South Bay Education Alliance (SBEA) 

is a Nonpartisan Organization created to ensure 

Excellence in Education remains a top priority in our schools. 

CONCERNED MANHATTAN BEACH RESIDENTS NEED TO COMMENT OR ATTEND THE OCTOBER 20 BOARD WORKSHOP

AT THIS MEETING THE BOARD WILL BE DISCUSSING THE AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS AND WILL BEGIN MOVING FORWARD

Reminder:  CLEAR is a Critical Race Theory based entity.  They do not hide this.  Their CEO has said on video that he feels CRT should be mandatory in schools.

The author of a recent Easy Reader article commented that we truncated the video in order to provide a skewed perspective.  To prove that we are objective in providing information, we encourage people to listen for themselves here.

The CEO of CLEAR, Ken Magdaleno (blue shirt) speaks at:  21:30; 29:00; 52:00 and at 54:00 he discusses how CRT should be mandated and also discusses Praxis and how schools should promote intentional activism. 

The group that hosted this video discussion is the Association of California School Administrators, and per their website, their top priority is advocating for public school students in K-12 – contrary to the perspective provided by the Easy Reader article in which they wrote that Dr. Magdaleno was only referring to CRT mandates at the collegiate level.  This was a K-12 discussion.  

Because the CLEAR Equity Audit is 44 pages of CRT academic-speak, it can be difficult to interpret their intentions. The full Equity Audit may be found here.

Below is our guide to what they are saying and what it really means once implemented.  This represents only a small portion of what will change at MBUSD.

Climate of Care. Recommendation Highlights (Page 32)

Invest in ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion training to build understanding of positionality, implicit and explicit biases, and privilege as part of the adoption of cultural competency standards (Lindsay, Robins & Terrell, 2009).

What this means:

Culturally Responsive Teaching provides the avenue for bringing Critical Race Theory into the curriculum.  Read excerpts of the referenced book here.

A few examples from the book, but there are many more to demonstrate their bias:

Page 31: The distinction between immigrant and caste minorities has been extremely important in the history of the United States and much of the US society still functions as a caste system.

Bear in mind, they wish to teach this to students.  For those of us who have travelled outside of the US, we know that caste systems have operated in other countries, but the concept of a caste system is the antithesis of the way things operate in the United States.  People come to the United States because our history and structure is such that with hard work and a solid education, people can become successful regardless of their background.

References to the “dominant culture” is of the prevailing narratives of Critical Race Theory and this book which serves as their reference – over and over again: pages 6, 26, 28, 31, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 62, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 81, 82, 86, 87, 99, 100, 101, 102, 104, 106, 107, 115, 116, 117, 130, 146, 147, 260, 261, 313, 315 – can we stop here?   Hopefully we have made it clear that this book is all about CRT and this will serve as the guide towards implementing the recommendation.

Students Worldview of Diversity Inclusion. Recommendation Highlights (Page 33)

Consider the allocation of resources to support the development and implementation of inclusionary studies such as: ethnic studies, gender studies, and others.

Resources are not unlimited – MBUSD continues to suffer budget deficits and projects the following structural deficits:  (source:  Budget/Audits – Business Services – Manhattan Beach Unified School District (mbusd.org) 

2022/2023 <$1,904,403>

2023/2024 <$2,253,492>

Ignoring the obvious question of why the district spends money on consultants such as CLEAR, UCLA Center X and a Public Information Officer, where will the money be shifted from?  What programs will suffer cuts?   Why should a K-12 program invest in gender studies?  That does not further knowledge in the basic areas parents expect and students need to be successful in college. 

Financial resources are one of the biggest issues facing the district.  Spending money we do not have or shifting money away from core programs does not further Excellence in Education.

Rhetoric Change to Inclusiveness. Recommendation Highlights (Page 34-35)

Provide all employees with the same context of language and action to build a healthy construct of inclusivity and equity within employee handbooks, during employee onboarding, at yearly District trainings, and during Board meetings.

