Massachusetts school district looking for LGBT, ‘anti-racist’ advocate for math teacher position

The third-largest city in Massachusetts is seeking a middle school special education math teacher, and the job posting lists ideological activism as a preferred qualification.

The Springfield Public Schools listing, published last month, says preferred candidates would have “experience as an active anti-racist, LGBTQ+ advocate, or organizer for equity.”  

It also calls for the use of “anti-racist instructional practices that ensure students own the learning,” the parental rights group Defending Education reports. 

Along with traditional teaching credentials, the district’s listing encourages applications from individuals who identify as members of “historically marginalized groups,” including “people of color, women, people from working class backgrounds, and people who identify as LGBTQ.” 

The posting says members of these groups are “less likely to apply unless and until they meet every requirement for a job,” adding the district “strongly encourage[s] applications from educators with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities.” 

The position falls under the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership (SEZP), a program launched in 2015 involving Springfield Public Schools, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Springfield Education Association. 

Schools in the empowerment zone are part of the district but are governed by an independent board created through the partnership. The structure provides administrators with greater control over operations in exchange for greater accountability for student outcomes, according to the SEZP website. 

The job description states the partnership prioritizes “equity and anti-racism” and says those priorities are a response to what the district describes as “systemic oppression our students and families encounter daily.” 

The listing adds schools in the empowerment zone are “held accountable for realizing achievement gains for historically marginalized students” and will work toward building “anti-racist school communities.” 

Springfield is a western Massachusetts city with over 150,000 residents. Its public school system serves over 23,500 students. 

Academically, the district’s outcomes lag behind statewide averages. Springfield public high school students had an average SAT score of 865 out of 1600 during the 2023-24 school year, according to state data. The statewide average during the same period was 1,127, according to the same dataset. 

Critics of the posting have questioned whether emphasizing progressive ideological alignment for a math position is a wise call in a district struggling with academic performance.