EXCLUSIVE: Prestigious D.C. School Hosts LGBTQ Event For Children, Neglects To Warn Parents In Time

An Episcopal all-girls school in Washington, D.C. invited its grade school students to attend an LGBTQ event, alerting parents minutes before the start of the event. 

The National Cathedral School (NCS) parents received an email from the Head of the Lower School at 2:38 p.m. on Wednesday that students were invited to attend a “Lower School Affinity Space” event hosted by the school’s Gender & Sexuality Alliance at 3:05 p.m. The religiously affiliated school regularly hosts affinity space events for LGBTQ students, according to an email from the school’s spokesperson to the Caller. (RELATED: Charlie Kirk Confronts Newsom Over Barring Parents From Knowing Child Identifies As Trans)

“NCS is committed to providing enriching student experiences that build community in partnership with families at our school,” the spokesperson told the Caller over email. “Our Middle and Upper School affinity groups offer students a space to connect with peers who share similar experiences.” 

According to the school, while the affinity groups are intended for Middle and Upper School students, they occasionally host “snack events” for their Lower School students, with the events being “always voluntary” and with parents notified ahead of time. However, with parents receiving such short notice, they did not have the time to pull their children out of the event.

“While we customarily notify parents ahead of these events, there was an oversight in this instance to communicate in a timely way, which was swiftly corrected,” the spokesperson said.

Rebecca Jones, the head of the Lower School, wrote in the email to parents that she “promised to give you a few days’ notice” before each Lower School Affinity Space. “Unfortunately I have not kept this up and sincerely apologize for this oversight,” she added in the email.

The Wednesday event was meant both for Lower School and Upper School students. The email sent to parents said the event would be “an opportunity for students to meet [Upper School] students, play games, and have a snack” and that it was “a chance to gather to support people for who they are and who they love.”   

The prestigious school, which shares the same grounds as the National Cathedral, was founded in 1900. It has a student body of 600 students in grades 4-12 with a yearly tuition of $56,920. Notable alumnae include Susan Rice, Democratic advisor and diplomat under the Obama and Biden administrations; Karenna and Kristin Gore, daughters of former Vice President Al Gore; and Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, daughters of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

“An Episcopal school, NCS welcomes students of all faiths and traditions, aligned with the Cathedral’s mission to be ‘a house of prayer for all people,’” according to the school’s website.  

Bishop Mariann Budde, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington who lectured President Trump on transgender issues in a sermon at the National Cathedral, serves as an ex officio member of the National Cathedral School’s Governing Board.

The religious school also offers resources for LGBTQ parents sending their children to NCS. The school supports non-traditional families through Rainbow Families, a non-profit that offers “education, resources, and support services for LGBTQ+ parents, families, and parents-to-be.”

The school did not comment on the appropriateness of hosting these events for young children nor its status as a religiously-affiliated school.