Submitted by Pad Finnigan.
The Clover Park School Board concluded its two-evening 2021 board retreat Tuesday night after reviewing the results of five months of staff work. The work product is called the final draft of its Equity Policy. The policy draft is supposed to be voted on by the board on Sept. 13.
What’s an Equity Policy, you ask? Good question, and one few people understand. In street terms, it explains how they propose to teach to students of different races and needs in order to improve the academic results they achieve. It is six pages full of academic jargon, such as “…a path to eliminate racial disparities and disproportionality.”
The policy will divide children by race instead of unifying them as Americans.
But don’t confuse the word “equity” with “equality.” Equity is a word specially made up by academics who are hawking critical race theory nationally. In this draft Equity Policy it is defined as, “affirming diverse needs, removing barriers to access, and maintaining high standards and expectations.”
Diverse needs, not equal needs. Do different races have diverse educational needs? Does the color of your skin determine how and what you are taught or how you learn?
The policy says, “We acknowledge that people of historically marginalized identities have been underserved and harmed by internal and external systems.” Makes one wonder if the school district believes its system has harmed students. Labels like “marginalized” invite students to feel victimized and use that as an excuse for not learning.
A few things the district will do if this new policy is approved by the board are:
- Train staff and teachers in implicit bias, microaggressions, restorative practices, classroom circles, homophobia, and systemic racism.
- Eliminate discipline disparities of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and ability.
- Use curriculum reflecting culture, identity voice and heritage of district students.
- Hire teachers and staff that reflect students’ diversity.
- Counter, disrupt and dismantle harmful ideas of colonization of native Americans.
Can this race-based policy possibly solve the downward trajectory of so many of the district’s academic results? Or will it add a layer of social engineering to the district’s existing problems. Is race the answer, or is it racist by definition?
America is awash in these kinds of efforts to out-woke the other guy. Policies exist in the military, businesses, all levels of government and in universities under various names such as “social justice,” “equity, diversity and inclusion,” and “culturally responsive teaching.”
Critical Race Theory is a central unifying theory of whatever they call it. It is an academic discipline, formulated in the 1990s and built on the intellectual framework of identity-based Marxism. Critical race theorists explicitly reject equality—the principle proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. To them, equality represents “mere nondiscrimination” and provides “camouflage” for white supremacy, patriarchy, and oppression.
The school district’s draft Equity Policy defines systemic racism as “…policies, practices, and programs that exclude or promote groups on the basis or race.” Based on their own definition then, the district’s proposed policy is itself systemically racist.
You would think that the existing school board members would have asked a wide range of students’ parents and families for input into this draft policy before finalizing it. Ask dozens, hundreds maybe. However, afraid of being rejected, they asked only 7 parents and families for their reactions. Parents have more invested in their students’ education than any other group in the whole city but were basically shut out of the stakeholder consultations.
A better and pretty obvious solution to fixing the problems of the district is to replace the people at the top. Get better leadership on the school board. Then focus on individual student’s needs.
Two incumbent school board members are running for re-election in the August 3 primary election. Remove them from office and change the direction of the school district and our children’s futures.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
Voting matters. In a democratic environment the governed get the government they deserve. Frequently by way of neglect and failure to act.
Thank you for shedding light on what is really the focus of our school district. It amazes me that during Covid, with declining graduation rates, declining test scores, elevating suicide rates and crime….the district chose to focus on passing this equity policy….even though they already have one in place!
They hired a very well paid Diversity specialist whose sole job is to create nice looking power point presentations designed to bamboozle everyone into accepting this divisive and racist theology!!! Isn’t it racist to hire staff and discipline kids differently based on their skin color??? No wonder our kids are failing in core subjects…. education is clearly not a priority anymore.
In its zeal to pander to the liberal minority in our community, Clover Park School Board has
endorsed the Marxist philosophy that will ultimately destroy our country.
It’s funny you bring up the Declaration of Independence, which was one of the greatest break up letters ever. However, the Founding Fathers did not believe that all men were created equal, especially if you consider that many of them were slave-owners, the 3/5 compromise regarding slaves being part of the census, and the fact that only land-owning white males were allowed to vote initially. It’s worth noting that the things that you outline that the district is wanting to address are not inherently bad things. However, it is troubling there wasn’t more community or parent input. If disparity exists shouldn’t the school district work to address that? If they have done wrong or harm shouldn’t they admit to it? This article, like many provided in the Suburban Times about the Clover Park School District, lacks any imagination or creative solutions, just complaints, frustrations and the idea that voting new members on the school board is the magic fix.
