The big problems in SAU16/Exeter started with closing down schools during COVID. Parents were left begging district administrators and school board members to reopen the schools and make masks optional. Unfortunately, they were ignored, and the Governor had to step in and force them to reopen.
Then, there was the push to force Critical Race Theory on students. The district website was full of CRT-related propaganda. After hiring the DEIJ Director, parents could see the shift away from focusing on quality academics to more of a radical political agenda that would be aimed at their children.
All of this was reflected in lower proficiency scores among the student population. This district used to be one of the most admired districts in the state, but that was changing– SAU16 was spiraling downward.
How many families were they willing to lose?
Parents began organizing in order to open up a Charter School that was focused on quality academics. Some families chose to move, some chose to send their children to better schools.
SAU 16’s political agenda even extended to the removal of Columbus Day from the school calendar. Much of the agenda to remove Columbus Day has come from hate organizations like the Ku Klux Klan. Who made this decision in SAU16? Why did they remove Columbus Day? Did they do any kind of extensive research on Columbus, or are they following the trendy political narrative that distorts actual historical facts? Political agendas seem to rule this district now.
Finally, SAU16 was committed to indoctrinating students into the Critical Race Theory or anti-racist mindset. This ideology has been pushed by CRT radicals like Ibram X. Kendi for many years. After promoting this hate-filled ideology as “anti-racist,” many people can now see that it actually encourages racial discrimination. The New York Times even published an op-ed entitled “Antiracism Was Never the Right Answer.” Now, they tell the truth about CRT. Will the anti-racists involved in our public schools finally admit the truth? I wouldn’t hold my breath; many of the people dividing our children make a lot of money peddling hate and division.
It appears that it took the collapse of Kendi’s Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, which offered no meaningful research from the $50 million in donations, to finally get people to admit that his ideology teaches children how to hate. Kendi himself says, “the only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination.” SAU16 was on its way to teaching children to hate based on race. It was more about pushing a hate-filled narrative versus anything worthwhile, like improving academic outcomes. The DEIJ scam is now getting the scrutiny it deserves. What did they do to help with the achievement of black children who deserve so much more than what these public schools are now offering?
How much money has been wasted in this district on political agendas, and ignoring parents, while students were denied a quality academic education that could open doors for them in the future?
District administrators and board members owe SAU16 families a big apology for what they’ve done to destroy their reputation. They can never repair the academic damage they’ve done to the children who’ve come through this public school system. They should be doing everything to separate from this latest political fad and refocus on academic excellence for all of their students.
Kendi’s toxic ideology was a perverse goal of racial equity. It meant lowering standards to achieve equal outcomes by racial groups. That’s essentially what happened after they hired David Ryan as their Superintendent. Now that he’s left, nothing has really changed. Parents have to fight to be heard but continue to be ignored. Where is any meaningful changes that will uplift the academics in the district?
DEIJ, CRT, and political agendas continue to dominate the district at the expense of academic excellence. A good leader would develop a strategy to achieve equal opportunity for all students and a pathway that prioritizes responsibility over equity and anti-racism.
It’s time for parents to start demanding better from school administrators and board members.
