by Reagan Reese
A Biden administration official is a major donor to an organization that characterized Christian charter schools teaching a classical education as “far-right” ideologues attempting to advance “Christian nationalism.”
The Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee and her partner Mark Simon gave at least $5,000 in 2022, the highest level of sponsorship, to the Network for Public Education, a left-wing activist group focused on promoting public schools, according to the organization’s sponsors page. The Network for Public Education released a June 2023 report which notes that “right-wing ideology” is growing in charter schools that teach a “classical” or “traditional” education.
“The report carefully lays out the case that the new breed of charter schools is designed to attract families with Christian nationalist beliefs,” Diane Ravitch, the president of the Network for Public Education, stated in the report. “They have student bodies that are whiter and wealthier than other charter schools and district public schools. And it exposes how, despite prohibitions on teaching religion in charter schools, such schools have deep connections with the conservative Christian movement and, in some cases, conservative Christian private schools.”
The Network for Public Education writes that classical charter schools with a “back-to-the-basics” approach are “designed to appeal to conservative white families” and train the “next generation of conservative warriors” to spread “far-right ideology.” After former President Donald Trump took office, the number of classical charter schools grew by 90%, the report noted.
Classical charter schools teach Eurocentric texts, focus on the study of Latin and Greek and use Biblical scripture to discuss virtue, the report states. Most classical charter schools “appear devoted to building character” but, the report reads, the institutions are actually focused on shaping “students to the school founders’ Christian nationalist worldview.”
“Those who give our organization support our mission which is ‘to preserve, promote, improve and strengthen public schools for both current and future generations of students,’” a Network for Public Schools spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Our report speaks for itself – the charter movement has now become popular among the right-wing,” the spokesperson added.
Prior to working for the Biden administration, Lee was the former deputy chief of staff at the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), an international organization which represents 60 labor unions. Lee was also on the board of directors for the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, a group focused on “dismantling white supremacy and systemic oppression.”
Sponsors of the Network for Public Education also include the Tides Foundation, a left-of-center nonprofit that has donated to numerous left-wing causes.
Right-wing charter schools shd be wake-up call to those w/ progressive ideals who support charter schools. The movement is taking #ASharpTurnRight to destroy values you cherish. Read https://t.co/0uZcK5i1zg @PattyMurray @SenatorBennet @SenatorHassan @SenBooker @RepJeffries pic.twitter.com/kLUXtSmhor
— Carol Corbett Burris (@carolburris) June 12, 2023
Throughout the country, lawmakers are pushing to give students and their families more education choices; in Oklahoma, the state approved the nation’s first taxpayer-funded religious charter school. The online Catholic charter school will be run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa.
“But Peltier v. Charter Day School also exposes a far more concerning trend — the right-wing ideology powering the fastest-growing segment of charter schools: those following a ‘classical’ or ‘traditional’ curriculum,” the report states, referring to a federal court case regarding a publicly funded charter school that requires students to wear skirts. “In most cases, however, these two terms are code for a lot more than back-to-basics instruction. They are dog whistles to attract conservative families with Christian nationalist identities anxious to place their children in schools that reflect early and mid-20th century values, pedagogy and curriculum.”
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Reagan Reese is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Teacher and Students” by RODNAE Productions.
