Policies. View the list of Policies that have been added, amended, or revoked in 2025.
13. View the All-Staff-Memo encouraging the "Sinking the Binary Heteronormative," which included use of the "Genderbread Person." Cornelius Rish, Cultural Liaison, sends a regular “Woke Wednesday” broadcast emails to all district staff.
14. View more about the Supreme Court's protection of the Rights of Parents to Raise Children in Parent's Religious Tradition (Mahmoud v. Taylor) at www.MnGender.com.
15. Click to go to the view our Opt-Out Page.
16. Go to mnhealthstandards.com view information about the forthcoming promulgation of statewide-takeover of health education standards, or view the report in our reports section.