The following email has been sent to the Richland 2 School Board Ms. Holmes and Ms. McKie are addressed as trustees-elect because they have never taken the oath of office legally. Because they have not, they have never become legitimate members of the school board.
Good morning, Board Members and trustees-elect Holmes and McKie,
At the board meeting on this Tuesday, November 16, Mrs. Grant will entertain you with Item 10.5, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, a 28-page presentation apparently intended to respond to the Board's request for information about the July 22nd In-service Training for staff on the difference between Culturally Relevant Teaching and Critical Race Theory.
Hopefully, Mrs. Grant does not intend to read all 28 pages to you. You'll notice on Slide 1 that Mrs. Grant has a new title, even though the District's website has not been updated. Her titles are key evidence of the presence of Critical Race Theory right here in Richland 2.
May I encourage you to take a couple of hours to read and study carefully this presentation? To save your time, print the 28 pages. Put a big X across the irrelevant pages. As you study it, continually ask yourself if you are seeing the differences between Culturally Relevant Teaching and Critical Race Theory. Write YES or NO on each page.
Please prepare your questions. When Mrs. Grant begins her presentation, cut her short and start asking questions, so that her long presentation doesn't consume all the agenda time that the chair and superintendent may have allocated to that Item.
Slide 2 is worded to mislead you and to re-direct your attention from Critical Race Theory. The Culturally Relevant Pedagogy of Gloria Boutte and the superintendent's preference for a face at the front of the room that looks like the faces in the classroom seats (i.e., black) is what you want to examine. Many pages have nothing to do with CRT1 vs. CRT2. Don't be misled.
One of your first questions might be: "What do you mean by 'intentional focus on providing an equitable education for all of our students'. Explain 'equitable'."
Ask "What is the District's Mission?" and "What is the District's Vision?" Those should be short, but important, answers. https://www.richland2.org/About/About-Us Is this the truth? Is it achievable? Is it correct?
Ask what and where the videos are that in-service attendees were required to watch during break-out sessions.
Ask the titles of the break-out sessions.
Ask where the hand-outs for the break-out sessions are.
Ask if the break-out sessions were recorded and where the recordings are.
Were attendance sheets for each break-out session kept?
Otherwise, you will be spoon-fed a carefully-prepared presentation designed to give you what Administration wants you to see, which may not be what you have asked for.
An R2 teacher called me this week and told me that everything I have written on my blog is 100% accurate. I was told that teachers are afraid to speak up. Are R2 students being indoctrinated, as suspected by an increasing number of parents? Your job is to root that out and return R2 to the business of Education.
Example, Page 3 Equity. Richland 2 has 28,000+ students. It is impossible to deliver on that statement of opportunities and supports. Richland 2 is not a Montessori school or a private institution with unlimited funding.
Slide 18. Saying it does not make it so.
If you study the presentation carefully, do you understand the differences? Since almost no information is provided about Critical Race Theory, how can you understand the differences?
Respectfuly,
Gus Philpott
www.Richland2.info
