Tonight’s presentation on Critical Race Theory presented by Superintendent David Ryan, and other staff members, showed us all one thing, the community is divided, and under his leadership, it will remain divided.
Watching the presentation on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice at tonight’s meeting was a lesson in, don’t believe what you see, believe what we tell you.
The meeting began with another denial. That what they were doing in the district wasn’t really CRT, it was DEIJ.
I remember when Common Core hit the schools, parents were up in arms over that disaster, so they changed the name to College and Career Readiness Standards.
I remember when Competency-Based Education was called Outcome Based Education, but when parents realized that fad wasn’t helping their students academically, they worked to get rid of OBE. It came back as Competency-based Education.
You can see a pattern here; deny the term, and sell it under another name.
The Moderator from New Hampshire Listens, a community organizing group, hosted this event. But the presentation never included any critical analysis. It’s almost like this administration has no ability to think critically about anything they do. Even when roughly half of the community points out the problems, and says they want no part of it.
There was a lot of talk about looking at what children would be learning through a lens they chose (race). But what if that lens (which is really a worldview) doesn’t match a lens the parents want for their children? In other words, what if a parent doesn’t want their child shamed for their skin color? What if they want their child taught about treating others equally because they believe that we are all children of God?
Some of the discussion centered around respect for other views. That’s great, but the views of parents who do not want this psychological experiment for their kids, are being dismissed.
They said that they were working with experts on this but when one of the questions asked about working with the 1776 project, David Ryan said he had never heard of the 1776 Project.
The 1776 Project was put together by Bob Silvestri, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret). 1776 Unites represents a nonpartisan and intellectually diverse alliance of writers, thinkers, and activists focused on solutions to our country’s greater challenges in education, culture, and upward mobility.
Here is what they declare as their mission:
This lens that they are proposing does not offer students diversity of thought. The lens that they have proposed based on what has been posted on the SAU16 website, or through materials that were gathered through Right to Know Requests, causes division.
There are times when tough discussions have be addressed in the classroom. There are stains in history that cannot be dismissed, no one has ever suggested otherwise. But this approach is under a great deal of scrutiny when the outcome produces hatred towards the United States, children feeling ashamed of their own skin, or community members turning on each other. That’s what this political agenda has served up in SAU16, a deeply divided community.
I’ve heard from enough parents in this community to know that prior to David Ryan’s hiring, former Superintendent Mike Morgan was well respected and focused on what parents wanted, academics. The community was unified, and even by their own admission tonight, they have had no racial incidents that warranted this radical change to the mission of this district.
How much money has this cost the taxpayers? Their pro-active approach to race relations causes division, which is apparent. They took a school district that doesn’t have any racial incidents to report, and brought in a controversial and radical approach to a problem that they say, doesn’t exist.
Kids can be mean, cruel or even bullies. That’s been happening forever. It’s a challenge and can be handled in different ways.
This radical experiment involves self-reflection as they discussed tonight. This self-reflection is handled by people who are not trained or educated in the field of Psychology. Instead, it will be carried out by Social Studies Teachers and a DEIJ Director who thinks they have the right to change the values, attitudes, and beliefs in someone else’s child.
Normally the community stands behind that approach when there is actually an incident that needs to be addressed, but again, by their own admission, they had no racial incidents to report.
They talked about what is hanging on the walls of the school and the book selection. They want students to know that they are important or deserving of attention. If this is going to be about recognizing groups of students on walls and through books in order to validate students, will this include students of religious backgrounds?
Will we now see a Cross or a Crucifix hanging on the walls? Will we see the Star of David? If this is about addressing the marginalized students, one thing we know from the last few board meetings, students who have sacred religious views or conservative views have been treated with contempt. All of this talk of inclusion and making sure students had a sense of belonging has failed under David Ryan’s leadership based on what those parents reported.
No one mentioned that just a few months ago, a teacher shamed a student for wearing the Thin Blue Line Flag. That’s an incident against a student with Conservative political views. One parent mentioned how his Christian sons were marginalized for their faith in a classroom. There are real incidents in the school towards Christians and Conservatives but that isn’t their focus.
