Parent accuses Satellite High teachers of 'grooming' teen to transition

- The parent alleged teachers were "influencing and grooming" the student to be transgender.
- The teacher, Melissa Calhoun, used the student's chosen name despite a 2023 Florida Board of Education rule requiring parental permission.
- The school principal believed Calhoun's use of the chosen name was unintentional.
Brevard Public Schools Superintendent Mark Rendell told the Satellite High teacher whose contract was not renewed that the student’s parent believed teachers were "influencing and grooming" the student to become transgender, in part by calling them by their chosen name.
The April 1 letter of reprimand was among a 128-page series of documents, including correspondence between numerous district staff members, obtained through a records request from FLORIDA TODAY. The documents detail the path to AP English Literature teacher Melissa Calhoun’s contract not being renewed for the 2025-2026 school year, starting in March with a parent's complaint to School Board Vice Chair Matt Susin and culminating in April with the official non-renewal of Calhoun’s contract, which concludes at the end of May.
"At no time did I give permission for any name other than (my child's) given name (to be used)," the parent wrote in an email on April 3 to board members and Satellite High Principal Courtney Lundy.
The student’s parent first contacted Susin on March 6 after getting into an argument with their teen, at which point the teen mentioned that teachers at Satellite High called them by their chosen name.
Behavior that was “gender affirming” by the teen’s teachers — specifically, using the chosen name of the student — continued until the parent voiced concerns, the parent said.
The student — a 17-year-old who is dual enrolled at Satellite and Eastern Florida State College — goes by a chosen name related to their gender identity, according to records. Their parent did not sign a form giving permission for teachers to use their chosen name, which is required by a 2023 Florida Board of Education rule. Calhoun is the first known educator to suffer job loss as a result of the 2023 rule.
Records show Calhoun was issued a single letter of reprimand on April 1 by Rendell, as well as a notice that her annual contract would not be renewed. Jacqueline Saxenmeyer, manager of professional standards for the professional standards and labor relations department, completed an investigation into the complaint and recommended only that Calhoun be reprimanded, according to records.
In the parent's email to the board, she said teachers began calling the student by another name during the 2021-2022 school year. She made numerous requests of the district, including asking for an investigation into all teachers and her child's belongings, according to records.
The parent and Calhoun have been silent since news first broke in April.
Rendell cited Florida statute, an administrative code and school board policy as the reason for Calhoun's letter of reprimand and detailed what led up to the investigation.
"The parent informed the school administration of their student's desire to transition ... and their concerns that school faculty members were influencing and grooming this behavior by referring to their student by the student's preferred male nickname," Rendell said. "The parents further advised that they did not provide consent to have their child be referred to by any name other than the student's legal name."
Principal: Calhoun's use of name 'unintentional and due to previous years' habits'
Though the parent didn't reach out to the board as a whole until April, she called Susin in early March.
The district’s investigative summary shows that on March 6, Susin spoke with Satellite High Principal Courtney Lundy over the phone about a conversation he had with the student's parent. The parent had contacted him after getting into an argument about their student's gender identity, during which the student mentioned that teachers at Satellite High called them by their chosen name. The parent told Susin that both Satellite and DeLaura teachers were influencing her child to "transition and be gay."
Later that day, Lundy spoke with the parent, who expressed the same concerns about the environment at both DeLaura Middle School and Satellite, emphasizing that "changing the cultures at these schools requires changing people, not just policies."
The conversation sparked an investigation the following day, with Lundy organizing meetings with multiple educators. First, she met with the gay-straight alliance sponsor, Kristin Staniec, and asked if she had parental permission forms for all members, as the parent was concerned that their child was attending without permission. Staniec said only one student was involved with the club, no meetings had been held and that the only current student had decided they would cancel the club if no one joined by the following week. The records didn't say whether or not the single student had parental permission.
Multiple teachers met with Lundy on March 11, starting with Calhoun. Calhoun said she called the student by their chosen name, as she had been teaching them for several years and used the name prior to the Board of Education rule.
While Calhoun was aware of the policy change, she wasn't sure where to find parent-approved nicknames in FOCUS — an academic portal for Brevard students, parents and teachers — according to Lundy's written statement. When Lundy showed Calhoun where to locate the nicknames, Calhoun said the situation "may be the hill she falls on," according to Lundy, as she had known the student for several years. She added that she was not intentionally trying to break the policy or be malicious.
Calhoun denied discussing transitioning with the student, saying her focus was on teaching AP English and "fostering a successful learning environment." Lundy said she could "attest that Mrs. Calhoun is a highly effective teacher who goes above and beyond for her students' learning and success" based on her observations through walkthroughs, evaluations, professional development sessions and test scores.
Following the discussion, Lundy said she believed Calhoun's use of the student's chosen name was "unintentional and due to previous years' habits." She added that she didn't recall reviewing the policy and procedures during the 2024-2025 school year to make sure the staff was aware of the names being used or how to see nicknames in FOCUS.
At least five students provided written statements about whether or not Calhoun used the student's chosen name in class.
"I don't know the full details of the situation, but in my three years of having Mrs. Calhoun as a teacher I have never once heard her impose her views on another student or even bring them up in class," one student wrote.
"Regarding the recent situation, Mrs. Calhoun has referred to the student by their last name, or the name they've asked all their teachers and classmates to use. Never once has Mrs. Calhoun used pronouns when referring to that student to avoid making that student feel uncomfortable and to abide by the rules."
Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at fwalker@floridatoday.com. X: @_finchwalker. Instagram: @finchwalker_.