The Kirkwood School District was previously sued for separating teachers into racial affinity groups.
A school district in Missouri is continuing to push left-wing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in a newsletter that recently criticized President Donald Trump’s executive actions to roll back DEI programs in American institutions.
The Kirkwood School District’s January “Staff of Color” newsletter lists DEI as a top priority and argues that it is necessary for white students to become more aware of race and racism, according to a new civil rights complaint against the school from Parents Defending Education, a wtachdog group opposed to left-wing indoctrination in schools.
“This school year I have seen more progress in our teachers of color staff hirings and equally excited that we have now hired eight administrators of color across the district. This increase in staff of color definitely shows that as a district we are valuing our Priority Goal: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion,” a staff member wrote in the newsletter.
The same author promoted affinity groups that separate people based on racial and ethnic characteristics. Another author lamented that Trump’s executive orders on DEI pose a threat to its foundations and require action from educators.
“I find myself asking that same question again, but with a new lens: What will your outlet be as we collectively face challenges that threaten the foundations of diversity, equity, and inclusion in education? With the January 21st executive order and its potential impact on civil rights policies, our roles as educators of color take on an even greater weight. This moment demands more than reflection—it calls for unity and intentional action,” the newsletter reads.
PDE previously filed a complaint against the Kirkwood School District in October for violating federal anti-discrimination laws with a teacher’s affinity group only open to teachers of certain races. NR has reached out to the school district for comment.
“Kirkwood provides the quintessential example of how school districts have spent so much time fixating on race. In addition to the mere existence of a newsletter that is just for staff of color, commentary within the newsletter implies that students can only ‘be themselves’ when they are separated into groups based on their identity labels—like race,” said Erika Sanzi, director of outreach at Parents Defending Education.
“The apocalyptic language about the election of President Trump in the newsletter is a good illustration of how normalized it has become for educators to use school based communications to take sides in elections and even demonize elected officials they don’t support,” she added.
Trump took a sledgehammer to DEI at the beginning of his term with executive actions to remove it from schools, federal contracting, and the federal government as a whole. Conservative opponents of DEI believe the initiatives are divisive due to their obsession with race and group identities rather than individual character and merit.