All of this money, time, and training targeted towards race, and by their own admission, does not present a problem in the school; and they ignore the biggest problems staring them in the face– the prejudice that has been aimed at Christians and Conservative students.
Instead, SAU16 will partner with 2Revolutions which is another organization pushing the CRT narrative.
Finally, questions were asked by the moderator:
Who decided DEIJ was going to be a component? David Ryan danced around that answer and said it was the community that brought if forward. But that wasn’t the question. Who decided DEIJ was going to be a component in the school? You got a sense it was him but he didn’t want to say so, so he deflected that answer.
There was a question on looking at the materials that would be used in the classroom. The teacher explained that parents can log into the Canvas platform but one astute audience member asked about how taxpayers can access this information too. It looks like you get to pay for it but you don’t have access.
There was a questions about the East Kingston teachers and their Professional Development Training. The PD was focused on understanding their self-identities. This usually means more psychological experimentation by unqualified facilitators. Breaking them down based on their inherent racism. Now that HB2 was passed and at the state level they cannot discriminate, that will be overhauled. Good news for the staff who may not have appreciated discrimination aimed at them.
Was this indoctrination? NO.
I had to laugh at loud at this point. It reminded me of the Emperor who was naked but everyone insisted he had clothes on.
YES and we all know it is.
How will you measure progress? This seemed to stump a few of them. Excellent question by the way. David Ryan said something about showing respect when speaking to each other. WOW. How much money did they spend on this again? $95k + for the DEIJ director every year and countless hours of staff immersed in training so it gets people to respect people who are different? And yet they show no respect for parents who want no part of this psychological experiment on their children.
How will this help kids academically?
Now that kids will feel comfortable in class, they have a real chance at an Ivy League school. OK, that wasn’t exactly the answer but somehow if you feel some level of comfort in class via DEIJ, you can improve academic outcomes. I’d sure love to see the peer-reviewed, independent scientific studies on that.
Then they brought up STEM, if the kids see themselves represented in the STEM field I suppose the shortage of doctors and nurses goes away. Are you serious? We have dumbed down Common Core Math and Next Generation Science standards that set students up for failure in math and science, but if you use DEIJ in your school, your kids can move into the STEM fields when they get older.
I called this a dog and pony show, and that’s exactly what you got. I bet this DEIJ director has never read the Common Core academic standards in Math and Science. I have. I bet he doesn’t know what math concepts are missing from the Common Core math standards. I know. I bet he doesn’t know that the Next Generation Science Standards do not include enough chemistry for a stand-alone high school chemistry class. I know that. I bet he doesn’t know that there are no high school physics in the NGSS. I do. I bet he didn’t know that the Science Standards do not include the scientific method. I know that.
I can go on and list how fundamentally flawed the Next Generation Sciences Standards are, but it won’t matter, he’s not there to address the real problems that prevent students of color or any other students from pursuing a career in the STEM field. No one wants to talk about the root causes impacting students of color, they’d rather blame racism. No one wants to address the real barriers that hold students of color back.
How many psychologists looked at this? I don’t even think that question was answered in spite of this being one big psychological experiment on children.
Someone asked about David Ryan giving up his job to a POC or paying reparations. Because someone dared to hold him to the standard he set in the district, he dismissed it and said this is why he’s doing what he’s doing. In other words, don’t expect him to set the example.
Equity versus equality was discussed. The slide showed that their mission was equitable outcomes, but then they seemed to imply that’s not what they were after. That was a bit confusing. A poignant question was asked about why even have sports if the outcomes need to all be the same. I think the audience was catching on to some of the contradictions in this presentation.
One parent said they never asked her questions which were:
1) Why are there no religious symbols hanging on the wall of the school representing those students?
2) Wouldn’t a focus on academics unify this district that has been torn apart?
3) Will the school meet all of the demands by BLM:
*Removal of Resource Officers and hiring more social workers
* Training for staff hosted by BLM on implicit bias
*BLM reviewing curriculum
I will add a list of questions sent by parents below for everyone to review.
