Critical Race Theory Questions Come Back To Chatham School Board: Watch

CHATHAM, NJ — Questions returned to the School Districts of the Chatham's most recent Board of Education meeting about whether or not Critical Race Theory has been infused into the district’s curriculum.

Chatham Borough resident Libby Hilsenrath addressed the board, following up on comments made during the July meeting on Critical Race Theory, when the board and superintendent told the public that Critical Race Theory wasn’t taught in the School District of the Chathams.

Hilsenrath countered their claims, by reading one definition of Critical Race Theory, saying it "posits a racial hierarchy, that supposedly exists with whites on the top and blacks at the bottom."

Hilsenrath also discussed a grant written by Chatham Middle School English Language Arts teachers for the "social justice community read program," that included “Ghost Boys,”“Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You” and “This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons On How To Wake Up, Take Action and Do the Work.”

The common threads with the three books, Hilsenrath said, is that society is comprised of oppressed and oppressors, quoting from This Book Is Anti-Racist, about dominant culture being “white middle Christian cisgender” people being “in charge of the institutions” and “dominant culture of white supremacy." That philosophy, she said, encourages those defined as "oppressed" to “disrupt the system,” by rising up against it.

“Whether you call it CRT or not, it’s a divisive ideology that teaches that people are not seen as individuals, but only as part of a group,” Hilsenrath read. “I think most parents would say that they don’t want these divisive ideologies taught to their kids.”

She said it fuels beliefs that people fall into one of two groups, with Critical Race Theory, instead, not viewing people as "individuals with unlimited potential," but focusing and judging them on their race, rather than content of character.

Hilsenrath said Superintendent Dr. Michael LaSusa previously asserted that the district used the “teaching tolerance curriculum from the Southern Poverty Law Center,” a group she said with a mission to be a “catalyst for racial justice in the south and beyond, to dismantle white supremacy and strengthen intersectional movements.”

“I would challenge the statements made by the board that we don’t teach CRT in our schools,” she continued. “You’re teaching our kids the principles of CRT," suggesting the district should be honest in defending it, if that's what's being taught.

Board of Education President Jill Critchley Weber reiterated, after Hilsenrath’s comments, that the district, “doesn’t teach Critical Race Theory,” stating that the state sets the curriculum.

“Teaching about Islam or Buddhism doesn’t mean we indoctrinate students into Buddhism or Islam,” LaSusa commented.

“We teach about race because race is a critical issue and concept in our society and has been since the founding of our country,” LaSusa added, saying the district “doesn’t teach divisive ideologies," but on the other hand, fosters “inclusive environments,” with a “broad range of thinking and resources.”

As a whole, he said the district doesn’t teach children that they are “oppressed or oppressors” or to hate one another.

Weber referred the public back to the March 2021 meeting's curriculum discussion here, calling the curriculum “complex,” stating the students are “up for the challenge” it offers. She called context important, saying the curriculum, “must be taken in totality, as it was in the Islam case.”

In that suit, which Hilsenrath had filed against the district, Weber said the district received a summary judgment in its favor; and was found to not be indoctrinating students.

Hilsenrath returned during the final public comment session regarding the Chatham Education Foundation’s news release on the grant from March 2021, which stated it was able to acquire 1,200 copies of Ghost Boys, as well as 120 copies of the two other books. She asked about the Education Foundation's statements on the district's "diversity and social justice initiatives."Hilsenrath also asked for clarification on remarks made at the July meeting, viewable here, that the district was preparing students “to go out into the world, to be thoughtful global citizens," as well as teaching them values.

“I don’t know that it’s the board’s role to teach our kids to be decent people and teach values,” she said. “Hopefully, we’ll just stick to educating our students.”

LaSusa said it’s always been a “public school’s responsibility to teach students, at least if we care about democracy, how to be good and informed citizens,” teaching students about the wrongs of cheating or plagiarism, as well as treating each other with respect, honesty and being a team member. He said he was uncertain about what the Education Foundation referred to in its release, stating there was a difference between Critical Race Theory versus social justice and diversity.

LaSusa returned to his statements about the district’s inclusive environment, which he said, “includes all of our students regardless of their ability level and whatever makes them tick.”

“We try to educate all of them [students] in a fair manner and in a way that enables all of them to achieve as much as they can before they leave us,” LaSusa said.

For the full remarks from the Oct. 11 meeting, watch the clip below:

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.