Ames Today

Ames Community School District counselor Jennifer Haglund 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. 

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

The Daily Mail reported that Haglund "complained about Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in March signing a law that bars biological males from competing on female sports teams" and said Haglund "bragged about her 'own activism' and of taking part in protest marches."

"I know that I have my own right code of ethics, and that doesn't always go along with the law," Haglund said, according to the report.

Haglund has been a professional school counselor with the Ames Community School District since 2011, according to her LinkedIn profile. She previously worked as a professional school counselor and at-risk coordinator with the North Polk Community School District.

From 2001 to 2006, Haglund worked as a child and family therapist with The Quakerdale Foundation, and worked as a mental health therapist with Stairways Behavioral Health from 1999 to 2001.

Haglund received her masters degree from Gannon University, based in Erie, Penn., and graduated with a bachelor's degree from Northern Iowa University in Cedar Falls.