In the end, it was clear, the audience remained divided. The community will remain divided until they find a leader who is focused on unity and prioritizes academic achievement and parental rights and respect.
CRT is divisive. This community is deeply divided. David Ryan doubled down, it will remain divided while he is at the helm. If you are looking to the past when Mike Morgan was focused on providing the community one of the best public schools focused on academic excellence, parental rights, and unity, that’s not going to happen.
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The following forty questions have been assembled by parents and citizens in the six SAU16
towns.
We appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the school administration’s past, current,
and future plans for DEIJ. In light of the fact that the prepared presentation materials are
unlikely to cover all questions, and that time for answering questions is likely to be limited, we
ask that the school administration provide answers to the questions below, and to all other
questions submitted via other means, by posting all questions with responses on the sau16.org
website with a link from the homepage. Thank you.
1) Who are the DEIJ Leadership Team participants who created the Google Jamboard
showing Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats for SAU16 Students, Families,
Staff, Community, etc? What was the date of this meeting?
2) Please identify all DEIJ-related spending for books, training, staff time for the current
School Year and all previous school years since SAU16 started pursuing this agenda.
3) Does DEIJ influence SAU16 staff hiring decisions? If so, how?
4) Do you think it is acceptable to push political propaganda on elementary, middle, and
high school students? If so, why?
5) What will be done to stop viewpoint discrimination? What protections will be made for
Christians or Jewish students? What protections will be in place for Muslim or Asian
students?
6) If this method of social justice teaching is allowed, what is the goal? Who determines
what social justice is? Without bias or discrimination, will there be equal time to present
the conservative viewpoint? Pro-life? Support for the police? We have already seen
discrimination by a student wearing a flag in support of our police where the teacher’s
political bias created an unsafe situation for a student and turned other students into
activists against the boy who was wearing the flag instead of presenting both sides.
7) What are the sides (or components) of the Balanced Scorecard, and who gets to decide
what they are and how the balance is weighted?
8) The recently hired SAU16 DEIJ Director is also on the Board of Directors for BLM of the
Seacoast. On their website there are several DEMANDS, including one that educators
undergo annual training given by BLM "trainers". Who are these trainers? What
qualifications do they possess? Have you met these demands? Why would you pay
attention to these demands and not others with a different viewpoint?
9) Why would political activism be allowed in the public schools? 2revolutions had training
sessions for educators which clearly included anti-conservative, anti-white, propaganda.
For example, the white supremacy triangle which includes the words "Make America
Great Again ” as being white supremacy. Why is Americanism considered white
supremacy? Who decided that?
10) The DEIJ Leadership jamboard for educators included thoughts on the riot at the Capitol
on January 6. How does that have ANYTHING to do with the academic curriculum in our
schools? What are you doing to keep political propaganda out of SAU16 classrooms?
11) Why do you call parents weaknesses or threats to your agenda? Are you referring to
those parents who may have a different political or social ideology? How is that a
weakness? What about the balanced scorecard?
12) Do you believe it is the teachers’ place to actively seek to instill their own political or
social ideology onto students in elementary, middle and high school? Don’t you think
teachers need to teach academics, not turn children into social justice warriors?
13) Do you believe that the communities that have supported the school and the growth of
this school over the years are inherently racist?
14) If parents are not in support of your version of DEIJ, would you say they are racist?
15) The power dynamic between student and teacher is inherently unbalanced, therefore
would it be accurate to say that "discussing" social or political viewpoints in the
classroom are not discussions but indoctrination? Will students be protected without
retribution if they have opposing views?
16) What is the mechanism put in place for complaints that students or parents may have for
potential and likely inevitable violations of the Divisive Concepts law RSA 354-A;29-34
and RSA 193:40.
17) Will the administration support the students and hold teachers accountable for any
violations of the Divisive Concepts law?
18) Is it going to be taught that our country was founded and rooted in systematic racism
and it still exists everywhere today? Will that be presented as opinion or fact? This
concept inadvertently labels white people as racist simply by the color of their skin and
simply by living in society, so wouldn’t this teaching break the law?
19) Will the schools be teaching history more closely related to the 1619 project or 1776?
