Chino Hills junior high parents share concerns about American history rally

A rally at a Chino Hills junior high school celebrating America's 250th birthday caused some confusion and tension among parents.

One school per state was selected to host a "History Rocks! Trail to Independence Tour" rally put on by the U.S. Department of Education. Canyon Hills Junior High School parents have grown concerned about California's rally planned for Friday after learning about the event's coordinators. 

"What type of history are you actually going to be displaying?" grandparent Debra Esquivel said. 

The tour's website said it aims to help students personally connect with America's founding principles. Parents are worried about the conservative organizations behind the event, specifically, Turning Point USA and the Heritage Foundation. They added that they don't have an option to opt out of the rally. 

"The things they teach and the ideas that they like to bring into communities and into students are concerning to me," parent Kristi Hirst said. 

The Chino Valley Unified School District said in an email to CBS LA that the groups will not attend. School board president Sonja Shaw said there will be nothing controversial in the presentation. 

"They will be learning about the founding documents and also about the American Revolution," Shaw said. "This is nothing new. It's in our curriculum. They'll have a game show type of thing going on, asking questions, and it's really just a celebration of our country's 250th birthday."

The district said it plans to post portions of the assembly. Parents are concerned about their kids being featured in a post they may not agree with. 

Other parents are looking forward to their children attending and to having conversations with them afterward.

"I was excited for it, but what it's turned into has made me really sad," parent Sonia Singh said. "My understanding is it's a very simple, fun activity-based assembly for kids on a Friday to celebrate."

Some parents planned to protest the assembly on Friday.

After school, students said there was nothing about politics during the assembly, with one student saying it was a normal rally about American history. 

"I think they politicized something that's not political," said Katie Gorka, senior advisor for civic education.

School and district leaders took turns delivering opening remarks at the start of the assembly before it became a student-led history game.