SUSD Must Act: Stop the Hate in the Classroom

Families who send their students to schools within the Scottsdale Unified School District deserve classrooms that reflect the values of respect, safety, and integrity, not hate and hypocrisy. Yet the Scottsdale Unified School District continues to protect third-grade teacher Donna Javinett, who openly violates the very mission SUSD claims to uphold. She has repeatedly undermined those principles, using her platform to promote political hostility and intolerance.

After the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Javinett posted hateful rhetoric celebrating violence and mocking Christianity. She called Charlie a “white nationalist” and “nothing more than an ugly bigot." She went even further, calling Christianity “bull****” and claiming it indoctrinates children. Schools are meant to be a place where kids can freely learn and discuss differing viewpoints, not spaces where teachers use their free time to attack anyone who disagrees with them. These remarks are not only hateful, but they directly violate SUSD’s stated mission to “empower all to think critically” and to “embrace diversity”, including diversity of thought.

Her disturbing behavior extends beyond social media. According to public reports, Javinett was accused of being involved in a situation where a child from Anasazi Elementary School was filmed by a neighbor after political disagreements with the child's parents. The family obtained a restraining order against the neighbor. In court, it was revealed that Javinett thanked the neighbor for “protecting teachers from extremists." This behavior betrays the trust that parents place in schools. This is not diversity, it’s discrimination. SUSD’s refusal to take action sends parents a clear message: accountability ends where their values begin. Donna Javinett’s conduct is unethical, dangerous, and incompatible with the responsibility she has been entrusted with as an educator.

We are calling on the board of SUSD and the leadership of Anasazi Elementary School for the immediate termination of third grade teacher Donna Javinett. The district must send a clear message to students and parents that hateful conduct and harassment are not tolerated, and that consequences apply to students and staff. The expectations we set for children must be the expectations we enforce for the adults leading them.