What does Anoka-Hennepin really teach about DEI?

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Matt Audette, a right-wing provocateur elected to Anoka-Hennepin’s school board, has recently threatened to obstruct his district’s budget unless a list of demands is met. He put it this way in a recent Facebook post: “It is time to put a stop to the spreading of divisive, one-sided views, training, and learning that go against the values and beliefs of many families, students, and staff in our community.”

But what does Audette mean when he says current “one-sided views” go against the “values and beliefs of many”? Who is the “one side” and who are the “many”? Audette has claimed current district policies and programs are teaching “divisive, dehumanizing ideologies and world views.” In reality, nothing close to that is happening; instead, Audette, and others like him, prey on fear and cause divisions because they fear an end to their dominance in society. Although the three board members recently backed down from their threats to hold the budget hostage (“Anoka-Hennepin district averts shutdown,” April 25), it is important to understand their antics as hyperpartisanship that does not contribute to civil dialogue or serve the district’s students.

To guard against Audette’s unwarranted claims, members of the public should know exactly what Anoka-Hennepin teachers and leaders are taught and practice that Audette and others decry. They should know what precisely is meant by terms like “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) and “social and emotional learning” (SEL). Below are several examples of some DEI and SEL training and practices Anoka-Hennepin schools implement and opponents rail heavily against. See for yourself if the following DEI and SEL practices go against your values and beliefs, all of which I have observed either as a parent or as an assistant professor of education who works closely with many school districts across the state:

• Valuing bilingualism: Through Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) training, teachers are taught to build upon the first language of multilingual students. Research shows that honoring and building upon the language structures students already have helps students learn both languages more effectively. This speaks directly to one of the goals of DEI — to support students’ cultural identities.

• Integrating multiple perspectives of historical concepts: As an example, my fourth-grader at Rum River Elementary was taught about the Indigenous people who lived in America before colonization, as well as what brought the colonizers to the continent. They learned that the Indigenous people had structured governments, justice systems and their own cultural norms. Thoughtful, deep engagement with history gives us a chance to think more critically about our past and to learn from mistakes that were undoubtedly made.

• Co-creating classroom norms and rules: Teachers are encouraged to set up their classrooms such that student voices are heard and honored. For instance, at the beginning of the year, many teachers engage students in generating lists of the types of behaviors that help them learn best. Students often share what works well for them and how they can commit to positively contributing to the classroom community. These are then used to foster pro-learning community norms.

• Holding morning meetings: These are used in the younger grades to create opportunities for young children to practice skills like turn-taking, having conversations, and asking and answering questions. In some grades, this structure is also used to discuss challenges the class may later experience. Students are invited to share concerns, and then as a community, the students and teacher work to solve the problem. This develops important conflict resolution skills key to a democratic society.

You may be thinking, “Yes, but you’ve obviously cherry-picked these examples.” I have, for example, skipped a topic many consider to be at the forefront of what is “wrong with” schools — the emphasis on the rights of LGBTQ students. As a former Anoka-Hennepin teacher and current parent of students in the district, I can assure you that the schools are not teaching or encouraging your students to “be gay” or to engage in sexual behaviors. Instead, Anoka-Hennepin teachers are choosing to support all of their students, regardless of religion, gender or sexuality.

Supporting all students requires, at literally the most basic level, that teachers acknowledge the presence of LGBTQ students and meet their needs. The reality is that when the LBGTQ community was not addressed, Anoka-Hennepin’s LGBTQ students faced extreme harm, sometimes resulting in truly tragic deaths. A school district’s job is to ensure the safety of its students. Teaching tolerance and acceptance of all students, regardless of beliefs, is not only morally right, but legally required.

If this type of “DEI” or “SEL” learning goes against your values as Audette proclaims, I would urge you to examine your core beliefs. I am unaware of a moral or faith system that doesn’t advocate for justice, fairness, reflectiveness and love. These values are at the core of both DEI and SEL. I encourage you to spend time in your children’s classrooms. See how DEI and SEL actually play out in a real context and not just in the imaginations and hardened hearts of the fearful on Facebook.

Get involved, then let your school board members know that you don’t appreciate their divisiveness and half-truths. We need thoughtful, open-minded school board members who take opportunities to learn and to better our district, not those who hold the district budget — which funds everything from teacher salaries and classroom supplies to building maintenance — in limbo over their extreme, unfounded, radical proclamations. Especially when they, of all people, have every opportunity to know and therefore do better.

Abbey Payeur is a professor, an alumna of the Anoka-Hennepin district and a mom of three kids in district.