Chaparral High School provided training to teachers that had them single out students “lacking a sense of belonging”

On October 27, 2023, the parental rights organization Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity reported on X that Chaparral High School within the Scottsdale Unified School District provided controversial training to teachers. This training asked teachers to identify students who are “lacking a sense of belonging.” Teachers were encouraged to write notes back and forth with students, including sharing “some personal information about themselves and then ask questions of the students.”

The Scottsdale Unified School District’s board members received an email about how teachers felt uncomfortable with this training because it was essentially an assignment to “pick out the misfits.” This email appeared to be from a concerned teacher who later stated in the email:

If I were a Chaparral parent, I would be livid knowing that my child is on the list! I would be livid that administrators of my child’s school asked teachers to single out my child and demand to know why they were named on this list.

Parents did not appear to be aware of this training. A “strategic plan goal” for this training was to “cultivate positive relationships to build an inclusive, equitable, nurturing environment.”