State Board of Education wants the next Secretary of Education to push “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in all schools
By Michael Bielawski
In a job posting by the State Board of Education for the next Secretary of Education, they call for someone who will bring social justice initiatives into all Vermont schools.
The press release states “The Secretary will be deeply committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Agency of Education and all Vermont schools, fostering a learning environment that is welcoming and supportive for all.”
It also states, “The Secretary will be dedicated to reducing educational inequities in all schools, particularly in communities that have experienced the most substantial demographic declines.”
There’s more such language in the job posting itself. One of the listed requirements is “Experience identifying and addressing systemic disparities, ensuring that equity goals and objectives are incorporated throughout the Agency’s operations, and understanding strategic and policy guidance on equity issues;”
Vermont schools already tangled in social justice controversies
Some schools in Vermont have made headlines over recent years for pushing controversial social justice initiatives, in some cases with negative consequences in the form of lawsuits and expensive payouts.
For instance, Randolph Union Middle/High School was forced back in June of this year to reinstate a middle school soccer coach after he was suspended for refusing to identify a male athlete as a female. The school also started a bullying investigation against the coach’s daughter.
The result was a lawsuit by the family against the school. The school lost and was forced to pay out $125,000 as part of their settlement. The school also was forced to reinstate the coach and end the investigation of alleged bullying.
The story made numerous national headlines and prompted a response from the governor when he called for people “to be open-minded, understanding, with empathy.”
The current Secretary of Education also weighed in, he said each school independently should “do what’s best for the community, but also to be sure student rights are protected.”
In another controversy also occurring this year, a young soccer player from Mid Vermont Christian School was recently told that she could not play in her local public school’s soccer league because earlier this year her school had refused to play a basketball game against a team with a male identifying as a female. CNN covered the story.
More recently, the Champlain Valley School District is voting in October over an updated transgender/nonbinary policy that includes students would be allowed to use the bathroom of the gender that they identify as and everyone would be forced to use preferred pronouns of transgender people.
Most Americans unhappy with education policies
This ad comes at a time when most Americans have negative attitudes about the direction of the education system. According to a Pew Research poll conducted in April this year, 59% of respondents are pessimistic about the education system. The number grows to 67% for Republicans, and it is 53% for Democrats.
The same poll shows Americans divided on racial equality. The report at PewResearch.org states, “More than half of Democrats (54%) are pessimistic about the United States’ ability to ensure racial equality for all people. In contrast, 34% of Republicans are pessimistic about this and 33% are optimistic.”
They also want to pay this new position nearly $81 per hour, roughly four and half times the national average rate that teachers in the classroom make according to the job site Indeed.com, which they state as $17.88 per hour.
The author is a reporter for the Vermont Daily Chronicle.
Categories: Education, State Government
I would include the story of former Windsor High School Principal Tiffany Riley, who settled her federal lawsuit against the Mount Ascutney School Board for $650,000. She was fired for saying the wrong thing; that all lives matter.
DEI and CRT are Marxist ideology—wake up, dear Vermonters! They come from the UN Sustainable Goals for 2030 as do the climate hoax, pandemics, genocide, alien threats and so on. We need to return to our Constitutional republic of states.
As part of their exhaustive equal opportunity statement, they also say that they don’t discriminate based upon belief…
That can’t be if they’re asking for someone to have a certain set of beliefs…
Somebody with non-woke beliefs that meets all the other qualification should go in, explain their beliefs and then sue the heck out of the state when they’re not given the job.
Lol. Meanwhile the kids can’t read & write. Check the latest stats. The convenience is hard to beat. Free everything and zero accountability (school, student, parent).
DEI. Or as I like to state it: DIE… Dumbing Initiative enterprise…. Mary, you are correct, this is nothing but Marxist ideology being forced upon children and families. It excludes the inclusion of ideas that are contrary to the rest of the Marxist narratives: no private land ownership, no free speech, no pursuit of liberty, life and happiness, the annihilation and current erosion of all that our Constitution and Bill of Rights is supposed to protect ( but which the liberal courts, political leaders et. al. Refuse to uphold thereby essentially engaging in treason against, we the people).
