A sixth-grade teacher at Central Middle School in Eden Prairie raised bias concerns when she used materials featuring anti-ICE movements and images of anti-Israel protests to educate her social studies class.
Alpha News was told that one of the lessons for the 11- and 12-year-olds in Jenna Herbrand’s class included a Fox 9 video detailing a local store’s anti-ICE knitted hats. The YouTube video opens by saying “the presence of ICE in Minnesota has Gilah Mashaal seeing red,” showing red hats with “Melt the ICE” tags on the side. Mashaal, the store’s owner, also explained that the hats were based on those that the Norwegians wore during occupation of their nation to protest the Nazis.
A sign featured in the video says the Nazis “made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute.”
“As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design,” the sign adds.
The video explains that the red hats were a way for Mashaal and her fellow knitters to “show their opposition to Operation Metro Surge after the killing of Renee Good.” Operation Metro Surge was a large-scale immigration enforcement effort that took place in the Twin Cities earlier this year.
According to the video, Mashaal said she was “grateful she can use her talents to help get ICE out of Minnesota.”
On Instagram, Mashaal’s Needle and Skein store wrote that “our city and many others are currently being swept door to door by a Federally funded and supported organization. Sound familiar?”
After watching the video, students were asked to fill out response questions that prompted them to consider what the message of the art was, how it made them feel, and how it might influence people’s actions.
According to screenshots of photos from a student in the class, another lesson boasted images of a “Free Palestine” protest as part of a slideshow presentation.
While CMS’s course catalog describes sixth-grade social studies as a course exploring Minnesota’s history up to the present day, critics argue that some of the curriculum materials crossed from looking at current events into promoting particular viewpoints.
“These kids aren’t given a chance at critical thinking when they enter CMS. The left-wing socialist propaganda is forced down their throat from the get-go,” a parent told Alpha News.
A lesson at Hermantown Middle School drew similar concerns earlier this year, but the principal said it aligned with state standards.
“The problem is, current events would normally involve studying what’s going on and then comparing a variety of sources so that you can try to figure out what’s actually happening, what is the policy, and what is my opinion,” Erika Sanzi, Defending Education’s senior director of communications, said at the time.
Sanzi explained in an interview with the National News Desk that bias in the classroom makes parents feel trapped because there are no opt-out opportunities available to students.
“We wouldn’t think that our children are being taught to basically hate one presidential administration or hate immigration enforcement,” she said. “This is part of why this politicization and activism in the classroom is such a problem. Because the parent feels stuck. That’s why the only option really is to expose it and hope that they’ll see, wow, yeah, this probably wasn’t really appropriate.”
Eden Prairie Schools did not respond to Alpha News’ multiple requests for comment by publication time.
Rachael Van Rossum
Rachael Van Rossum is a journalist and author who studies political science in the Twin Cities. She previously interned with the Illinois House of Representatives and recently published her debut fantasy novel "The Hellburner of Sovi." Rachael is passionate about telling compelling stories and bringing to life the voices of political figures, athletes, and members of her community through engaging writing. She is the Alpha News journalism fellow for the summer of 2026.
