Overview:
A California school district’s “social justice academy” is under scrutiny for promoting controversial ideologies to young students, teaching them to reject “whiteness” and embrace transgender and racial activist viewpoints. Parents Defending Education obtained documents revealing the extent of the curriculum, which has sparked criticism for prioritizing political indoctrination over academic proficiency.
Why It Matters:
The academy reflects growing concerns that public schools are pushing political agendas at the expense of educational fundamentals, potentially undermining the values and beliefs of American families.
Who It Impacts:
The program directly affects elementary students and their families, while its broader implications raise concerns about the direction of public education nationwide.
A California school district has found itself at the center of a heated debate after it was revealed that its “social justice academy” promotes divisive racial and gender ideologies to elementary school students. The New Haven Unified School District, located in San Francisco’s Alameda County, has run the academy for the past three summers, training 3rd to 6th graders on topics ranging from transgender rights to defunding the police. Parents Defending Education, an advocacy group, obtained the program’s curriculum through a public records request, raising alarm over the content being taught to young children.
The academy, which costs the district approximately $20,000 annually, focuses on encouraging students to identify social injustices and develop strategies for activism. According to lesson plans from 2023, students are tasked with addressing issues such as “womxn rights,” Black Lives Matter, and transgender ideology. However, critics argue that the academy prioritizes progressive politics over basic education, noting that fewer than half of the district’s students are proficient in math and reading.
One of the most controversial aspects of the curriculum is its approach to race, particularly in teaching students to reject “whiteness.” As part of the first week’s lesson plan, students read Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness, which states that “whiteness is a bad deal. It always was.” The book also tells students that it is possible to “be white without signing on to whiteness.” Such lessons have drawn significant criticism from parents and advocacy groups, who say that the program fosters racial division and guilt among young children.
The curriculum also delves into political comparisons, including an exercise in which former President Donald Trump is likened to Adolf Hitler. Students are shown an image of the two leaders side-by-side, with a fabricated quote attributed to Trump, stating, “Undocumented immigrants are not human; they are animals.” While Trump did refer to violent gang members as “animals” during his presidency, the course takes this out of context, presenting it as a blanket statement about all illegal immigrants.
The social justice academy’s second week shifts focus to policing and criminal justice reform, where students are taught about Black Lives Matter, the “school-to-prison pipeline,” and the concept of defunding the police. These lessons are presented as part of an effort to highlight the “criminalization of BIPOC” communities, a term used to describe Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. In addition, students are exposed to a pro-Palestinian stance, with course materials accusing Israel of colonialism and encouraging support for Palestinian liberation movements.
By the third week, the curriculum moves into gender ideology, where students read books like I Am Jazz, the autobiography of Jazz Jennings, a transgender activist. Students are told that “transgender is not a choice” and that they should be “LGBTQIA+ allies.” The course materials also discuss transgender rights, including access to medical care and gender-neutral bathrooms. The program even addresses the controversial Florida law limiting discussions of gender and sexuality in elementary classrooms, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Parents Defending Education and other critics of the program argue that the academy serves more as an indoctrination camp than an educational opportunity. Erika Sanzi, the director of outreach for the group, voiced her concerns to The Daily Wire, stating, “This summer program should have been advertised as an indoctrination camp where ideologues who spell the word ‘women’ with an ‘x’ feed students propaganda about defunding the police, transgenderism, and oppression.” Sanzi also condemned the use of books that portray “whiteness” in a negative light, equating it with evil and further dividing students along racial lines.
Despite multiple requests, the New Haven Unified School District has remained silent on the matter, declining to comment on the specifics of the curriculum. As the debate over the role of public schools in promoting social justice ideologies continues to grow, many are left wondering whether education is being compromised in the name of activism. For parents concerned about academic performance and ideological influence, this revelation raises critical questions about the future of American public education.