Said another way, will the schools be teaching that our country is built on a foundation of
slavery or not?
20) ‘This Book is Anti-Racist’ by Tiffany Jewell, has language that states white people should
‘stand down’ and other language that would break the law if ‘anyone be discriminated
against due to the color of their skin’. This was re-stated in Dr. Ryan’s email. Do you
believe this book is still allowed to be part of the SAU16 curricula under the new law? If
so, how? Will it be removed?
21) Please describe how the nuclear family is a threat to SAU16 as stated in teacher training
materials. Is this discrimination to judge a family simply by the family structure
(cisgender mom, cisgender dad, cisgender children)? If you believe it’s not, why not?
22) In what grade level will sexual education be introduced to children either through
literature or an actual class? Will children be asked what gender they identify as? If so,
at what age and what is the list of ‘genders’ to choose from?
23) Will the grading structure and expectations of each child be adjusted to account for
Equity? For example, will a child from a nuclear family be graded harder and penalized
more harshly for not doing their homework then a child from a single family home with
perceived hardships that are greater than that of the child from the nuclear family in
order to create equal outcome in performance?
24) In New Hampshire, under the law, parents have a right to request alternate assignments
if they deem a particular assignment to be inappropriate or objectionable in any way, and
they can require two weeks’ notice prior to the assignment being given to the student.
Will this be met with any resistance?
25) The new DEIJ director sits on the board of Seacoast BLM. BLM is a group that was
founded by openly Marxist leaders and believes black lives are oppressed. If the black
community is oppressed, and white people are the oppressors, isn’t that
viewpoint/teaching divisive as targeting people by race? Does the new DEIJ director
believe in the goals and mission of BLM as a member of the board? If so, how do you
plan to monitor his work to stay within the law?
26) In a recent email by Dr. David Ryan, SAU16 Superintendent, he used the Britannica
definition of “CRT” . . . “race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of
physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally
invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of color.”
Also from Britannica:
“..term race generally refers to a group of people who have in common some
visible physical traits, such as skin colour, hair texture, facial features, and eye
formation. Such distinctive features are associated with large, geographically
separated populations”.
We have leaders who believe in hundreds of genders, and that “race“ was only
created to oppress black people. How can we have leaders who don’t believe
science? And why is the definition even needed if SAU16 will not be teaching CRT?
27) If “all perspectives are welcomed”, why does it appear that SAU16 is subscribing only to
the demands of BLM “educators” and/or “trainers”? Who decided that this highly
political, controversial, racist, Marxist organization should be permitted to have any
interaction within our public school system? Will the same opportunity be afforded to
other organizations such as The National Right to Life Committee, Students for Life of
America, The National Police Organization, The American Family Association,
Americans for Prosperity, Citizens United, The Family Research Council, Freedom
Watch, and The Heritage Foundation, to name a few?
28) Can you please share all assessments conducted in SAU16 prior to the hiring of the
DEIJ position and subsequent training which show the SAU16 current state (existing
systemic racism and cases of discrimintation in the schools), desired state/goals, the
most effective ways to improve and the quantifiable measures to publicly share results
(positive and negative)?
29) How can SAU16 new programs that are implemented without a clear understanding of
the specific problem based on documented incidents in the schools?
30) Studies have shown that specific DEIJ problems can’t be solved by increasing staff
awareness or knowledge. E.g. discrimination is wrong (and illegal) – we all know this.
The question is, why can’t we discipline unacceptable behavior when it occurs, versus
trying to re-program and micromanage how human beings naturally interact with one
another?
31) How are SAU16 policies and talent processes supporting or undermining equity?
32) How does the DEIJ officer define culture and its norms?
33) Equity goes far beyond skin color. How can SAU16 DEIJ programs measure results of
any mission-critical goals that are in control of staff, attainable and achievable?
34) What is the current problem of toxic culture in SAU16 and how much of a larger issue is
it versus education and mitigating the mental health crisis?
35) How can staff take on even more to the curriculum and not get overwhelmed causing
foundational education teachings suffer?
36) In American History, if we are teaching more about the wrongs committed against
people not in the minority,
