Sex-ed teacher at NYC's $55k woke Dalton school claims she quit because bosses didn't support after fed-up parents complained about her lessons on masturbation and hugging without consent
A sex-ed teacher who resigned from a prestigious $55,000-per-year Manhattan private school following a backlash at the porn lessons she gave to kids says she stepped down due to a lack of support from bosses.
Justine Ang Fonte spoke out on Wednesday for the first time since quitting Dalton School on Manhattan's Upper East Side last month.
Parents had been left fuming at Fonte's controversial program, which included showing first graders cartoons about masturbation.
Her classes also reportedly included lessons on gender identity and consent, instructing children that their parents and grandparents should not touch them without asking permission..
Fonte, who also taught at Columbia Prep, the oldest nonsectarian independent school in NYC founded in 1764, said she felt let down by both schools and feared for her safety as she faced email threats, and says her private information was shared online, a practice known as 'doxxing'.
'I wanted to believe that Columbia Prep was a school that was ready to take on these issues in an educational, intellectual way and at least one person at that school trusted that I could do it,' she told the New York Times.
'And I did. But they weren't ready to back it up, and it cost me my safety.'
Fonte, who is now planning to write children's books, produce podcasts and deliver talks, insisted her workshops - including a compulsory one on porn encompassing incest roleplay and OnlyFans - reflected mainstream approaches to sexual education.
Parents at an elite private school in New York City are furious that first-graders have been shown sex education videos
Describing her hopes for students, she said: 'I equip them with a way that they can exercise body agency and consent, by knowing exactly what those parts are, what they are called, and how to take care of them.'
'That was paired with lessons around, what are the different ways to say ''no''? And what's the difference between a secret and a surprise?
'And why you should never have a secret between a grown-up and you. Because it's never your responsibility as a child to hold a secret or information of a grown-up.'
She was backed up by several sex educators, who told the NYT there was nothing inappropriate about her classes, which they said were in line with current National Sex Education Standards and the World Health Organization's International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education.
Fonte's resignation was announced in June by Dalton head Jim Best, who insisted the school - once attended by Barron Trump - still stood 'firmly behind the program and those who teach it'.
However, in her interview Wednesday, the teacher insisted she felt unsupported by school officials and that led to her stepping down.
Fonte, the health and wellness and the Dalton School, showed students a video last fall from the free sex education series AMAZE
In the video, a cartoon little boy asks: 'Hey, how come sometimes my penis gets big sometimes and points in the air?'
In Best's message, sent to parents on June 11 and seen by the New York Post, Best wrote: 'Throughout her tenure at Dalton, Justine Ang Fonte has helped to develop an exemplary K-12 Health and Wellness program.
'Dalton — our faculty, staff, administration, and trustees — continue to stand firmly behind this program and those who teach it.
'At faculty and staff meetings this week, Justine announced her decision to leave Dalton to focus on her work as an independent Health Educator. She has been working toward this goal for over a year. We support Justine's aspirations and look forward to honoring her accomplishments as the academic year comes to a close.'
One Dalton parent reacted angrily to the statement, saying: 'This inability to admit a mistake or acknowledge misstep is strange.'
One mother said when the row first broke: 'Kids have no less than five classes on gender identity – this is pure indoctrination. This person should absolutely not be teaching children.'
The cartoon adult then tells the boy that's called an 'erection' before the boy seemingly addresses masturbating
A young cartoon girl then tells the adult she also touches her vulva when she goes to bed
Fonte, Dalton's director of health and wellness, showed students a video last fall from the free sex education series for children called AMAZE, in which a cartoon boy asks about erections.
In the video, a cartoon little boy asks: 'Hey, how come sometimes my penis gets big sometimes and points in the air?'f
'That's called an erection,' the cartoon adult woman responds.
'Sometimes I touch my penis because it feels good,' the boy adds.
Then a cartoon little girl says: 'Sometimes, when I'm in my bath or when Mom puts me to bed, I like to touch my vulva too.'
'You have a clitoris there, Kayla, that probably feels good to touch the same way Keith's penis feels good when he touches it,' the adult character tells the little girl.
The adult woman adds: 'Have you ever noticed that older kids and grown-ups don't touch their private parts in public? It's okay to touch yourself and see how different body parts feel - but it's best to only do it in private.'
Following an outcry, Fonte told parents that she did not use the word 'masturbation' in class.
Those who complained to school administrators were told they had misinterpreted the lessons, the Post reported earlier this year.
The video also teaches the first graders about the differences between a penis and a clitoris
Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Foundation provided the school, where his ex-wife Karen is on the board of trustees, with a $450,000 grant which reportedly funded Fonte's work.
The series in which the controversial video appears was created through a partnership between the Washington D.C. based nonprofit Advocates for Youth and the organizations Answer and Youth Tech Health.
The Post also recently revealed that Fonte led 'Porn Literacy' workshops on May 5 at a $47,000-a-year Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
The school allegedly forced juniors to attend a compulsory workshop on porn which included lessons on incest roleplay and OnlyFans.
The students at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School on Manhattan's Upper West Side were told to watch a slideshow entitled, 'Pornography Literacy: An intersectional focus on mainstream porn.'
Fonte recently presented a slideshow to high school students about porn literacy
The slideshow included images of partially-nude women, asking students if it was 'art or porn?'
Most of the 120 students, between the ages of 16 and 17, who attended the lecture watched it on Zoom from home.
The teens were also shown statistics on the 'orgasm gap' showing straight women have fewer orgasms with their partners than gay men or lesbians.
Students were also shown photos of partially-nude women, some of whom were in bondage, to analyze 'What is porn and what is art?'
Another slide cited various genres of porn, such as 'incest-themed,' consensual or 'vanilla,' 'barely legal,' 'kink' and BDSM.
Additionally, the slideshow included a list of the most-searched pornographic terms in 2019, including 'anal,' 'gangbang' and even 'stepmom,' and discussed OnlyFans, where 'content creators' share photos and videos of themselves naked or having sex with subscribers for a monthly fee.
School officials later apologized to parents for the lecture, with headmaster Dr. William Donohue saying they were not aware of what the lesson would entail.
The slideshow allegedly told students what kinds of pornography are legal to produce
The lesson also included statistics on the 'orgasm gap' showing straight women are less likely to orgasm than straight or gay men and gay women
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July 08, 2021
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