To all parents, your choice be it education or indoctrination of your children,
your choice and your voice will make the difference !!
Pushing DEI, CRT and Social Justice is going to leave Vermont parents with uneducated children.
It’s too bad that the Social Justice Warriors on the Vermont State Board of Education aren’t pushing the “FIVE “R’S” instead:
Reading
wRiting
aRithmetic
Responsibility
and
Respect…
There are some truly stupid people on Vermont State boards, and you can fix stupid. They need to be changed, like the dim bulbs that they are…
I’m sorry, this is probably off topic again, but wouldn’t we be better off if the government wasn’t in the schooling business? Let parents spend the educational resources collected for whatever schooling service they want for their kids. Having all the resources go to this government run business is a failed experiment. It’s become an over blown bureaucratic monolith. Rediscover that the education of kids belongs to families. Let families do business with the teachers for the curricula they want. Let the money follow the learner. Teachers have skills. Release them and families from their bondage to this monopoly.
What he said!
Yes, Vincent Curtis Hunter! Education belongs in the Cultural Sphere of Life and to the parents of the children. The Government should be sure that all have equal rights, but have nothing to say about education, religion, art, science, the courts, scientific research, the media . . . The Economy should be so organized that the needs of all are met and that no one accumulates the massive wealth that the Elite have managed to pile up over the centuries, which gives them undue power over everyone else.
Homeschool!
Proof that education is not about academics but indoctrination
99% of commenters here on VDC get it… and they get it over and again. Parents must do whatever it takes to direct and manage their children’s education whenever they can. If anyone gets it… I do.
But what about the systemic problem that thwarts these commenters, and prevents the parents they represent from being able to take charge? The vast majority of every Vermont family’s resources are consumed by the State Education Property Tax and the rents that pay it too. Public education is our single largest expense. It is the State’s single largest employer. Not only are Vermonters beholden to the education tax burden, everyone employed and paid with those taxes must toe the line of DEI and the rest of the dystopian nonsense being foisted on everyone. Compassion has become weaponized.
How do we stop that? Our legislators and the unelected mob that seeks its prey at the great education watering hole are all bought and paid for. We can’t elect sympathetic politicians. Too many people in the electorate have become reliant on the mob for their daily bread. And while the wealthy can still afford alternative education, it won’t be long until the exorbitant taxes drive them broke or drive them out of the State.
I guess we can’t stop them. We’re going to have to let their nonsense play out. And it will, sooner or later. Just remember who they are.
“Wise men say, ‘Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza.”
― Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
TAKE ACTION: Read the press release at https://education.vermont.gov/press-release/press-release-vermont-state-board-education-announces-job-posting-secretary-education
SIGN UP FOR: Public HEARING Monday, October 2, from 5:30-6:30
“””Montpelier, VT- The Vermont State Board of Education announced that the position for Secretary of Education has been posted with an application deadline of October 5, 2023. Part of the Board’s hiring process will include a public hearing on October 2. The Secretary is responsible for providing leadership to over 150 employees at the Agency of Education, serving as a vital member of the Governor’s Cabinet and working with the State Board of Education to uphold educational standards across the state.
About the Public Hearing
The State Board of Education will be holding a public hearing for any and all Vermonters to share their perspectives on what qualities and attributes they hope to see in the next Secretary of Education. This meeting will be held via Microsoft Teams on Monday, October 2, from 5:30-6:30. Please join the meeting by using this link. Your active participation in this public hearing will help ensure that the next Secretary of Education embodies Vermonter’s values and aspirations for their education communities. “””
There is no inequity in this state! There is and always been economic disparity between counties and towns which impacts money available to be spent on education. This could be ameliorated by adjusting the state education monies to support those counties that have economic challenges over the more prosperous counties. Reduce the number of employees from 150 to 50. Concentrate on reading, writing, and arithmetic and American History! Tell the school boards they have to emphasize these or lose state support. Teacher certification reviewed every 5 years.
Their days are numbered because the money is no longer going to be there. The pigs at the trough will need to find other dining options very soon.