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Choosing A School Aligned With Your Values

Independent school admission notification day is almost here. Don’t be seduced by the brand and the perceived status it confers. Do your research and know what you are “buying” to determine if there is truth in advertising.


Four significant events have exposed crevasses in once-solid school foundations. How your schools responded to these may provide a proxy for how they function under pressure. Were the needs and best interests of the students the top priority? Ask schools what they have learned from these events:

2016 Election: Students should not be privy to their teachers' politics. The day after the 2016 election, those boundaries were broken. Teachers and administrators showed their true colors by having meltdowns in front of the students, canceling classes, calling emergency assemblies, and allowing school-sanctioned crying in the hallways. No one was modeling appropriate behavior. The adults had lost their minds and seemed to be teaching kids how to be fragile, anxious, and depressed.


2020, Summer of George: Schools were held hostage by a well-coordinated black@instagram campaign. This led to a DEI over-correction. In lockstep, schools dedicated significant time and resources to respond with over-the-top DEI plans focused on solving society's problems, not anything specific to their campuses. Most trustees were derelict in their duty and allowed their school's mission to change to accommodate the new DEI priorities. Parents had no idea this would “devolve” into a hyper-focus on “identity.” There were consequences for those who dared to challenge DEI and BLM.


COVID-19: Very few schools did their own research and risk assessment. Despite parent pushback, there was very little independent thinking with respect to vaccines, masks, and school openings. Schools were draconian in their lockdowns, even though they had the resources for in-person learning. Many schools used this time and possibly federal PPP money to elevate their DEI departments. Students couldn’t question the origins of COVID-19 but instead were told to question their gender.


Oct 7, 2023: School and student responses to the attacks on Israel exposed both the division the DEI complex has created and that DEI is only for “some groups.” The subsequent activism on college campuses has illuminated the true nature of DEI. Some of the most outspoken activists matriculated from elite independent schools, which no doubt trained them for this moment. These “activists” serve as “portraits of graduates,” many of whom were taught to reject their family values.


2024 is shaping up to be contentious. How will your school navigate polarizing topics? Will your school stay true to its mission? Before you sign the school enrollment contract, trust your gut and confirm:


  • What is the purpose of independent school “A"? Is it to create conformist social justice activists? Or independent-thinking truth seekers? Schools cannot do both.

  • How much time and resources are spent pathologizing mental health and promoting suffocating empathy? Are the students stressed out? Listen to Abigail Shrier and Bari Weiss discuss Why the Kids Aren't Alright to learn more.

  • What kind of experience will a child have if they don’t want political indoctrination or to join the gender cult?

  • Does the school “partner with parents,” or does it see parents as problematic?

Are students:


  • Fed a steady diet of negativity and division intended to dismantle the Western Canon?

  • Pushed to become social justice activists and coerced to show fealty to only three causes — race, gender, and climate?

  • Forced to self-censor, stifling any debate or scrutiny of one worldview?

  • Taught that they can choose their gender?

Read the school's website and social media. How prominent is DEI? How much DEI is embedded into the curriculum and ethos of the school? Will the school continue to double down, or will it focus on academic excellence and help all students reach their potential?


Review course offerings, assigned books, professional development, and speakers. Read the latest strategic plan and the school’s last accreditation report. The recommendations likely include telling schools they must be agents of social change by augmenting DEI. Parents, please inoculate your child against bad ideas.


The only thing schools need to be teaching students is to be brave and tell the truth. It's time to prioritize intellectual honesty.

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