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Amherst guidance counselor reinstated in misgendering controversy speaks out
“I maintained my innocence throughout this entire process, and I believe this decision is a start in the process of my full vindication,” Delinda Dykes said.
A recently reinstated Amherst Regional Middle School guidance counselor says her “full vindication” is underway after she was accused of misgendering students in a scandal that rocked the Western Massachusetts community.
“Many have continued to make false and harmful allegations about me,” Delinda Dykes said Wednesday in a statement, released through an attorney. “Let me be clear, I am innocent.”
Dykes was initially ousted in 2023 after The Graphic, the Amherst Regional High School newspaper, published an exposé alleging she and another guidance counselor routinely referred to transgender students by the wrong names and pronouns while also failing to support students experiencing gender-based bullying or intimidation.
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The article even claimed Dykes invoked “the LGBTQ gay demon that wants to confuse our children” during a private prayer session one morning before school — an allegation Dykes disputed as false.
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Dykes appealed her firing and was ordered reinstated after arbitrator Eileen A. Cenci agreed the district failed to meet its burden of proof and had denied Dykes due process. Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools Superintendent Dr. E. Xiomara Herman announced the decision in a July 16 press release.
Dykes released a copy of Cenci’s decision Wednesday, saying she hoped to “provide some much-needed context in this situation” given the community’s “strong reaction” to her reinstatement. According to local media outlets, news of Dykes’s return sparked protests and sharply worded comments from parents and students.
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“I was very pleased with this decision, which found not only that I did not receive due process in my termination, but more importantly that the ‘evidence’ of the charges against me was insufficient and that it is in the best interest of the students for me to return to my job,” Dykes said. “I maintained my innocence throughout this entire process, and I believe this decision is a start in the process of my full vindication.”
In her arbitration findings, Cenci acknowledged several reports indicating Dykes repeatedly misgendered students. At least two other guidance counselors alleged Dykes would acknowledge her error when corrected, promise improvement, and fail to deliver, Cenci wrote.
However, she found the district did not prove Dykes’s actions amounted to policy violations or conduct unbecoming a teacher. Further, Cenci determined the “intent to dismiss” notice Dykes received did not specify names, dates, or locations involved in the alleged incidents.
“There is substantial evidence that Ms. Dykes cared about the LBGTQ+ students assigned to her, and worked to improve their school experience, despite some misgendering and missteps in communication,” Cenci wrote.
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While the district suggested Dykes’s conduct was intentional, “since she misgendered students so frequently,” Dykes contended she did not mean to harm or disrespect students, according to Cenci’s report. Dykes also argued her firing came as a result of the “political firestorm” that erupted in the wake of The Graphic article, per the report.
Weighing in on the arbitration outcome earlier this month, Herman acknowledged Cenci’s report “made clear” certain procedural deficiencies contributed to Dykes’s reinstatement, including the lack of documented progressive discipline and limited evidentiary records.
“We cannot change the past, but we can and must learn from it,” she said at the time. “We will use this moment to build stronger systems, reset expectations, tighten guardrails, and create clearer pathways forward. This is an opportunity to improve how we lead, how we document, and how we ensure accountability.”
In the meantime, Dykes said she’s looking forward to returning to the middle school come fall.
“I deeply share everyone’s concern about the safety and well-being of all students, including those who identify as LGBTQIA+ and I will never waver in my commitment to help all students,” she said.
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