West Cook News

River Forest elementary school students led a "gay pride" walk to village hall on Wednesday, where they witnessed the raising of a flag signifying "LGBTQ+ pride."

The event, which included students ages 6-14, in grades kindergarten through eight, was organized by the River Forest School District 90 "Belonging and Inclusion" committee.

"I have no words for the show of love and support our River Forest community brought to the D90 Inclusion and Pride Walk today," wrote River Forest Village Board Member Erika Bachner on Facebook, who says she is lesbian. "Hundreds showed up-- beyond any of our wildest imaginations-- and we celebrated the beautiful diversity and uniqueness of all people!!"

River Forest Elementary school students helped raise a "LGBTQ+ pride" flag at village hall on June 1 | Special to West Cook News

Bachner, an executive, assistant elected village trustee in 2019, praised Megan Keskitalo and Casey Godfrey for organizing the walk.

Keskitalo, 44, is  a former New York State Department of Health project manager with "a passion for diversity, equity and inclusion," according to her Linkedin page. She says she drafted the village of River Forest's "DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) mission and vision statements" behind the village's "Diversity Equity and Inclusion" committee, led by Bachner.

At its first meeting last September, Bachner's committee voted 20-6 not to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the U.S. before meetings. One member complained about the Pledge's reference to God.

Godfrey is principal of Lincoln School, which serves grades K-4.

District 90 has recently encouraged students and their parents to learn more about what it calls the "fast changing gender landscape."

The American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" holds children are not fully capable of understanding what it means to be a man or a woman, adding that most questioning their biological sex eventually come to accept it and stop "identifying" as the opposite one.

Bachner said the walk raised "over $1,000" for the Trevor Project.

A 2020 national survey by the Trevor Project found 40 percent of the combined LGBTQ respondents seriously considered attempting suicide in the past twelve months, with more than half of the transgender group (T) and nonbinary youth having seriously considered suicide. 

District 90 includes around 1,300 students at Lincoln and Willard Elementary Schools, and Roosevelt Middle School.

D90 has an expansive Ad Hoc Gender Inclusiveness Committee and an "Inclusiveness Advisory Board" created “(a)s part of our efforts to promote inclusiveness and equity for all students.”

Members of the advisory board are Megan Keskitalo, Godfrey, Nausheen Akhter, Juan Alegria, Katie Avalos, Heather Brauckman, Kim Briggs, Phillip Buta, Peter Chien, U-Jong Choe, District Superintendent Ed Condon, D90 School Board Member Cal Davis, Rashida Dairyko, Rebecca DeGroff, Alicia Driskill, Ron Dubois, Blaire Goldstein, Sarah Hampson, Alison Hawley, Gina Hardy, Melissa Healy, Lynda Holliday, Liz Huber, Allison Jack, Stephanie Kang, Nikki Kidd, Marsha Leibundguth, Patti Marino, Denise Matthews, Rebecca McFall, Suzanne McLeese, Janeice Millon, Kelly O'Keefe, Roshni Ricchetti, Mandy Ross, Renee Sichlau, Dawne Simmons, Eric Simon, Kristin Sneeringer, Louisa Starr, Deb Steiner, Lori Suzuki, Respicio Vazquez, Annie Wallis, Danielle Watkins and Deb Wolkstein