A Chicago school district employee signed up for two training sessions focused on “exploring justice in Palestine,” according to emails obtained by Parents Defending Education (PDE).
Pat Savage-Williams, New Trier Township High School District 203’s “equity liaison” and “Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) Facilitator/Equity Team Co-Chair,” signed up for trainings that would focus on “exploring justice for Palestine” and “[aim] to foster a deeper understanding of the historical context, current challenges, and potential paths toward justice,” according to emails obtained by PDE. The trainings were reportedly hosted by SEED, which includes educators, organizers and social service providers who facilitate various conversations and work toward a “social justice” goal, according to its website.
“We are writing to invite you all to two sessions that we believe are timely and impactful for SEED. These sessions will focus on exploring justice for Palestine, aiming to foster a deeper understanding of the historical context, current challenges, and potential paths toward justice,” the SEED email reads. “We have a shared interest in promoting informed discussions on global issues, particularly settler colonialism, and we believe that addressing the complexities and misconceptions surrounding the Palestinian cause can contribute to promoting anti-racism and dismantling systems of oppression.”
The first session, which was reportedly held in March, intended to discuss “the collective knowledge of the group as well as name what we are still seeking to learn, acknowledge fears about this particular conversation, and focus on and recenter human rights and its ties to equity work,” according to the email. The second session, dated for April, was “designed to center marginalized voices, working to make connections to systems of oppression.”
Those involved in the SEED seminars discuss their personal education and how it relates to “race, gender identity, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual identity, ability, and age, and how these factors currently impact their community, organization, or institution,” according to the SEED website.
“Students are not there to serve as political apprentices for activist teachers who insist on using classrooms to promote their personal opinions,” Parents Defending Education Senior Adviser Michele Exner told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Parents want classrooms to be neutral learning grounds where kids become proficient at reading and math. This should be the basic expectation and yet far too many schools are failing at meeting that minimum standard.”
Evanston Township High School has been prioritizing equity over student proficiency and subject mastery for far too long, all to the detriment of the teenagers that the district purports to serve.
With this continuous governance style from the district, it is unlikely that… https://t.co/ohIyxnV5vs
— Nicki Neily (@nickineily) September 5, 2024
Savage-Williams also attended a “White Privilege Conference” in April 2023 in Mesa, Arizona, where she delivered a presentation, according to PDE. She had been serving as the board president for Evanston Township High School District 202.
Additionally, an alleged adviser for the school newspaper, New Trier News, sent an email to several students and the equity liaisons asking the student editors to prepare for the upcoming meeting by watching a video titled “Rewriting Racist Headlines, according to PDE. Email recipients were also encouraged to read “Al Jazeera English,” which is partially funded by Qatar’s government, The Guardian and Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
“Returning to the title of your editorial, educating ourselves about the Israel-Hamas war requires recognizing that bias will always be present in the reporting of facts. We encourage students to read critically while seeking out a more diverse range of sources,” the email reads. “Adding to your list of American news sources, consider British newspaper The Guardian, Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Arab news Al Jazeera English. We also recommend following independent journalistic sources such as +972 Magazine and Democracy Now both of which are offering extensive coverage of the war.”
Savage-Williams, New Trier Township High School District 203, SEED and the New Trier News did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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