Radnor Township School District pays equity consultant nearly $12,000 for a one-day training

The School District of the Township of Radnor in Wayne, Pennsylvania, appears to be far down the road of diversity, equity and inclusion. Community members in the Radnor Township School District reached out to Parents Defending Education with concerns including, but not limited to, the one-day training that took place on Nov. 4, 2019. The district paid the equity consulting firm Cultures Connecting LLC $11,981.15 for cofounder Caprice Hollins to work with staff

That nearly $12,000 expenditure appears to be just one of many for which we do not yet have copies of contracts. A quick look at the presentation on Dec. 8, 2020, of the school district’s work indicates that they have spent a lot more money on outside consultants.

Heather Bennet who, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, talked to staff over Zoom twice about the importance of “equity” in schools. She was paid $650.

The district has also contracted with the Professional Learning Partnerships LLC for $4,050. From their website:

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The school’s “diversity, equity and inclusion” work is steeped in the principles of critical race theory but the district, in coordination with the state department of education, has taken steps to convince parents and the public that their materials, initiatives and instruction is not based in critical race theory. Here are a few emails between school officials about messaging strategies around critical race theory.

May 6, 2021 at 3:05 pm — Dr. Chuck Herring, the DEI director in a different district in Pennsylvania offers CRT messaging for consideration.

May 6th, 2021 at 4:20 pm

May 4, 2021, at 2:30 pm – Here is a proposed meeting to address the questions, right-to-know requests and public comment coming from “community groups” about DEI work. A suggestion is made to bring in Bennett since she “has a legal mind and supports school board directors.”

June 8, 2021, at 6:58 am (This one is from the special advisor on equity to the Pennsylvania Department of Education who claims, “Critical Race Theory is not taught in public schools.”) This is a demonstrably false statement.

It is interesting that so much of the recent DEI work the district highlights below emanates directly from critical race theory and critical race pedagogy.

The district highlights its membership in DCVEE which is the Delaware Valley Consortium for Excellence and Equity. Membership in that organization is $12,000. (We are working to get that invoice but we know from contracts of other districts that the membership is $12,000.)

They also have parent/guardian resources on their website:

And lots of committees…

They have also had ‘restorative justice listening circles.”

This video also appears in emails within the district with a link to this video.