The secretive private school upending America’s most liberal city: ‘We don’t talk about pronouns here’

In ultra-progressive San Francisco, parents are increasingly looking for something more traditional for their children.

That’s the message from the growing enrollment at Donum Dei Classical Academy and other religious schools in the liberal California city.

These private Christian schools weave tradition, faith and conservative values ​​into the curriculum.

Some were founded by Republican fans of newly elected President Donald Trump and want Christianity to play an important role in American life.

For the parents who use them, this means no “woke” books on the library shelves and no gender identity talk in the classroom.

While the schools’ popularity is worrisome to some, it signals a backlash against the Golden State’s progressivism.

California passed a law this year that makes it harder for parents to know when their children ask to use a different name or pronouns in class.

Public schools have been dogged by complaints about teachers encouraging students to change genders without informing their fathers or mothers, and in some cases referring them to gender reassignment clinics.

Enrollment in public schools is declining.

Yonahandi Vaca, a social worker whose child attends Donum Dei, said she chose the 66-student K-8 school “because it aligns with our Christian faith.”

“I feel like they have a fresh approach to education,” Vaca said The San Francisco Standard.

‘I had never heard of classical and I found that very attractive: learning things the old way, with cursive and Latin.’

The school costs $20,000 a year and is located in the residential neighborhood of Bernal Heights, where Pride flags decorate many windows.

Since opening in 2019, it has expanded by about 25 students.

Anonymous contributions rose from $45,692 that year to $773,319 in 2023.

It “exists as a gift from God to the families and churches that call San Francisco home,” the website says.

“We seek to provide a rich classical Christian curriculum full of Biblical truth and life-giving experiences… in the hands of our godly, experienced teachers and teaching partners,” it adds.

Meanwhile, Nativity High School opened this fall with 20 students in Inner Richmond.

The 25-student Saint John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy in Richmond opened in 1994, and Stella Maris, in Inner Richmond, has doubled its enrollment to 86 students since its 2021 restart.

All are in upscale neighborhoods favored by San Francisco’s tech executives and other millionaires, where homes change hands between $1.3 million and $1.8 million.

Many have opened in the past five years.

In the US, the number of religious schools grew by 4.8 percent during that time, according to consultancy Arcadia Education.

Marilyn Bridon, an art teacher and assistant to the principal at Stella Maris, a fast-growing classical Christian school, says the classes are different from some nearby public schools.

Students attend Friday Mass and are encouraged to get involved with their parish.

There is also a “triage” system to ensure “woke books” don’t appear on library shelves, she said.

“We certainly don’t talk about pronouns at our school,” Bridon told The Standard.

“Parents do not want children to be exposed to outside influences that prevail in our city.”

The schools are affiliated with Orthodox and Catholic doctrine in various ways.

Donum Dei is not affiliated with any particular sect of Christianity, but requires students to have at least one parent involved in a Christian church.

The schools focus on classical subjects, such as grammar, logic and rhetoric.

They avoid gender ideology, critical race theory, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Helen Sinelnikoff-Nowak, an administrator and teacher at Saint John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy, says parents want something more traditional for their children.

“A lot of people in our community have said it’s important to them that we’re not too far away, too far to the left,” Sinelnikoff-Nowak said.

“I’m not preaching to parents, but I hear them, and that’s what they’re looking for.”

It is controversial that some schools do not teach evolution.

This has raised questions about science education in schools – and whether creationism is presented as fact.

When asked about this, Donum Dei director Trisha Mammen reportedly said, “God made the earth and man. We were not made of slime.”

The school did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.

Administrators also blocked a journalist from attending public information sessions about the academy.

Other religious schools in San Francisco eschew creationism.

Those led by the Archdiocese of San Francisco are “learning what science can prove,” said Peter Marlow, a district spokesman.

The growing popularity of classical Christian schools comes as San Francisco shifts politically to the right.

The percentage of urban voters who voted for Trump grew from 12.8 percent in 2020 to 16.7 percent in 2024.

Meanwhile, California voters voted to get tougher on drug and theft crimes and allow forced labor in prisons.

San Francisco was once the least religious city in America. The country lagged behind Seattle this year, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey.

Local education consultant Vicky Keston says about one in 10 of her clients are interested in Christian schools and wants teachers to “focus on academics rather than politics or social justice.”

“In my experience, there are a large number of parents looking for a school like this,” she said.

‘Some parents prefer that questions about gender identity be taught at an older age and that young children are not actively encouraged to reconsider what their gender is.’

Donum Dei was founded in 2019 by right-wing venture capitalist Nate Fischer and his wife Meghan.

She and other co-founders are associated with Calvinism and dominionism, which promotes a society governed by biblical rules.

Fischer’s venture capital firm New Founding invests money in tech startups that promote right-wing values ​​such as gun ownership, vaccine skepticism and the gender binary.

He donated about $14,000 to Republican candidates, including JD Vance and Ted Cruz, during recent election cycles, according to the Federal Election Commission.