DC school where SCOTUS nominee Jackson serves as trustee held ‘gender-neutral toy store’ project for second graders

According to Townhall, Georgetown Day School, where one of Jackson’s children has attended school, has had its second graders perform this project during a number of school years. The school states that it uses "comprehensive, progressive curriculum."

Video from the school’s December 2019 event originally showed footage from the project, and includes voiceovers from the students that participated in it.

In a vision statement released as part of the conclusion of the project, one class said, "In Social Studies we are studying gender as part of our identity project. We learned that there are many ways people identify, not just boy or girl. We also learned about gender stereotypes. We feel it is important to break gender stereotypes, so that everyone feels comfortable doing whatever brings them joy. We saw a problem in the media. Many advertisements show gender stereotypes. We made toy commercials advertising toys that are appealing to all kids. We made sure our commercials are breaking gender stereotypes!"

According to Townhall: "To protect the students' privacy, the video above only includes the audio from the original video released by Georgetown Day School along with a freeze-frame in the original showing a 'Gender Snowperson,' along with definitions for cisgender, transgender, and non-binary."

Students said that they "...had so much to learn and prepare before the toy store opens."

"In one important lesson, we dress dolls in different ways," one student said.

"We learned about gender expression, gender expectations, and gender stereotypes," another student added.

A student said that they learned about gender expression, gender expectations, and gender stereotypes leading up to the opening of the store.

"In other lessons, we learned what cisgender means and what transgender means, and we learn what it means to be non binary," a student said.

The students said that they learned about the toy design process leading up to the store’s opening, and that they served in a number of rolls in the store, including manager, guide, and cashier.

Feedback the students received included: "...this is the best shopping experience I've had," and "...all kids should be able to play with toys they like."

According to Georgetown Day School's 2019 IRS 990 Form viewed by Townhall, Jackson was listed as a board member during the period that began on July 1, 2019, which suggests that Jackson was a board member during this project.

The school was prevented from holding the project in 2020 due to COVID-19 shutdowns, but continued the project in 2021 in an altered state.

"While the students were not able to open their classroom to community members for an interactive gender-neutral toy store this year as they have in years past, the lesson continued as 2nd graders once again were able to learn about gender stereotypes and the ways toy marketing often perpetuates stereotypes," the school stated on its website.

"To counteract what they saw as gender-segregated advertising, the students worked in teams to develop their own marketable toys that could appeal more expansively," the school added.