The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) March conference features two keynote speakers who want to transform education through equity and anti racism.

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The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) represents all of the superintendents and leaders of public schools in Connecticut.

CAPSS believes public education must be transformed, and it's not exactly shy about embracing the controversial concept of "equity" to bring about that transformation.

The organization has two key goals, to provide educational leadership and professional development opportunities to superintendents and other public school leaders.

Toward that end, CAPSS is holding a conference in March with the theme "Leading Transformational Learning" featuring two keynote speakers who are proponents of "equity" and "anti racism", Ron Berger and Zaretta Hammond.

Ron Berger is the Chief Academic Officer at EL Education, an organization that believes the current education system is perpetuating deep inequities. In fact, in 2020, like so many other organizations, El Education forged what it called a “new path with equity at the center” as “racial injustices unfolded across the country” in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Since then, El Education has been deeply committed to advancing educational equity to ensure that:

• All children have access to "equitable" instruction, assessments and curriculum;
• School culture fosters "positive identity, belonging, agency, and purpose"; and
• Explicit anti-racist discussion, practice, and action is provided for everyone.

By the way, for El Education, 'anti-racism' means taking an explicit stand against racism in classrooms and also in the curriculum. If you’re not an active antiracist, according to this philosophy, then you’re a racist.

The other keynote speaker, Zaretta Hammond, is so fond of "instructional equity" that she included the hash tag in her Linked In profile, and regularly posts on social media about her on-going "quest for equity" which apparently also includes "grading for equity".

Hammond says that "culturally responsive teaching" provides the path toward educational equity.

She has also said that in order to ensure "the changes our society is hurting for" are made, we need to "give our White students both multicultural and social justice education." That way, students can see the "trouble with implicit racism and how even though they are not doing anything actively racist, they are still benefiting from a legacy of racism."

Hammond cautions that "teaching White students about power and privilege may be a touchy subject for some as White guilt and fragility may seep into the mindset of White teachers and students."

That's why Hammond says students, especially affluent students, must learn to “confront their white privilege" starting at a young age, and even offered an example of how. She also says this work (i.e., "equity work") doesn’t have to be limited to just social studies class, and argues for embedding the principles of equity into all subjects, even mathematics.   

Hammond believes students should engage in classroom lessons that address mass incarceration, police brutality, civil rights, immigration, racism, healthcare disparities, unequal pay issues, trauma, suicide, drug abuse, and women’s rights, and, of course, privilege.  

Speaking of privilege, Hammond previously served as the keynote speaker for an April 2023 conference on "Dismantling White Supremacy Culture."

Test scores are down in Connecticut to abysmal levels. In New Haven, only 17% of students met state standards in English. Math was even worse, with just 13% meeting standards. Statewide, less than half of students met English or Math standards.

Rather than having an honest conversation about why students are struggling academically, CAPSS is doubling down on its "quest for equity" and "social justice imperative" because that's what's most important to this left-wing organization that represents all superintendents and leaders of public schools in Connecticut.

Will your superintendent be attending this conference?

If so, what lessons might they bring back to your district after hearing an earful from equity champions like Berger and Hammond?

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