North Carolina school district spends $3K for ‘implicit bias’ training

(The Daily Signal) – A school district in North Carolina spent more than $3,000 on two hours of training in “implicit bias” for its school board members last year, according to documents obtained by Parents Defending Education through a public records request and shared with The Daily Signal.

The Wake County Public School System gave $3,038 for the training to the organization “WE ARE,” which stands for Working to Extend Anti-Racist Education, according to a contract dated Nov. 14, 2023.

Goals for the training were for participating board members to “recognize and challenge their own biases,” “move beyond individual bigotry and bias to a structural and institutional analysis of racism,” and “make historical connections between education & systemic racism.”

Of the total, $2,500 went toward the “two-hour training workshop on implicit bias for the Board of Education.” Another $500 went to two hours of “preparation/planning time,” and $38 was for a “travel fee for one hour.”

Four out of the nine school board members who received the “anti-racism” training appear to be minorities.

WE ARE, the group the Wake County school district paid for the training, also offers $300 summer camps for first through fifth graders, professional development for educators, and workshops for parents and families.

“At WE ARE, we’re committed to dismantling systemic racism in education by collaborating with children, families, and educators to create anti-racist, culturally affirming learning spaces,” the group’s Facebook fundraising page says.

Contributors to the organization include Durham Public Schools, ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, and The Starbucks Foundation.

WE ARE “reimagines educational systems so that all children, particularly Black and Brown, can exist in spaces that affirm their identity and dignity, promote their educational advancement, and support their social and emotional well-being,” the organization’s website says.

Ronda Taylor Bullock, co-founder and “lead curator” of WE ARE, signed the contract on behalf of the organization.

“Her research interests are critical race theory, whiteness studies, white children’s racial identity construction, and anti-racism,” according to Bullock’s bio on the website.

Her husband, Daniel Kelvin Bullock, is listed as WE ARE’s deputy director and “truth teller.”

Daniel Bullock’s “research interests include equity in education, critical race theory, culturally responsive teaching, anti-racist education, social studies education, and social justice project-based learning.”

WE ARE did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment for this report.

Schools should not be using taxpayer dollars to fund so-called anti-racism education, Michele Exner, senior adviser at the parental rights group Parents Defending Education, told The Daily Signal.

“Race baiters are making lucrative salaries because school districts are dishing out thousands of dollars—funded by taxpayers—to push this divisive content in schools,” Exner said. “Once again, it is parents and students who are on the losing end. Schools must prioritize learning, not toxic agendas that do nothing to help children learn.”