Who we are
We are an alliance of Private and Public School Parents, Grandparents & Alumni in Connecticut who want to preserve our Parental Rights and Medical Choice without the risk of our children being expelled, pressured or coerced socially or by the school or otherwise segregated or discriminated against.
We believe:
- Parents have a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education and care of their children.
- Schools should focus on academics, not indoctrinate children with Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Critical Race Theory (CRT), Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) or any other political ideology that divides rather than unites.
- Parents have the right to know what their children are being taught, who is teaching them and which organizations are receiving school contracts.
- Parents are their children’s first and foremost educators and have primary responsibility for the education of their children.
- Parents have a right to direct their children’s education, care (including the choice to opt in or out of COVID protocols like masks & vaccines) and upbringing (including the choice to opt in or out of specific curriculum or other school programs that counter their values).
- Our children’s and our families’ medical & personal data should not be gathered via unethical surveys and subsequently shared or sold.
OUR History
We started informally in Greenwich, CT in Spring 2021 after hearing about potential COVID mandates in our schools and the subtle and not so subtle changes to curriculum, academic integrity and other areas. Although we weren’t anti-vaccine, we were anti-mandate and coercion. We believed medical decisions should be made by parents with their family doctors, not by the schools. We believed parents should have a voice when it comes to their child’s education and environment. Even though we thought we were the only ones who felt this way, we knew we had to do something.
During this time there were other parents who felt alone, concerned, and panicked. Our parental rights and voice were rapidly being eroded. However, we discovered there were MANY other parents who felt the same way… not only at our own schools, but also throughout Greenwich at other private and public schools.
Parents at each school had similar experiences with their school leaders: Rather than having their concerns met with understanding and collaboration, they were dismissed and rebuffed, their questions went unanswered and they were marginalized. Many were uncomfortable being involved or speaking up at all due to concerns of repercussions against their children or overall social/community repercussions. Family discussions like “will we have to move?” and “will we have to join a home-school co-op” began in earnest and seemed maybe not so outlandish.
Parents were able to make positive changes at a couple of the schools by coming to agreements to varying degrees utilizing methods such as petitions and addressing administrators and board members in areas such as vaccine mandates and curriculum/academic integrity. Seeing each other’s success, parents at each of the schools started to work together; share lessons learned, align and establish Concerned Greenwich Parents to create change on a broader level and within other Greenwich Private and Public schools. Since then, other towns in Connecticut have been having similar concerns with their schools and, as a result, we have expanded to become Concerned CT Parents!
Over the past year, each school has handled changes differently. Some schools began hearing parental concerns and worked with parents to address these concerns and created positive change together. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the norm. HOWEVER, we are optimistic that changes are happening as a result of other concerned parents, just like you, voicing your concerns with your schools.
Our Mission
Preserve Parental Rights and Medical Choice at our schools and in our local communities in Connecticut by:
- Creating a sense of community and unity among the schools
- Connecting parents with each other
- Sharing information about issues of concern
- Suggesting how parents can help
- Creating and implementing strategies and support structures
- Working with parents, school administrations & local government
Our concerns
Schools are pressuring and requiring parents to subordinate their parental control over their children to the school. This is done via enrollment and community contracts and other methods and is demonstrated in the following:
- Erosion of Parental Rights/Voice
- School Mandates, Pressure and Coercive Measures (including through sports participation)
- Segregation and Discrimination
- Medical Choice & Expert Guidance Sources
- Violations of Medical Privacy
- Academic Integrity/Curriculum
- Family and Student Data Collection and sharing via unethical surveys