Lake County Gazette

Two teachers and one assistant principal from the Woodland Community Consolidated School District 50 attended a recent webinar the Daily Mail said shared tips on “subversively and quietly” encouraging students to cross dress.

“Dozens of Midwestern teachers met online this week and traded tips on helping trans students change gender at school without their parents' knowledge, while criticizing a raft of new Republican laws on sex and identity,” reported the Daily Mail. “In the four-hour workshop, they discussed helping trans students in the face of new laws in Republican-run states on gender, pronouns, names, parents' rights, bathroom access, and sports teams.”  

“Some teachers said they followed the rules, but others discussed being 'subversive,' how their personal 'code of ethics' trumped laws, and how to 'hide' a trans student's new name and gender from their parents,” said the report. 

Yesenia Jimenez-Captain, Michelle Mallari, and Anna Daniels, all employees of the Woodland School District, attended the webinar, according to the article.

The webinar was hosted by the Great Lakes Equity Center, which says it is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. 

Yesenia Jimenez-Captain

Jimenez-Captain works as the school district’s director of educational services. She previously worked for the Round Lake Area School District 116, where she “earned $109,868” in salary, according to a 2021 Lake County Gazette analysis.

The Daily Mail reported that, during the webinar, Jimenez-Captain “slammed conservative teachers in a nearby district.” 

“Parents and teachers across Illinois have in recent years been angered by Democrat-led efforts to put tampons and sanitary napkins in boys' bathrooms, so that trans female-to-male students can access them,” said the report. “Jimenez-Captain told her colleagues about a nearby school board meeting that 'exploded in violence' over the tampon controversy.” 

The Daily Mail reports that Jimenez-Captain said, “That became a big violent issue cause the individuals who were involved are also educators … which is sickening.”

Michelle Mallari

Mallari is the assistant principal at Woodland Intermediate School in Gurnee, according to her LinkedIn profile. A 2021 Lake County Gazette analysis found that administrators in that school district earn an average of $117,788 per year.” 

She also has been a Skokie Library Trustee since 2021, and is a Deputy Voting Registrar in Cook County, according to LinkedIn. 

Anna Daniels

Daniels is listed as an “equity leader” on the school district website, where she writes that she has been a special educational teacher in the district for fifteen years. A 2021 Lake County Gazette analysis found that Daniels “earned $70,779" during the previous year.