Diversity, equity, and inclusion
Some citizens doubt the existence of DEI n NC schools. Currenlty, it is present in several formats. Professional development for staff has focused on DEI in a mostly unsuccessful effort to close achievement gaps. The NC Report Cards 2023-2024 show a state with many districts in decline. Using other state data sources, student achievement has been in steady decline.
What does it look like in the classroom? Ask any teacher about student behavior. Too many students are disruptive, disrespectful, and aggressive to peers and teachers. NC data supports that claim. Most teachers we talk with are frustrated with the lack of support from administration and sometimes parents. As indicated in the WCPSS Pathway to Excellence + Equity documents, system administrators claim there is "overrepresentation of students by race, ethnicity, or gender in discipline and suspension referrals". With this belief, administrators may feel they were not able to support teachers like they should or risk loosing funding or even their jobs. The increase in the number of reported teacher assaults is unacceptable. We have no idea how many go unreported.
With so many disruptions in the classroom, academic studies suffer. If you are a parent, you may have noticed a classroom increase in calm down corners, busy bags with fidget toys, increase in social emotional learning lessons, and zones of regulation to teach self emotional management.This sounds great, but are we seeing positive results? Bullying curriculums, such as CASEL have online components with political agendas and elements of critical race theory. Referencing systemic problems. power and privledge opens the door to teach victimhood. DEI fosters animosity between subgroups. It also burdens some races and genders with oppression.
As stated in the WCPSS powerpoint, schools should work towards "the elimination of underrepresented groups of students in advanced coursework". All students should be given classwork that is challenging, yet not too difficult. If students do not have the fundamentals of english, math, science, and social studies, they may not be ready for more advanced work no matter what we might want, regardless of their demographic.
Students needing special education services must be placed in the least restrictive environment. The number of students eligible for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has increased over time and so has the need for special education teachers. Our findings indicate that school districts are struggling to find teachers with special education training for self contained, pull out or push in classes. Furthermore, school districts are hiring behavior and special education coaches that work with regular education teachers to create plans of action. While this may seem a good solution for keeping students in the least restrictive environment, children with special needs are not meeting their individualized goals, nor are the children in regular education. This strategy also requires an enormous amount of record keeping and documentation. In some cases, teachers are expected to document a child's behavior or progress every 5 minutes. Meanwhile academic scores for regular education and students with disabilities are both unacceptable.
Several of North Carolina's largest districts rewrote their Title IX policies under the Biden administration interpretation. Through executive order, Pres. Trump has removed those interpretations and established policies that recognize two genders, male and female. Board policies throughout the state should reflect the change. He has also prohibited hormone treatment and surgery on minors who want to transition. Another executive order addressed women in sports, ensuring safe spaces and fair competitions for girls and women.
All educators and citizenry want children and adults to be treated with respect and dignity. We want children to receive a high quality education. The elimination of DEI will benefit all students by. setting high expectations for academics and behavior for ALL students, free of distractions of racial and sexual ideologies. Wake County School and other boards across the state are willing to risk loss of federal funds in order to maintain DEI programs and policies.