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Connect With Parents
Introduction
You are not alone. Many of us are wondering if trust is irrevocably broken. Parents and teachers across the country (and even from outside the US) are asking questions about what they see and hear from their schools and their children. There is strength in numbers, and it is essential to know that NAIS is arming schools with resources to fight “insubordinate parents.” Take the lead and find a few people in your school who can help you think and act strategically to make the changes you would like to see. It is important to role model positive behavior for your children.
Action Steps
Find a few people in your school/social circle and individually start a conversation about what is happening at your school. What tactics would be most effective to move the needle at your school? Are the pressure points financial? Negative PR/Press? Word of mouth?
1
Find out who’s on the Board of Trustees and invite them to have coffee. Then start an honest conversation, knowing that trustees are bound to confidentiality agreements. However, you can use facts and data to make your case.
2
Once you have your core group, start a Slack or Signal channel as a way to communicate.
3
Pursue the Chicago Statement at your school.
4
Start a website or use social media to draw attention to your cause.
5
Start a school book club to tackle thorny topics. Here are some books to get you started: Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt, Undoctrinate by Bonnie Kerrigan Snyder, and Hollowed Out by Jeremy Adams.
6
Ask the Board to approve a guiding principle statement as an addendum to their Mission statement or DEI policy that resembles something like:
"Independent School XXX does not support dehumanizing individuals, segregation, fascism, Marxism, and the following ideas associated with critical race theory: race essentialism, identity-based intersectionality, and assertions that any race, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, or the United States is inherently or irredeemably discriminatory, racist, sexist, or oppressive."
7
Ask the board to eliminate DEI offices and cancel the school's NAIS membership.
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