And nothing has changed in 230 years? Is that your point? Study the reason for the 3/5th compromise: southern state would not have agreed to a union where slavery banned at that time. Disparities are addressed one student at a time regardless of skin color. “Groups” aren’t enrolled in school: individual students are. The moment you bring in group identification by race it becomes a race based, i.e. a racism issue. Is the child of a black CEO (or President for that matter) any more deserving of special attention because of their skin color than a poor white single mother working at a minimum wage job with 3 children? The fact the Board and staff have “done wrong or harm” is self evident when you research the precipitous drop in middle and high school academic achievement especially in the last 4 years during the tenure of the incumbents running for reelection. Indeed this problem is seldom if ever encountered in Board agenda and yet that is the measure of “doing right and benefit” for the students in their care.
Yes, we have had a lot of progress and hopefully we will continue to do that through dialogue and action. I don’t think CRT is the best or only framework these conversations are happening in. I was just pointing out that even our own framework for independence had an agenda and a slant behind it. Have a blessed day!
Yes we have made a lot of progress in 200+ years. But here’s the truth: the NEA is gunning after opponents of CRT. Here’s the article: Nation’s Largest Teachers’ Union to Conduct Opposition Research on CRT Opponents, https://www.nationalreview.com/news/nations-largest-teachers-union-to-conduct-opposition-research-on-crt-opponents/
Next time you hear Board President Schafer or Vice President Pearson or Superintendent Banner claim that what Clover Park School District is doing with “equity, diversity, inclusion” isn’t CRT, just remind yourself that they are not telling the truth. Can we trust our children’s future to people who can’t or won’t see the truth?
CRT is exactly what the CPSD is doing as supported by the largest teachers’ union in the country. Indeed if you do not support CRT you will be on the NEA “hit list”. That’s what is going on here. No sense for them or you to deny it.
School boards and the state department of education over the last thirty-five to forty years have felt the need to “change things” for the sake of change. Unfortunately their fiddling with teaching methods, curriculum and removing core subjects has been accompanied by declining student achievement.
While reducing core curriculum schools have been adding whatever social issue might be in vogue about such things as sexuality, gender and other matters that are best left to parents. As a result of losing their way public schools have failed their core mission as evidence by ever declining achievement scores and drop out rates. If our public schools were to receive an honest report card it would be an F.
I have asked multiple times for Ron Banner to clarify what he means by equity and what it will mean for my child in their school district. I do not want my kids to feel divided by race in this school district. These school districts are pushing us away from any regular school and towards home schooling.
Agreed. Change for the sake of change is a waste of precious resources: time, money and children’s lives. Any “change” must be directly linked to its impact on academic performance. Unfortunately “…..their fiddling with teaching methods, curriculum and removing core subjects…..” is nothing more than a smoke screen to conceal incompetence, declining achievement scores and drop out rates. It also serves the objectives of the state and national teachers’ unions whose interest is in union dues and the political power it represents; not the education of children. Indeed I’d suspect any candidate for school board who is endorsed or receives funding from teachers’ unions. Over the last 50 years class size has steadily shrunk 40% where today the average class size in CPSD high schools is as low as 17 students per teacher; this at the same time that educational achievement has plummeted. More money, teachers and “stuff” (technology, buildings, equipment, etc.) without basic changes in education simply allows schools to “graduate” more poorly educated students faster.
I retired early because of the quality of the principals. I loved teaching and the kids. The last principal, the final straw, turned out so be a sexist, ageist, who wanted lockstep allegiance to him and what he determined were “good practices”.
Excellent article here! Our kids have a right to be educated, not indoctrinated! Voters, you can change this narrative by casting your vote for new leadership to serve on the school board of Clover Park School District. Three great candidates to consider are David Anderson, Jeff Brown and Andrea Caldwell.
For the district to wake up and realize that its nearsighted and frankly ignorant love affair with the CRT and marxist ideology will lead to nothing but its ultimate demise, parents have to send a strong message. No matter how hard, scary, and impossible it may seem, step over your fears and switch to homeschooling. I understand many parents can’t afford this luxury – homeschooling is hard financially, intellectually, physically. Yet, it is not impossible. You have time this summer to unite and organize with capable parents, create pods, seek advice and guidance from experienced and successful homeschoolers. Your children will be 100% better educated if homeschooled. Last year was your chance to witness the lack of real education in the district. Next, contact your state representatives and raise your concerns with the state of education not only in our district but in WA in general. Our school board and superintendent are empowered by the sickening propaganda and indoctrination narrative by our state OSPI. It’s time to stop this plague.