Invest in district-wide learning opportunities so that from the Board room to the classroom, all staff members understand the same message, use the same language, and provide the same practice to ensure no matter which site students attend, the way in which the personnel operate is appropriate and systemic.

Translation:  teachers must adhere to the new language presented by Critical Race Theorists.  Rather than focus on teacher’s skills and mastery of their subject matter, attention will instead shift to the “acceptable” words or phrases and what is “not acceptable” such as saying you are “color blind” or “I see all people the same”. 

Do not forget George Orwell’s 1984:  Control the language and you control the people.  This is why Critical Race Theorists focus on language and controlling what people (teachers, in this instance) can say or not say.

Culture of Systemic Exclusivity.  Recommendation Highlights (Page 35-36)

Not to state the obvious, but the phrase “Systemic Racism” has now been replaced by “Systemic Exclusivity”, most likely since the original CLEAR audit report was considered too political.  Even though CLEAR has no connection to Manhattan Beach and does not know the residents, evidently they have reached their own conclusions about the community.

CLEAR’s finding:

As previously noted, the historical culture of the District was designed from the perspectives of the dominant culture representing the majority of its leaders, teachers, and parent community. This historical impact has created a culture over time, in which marginalized or minority groups have been implicitly excluded from opportunities to engage in the institutional practices.

We feel CLEAR went into this engagement looking to find data to support their bias.  If they had reviewed the California Healthy Kids Survey they would have seen the following:

School Supports by Race and Ethnicity.

Average Response Categories.  “Pretty Much True” or “Very Much True.”  % responding:

Available Data                Hispanic        Asian     White      Mixed
7th Grade                           52                   61          60              57
8th Grade                           52                   55          52              51  
11th Grade                         47                   52          55              52
 

We do not feel the deviation based upon race is significant and this directly contradicts CLEAR’s assumption that because MBUSD is predominately Caucasian, one can automatically assume a toxic culture against minorities.  Rather, the school has actually been focused on being an inclusive environment, something the students have agreed with in other surveys.

The takeaway should be the declining response trend for all students by grade, not the deconstruction by race and ethnicity in search of a problem which is not there. CLEAR’s findings are not borne out by the facts. They are in search of a problem which does not exist. Of course everyone can improve – but the situation is not as they wish to frame it.

Adult Recognition of Positionality Recommendation Highlights (Page 37)

More new words created by Critical Race Theorists. 

Per CLEAR:  the way in which a teacher interacts with students is often based on bias (implicit or explicit): preconceived notions, assumptions, past experiences with students or persons like them (or perceived to be like them), personal life experiences and traditional social norms. The intersection of a teacher’s positionality and a student’s positionality often leads to a power struggle…

Need we continue? Does this sound familiar – more echoes of Critical Race Theory.

Recommendations:

Provide Equity Training.

Translation:  teachers had better comport to the new narrative or they will continue to be subjected to training until they acquiesce or resign.

Conduct regular classroom walk throughs.

Translation:  same as immediately above.

Invest in system-wide Cultural Competence and Culturally Responsive Teaching training to ensure all staff have the opportunity to understand their positionality and its intersection.

Translation:  We hope by now everyone recognizes that Culturally Responsive Teaching IS Critical Race Theory put into practice.  It cannot be understated. This reflects a paradigm shift in the classroom – away from objective measures such as grades – towards cultural competence and DEI initiatives.  For a refresher, refer to the Learning for Justice newsletter here.

We could keep going, but by now we hope everyone realizes this:   CLEAR is a Critical Race Theory based entity.  Every recommendation that emanates from this entity is derived from their primary goal, which is to ensure CRT is fully ingrained across the curriculum.

 CALL TO ACTION!

TELL THE SCHOOL BOARD THAT NONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM CLEAR SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED. 

IT IS TIME TO GET THE BOARD TO SHIFT THEIR FOCUS BACK TO EXCELLENCE ON EDUCATION.

Make your voice heard!  Provide comments by clicking on  this link here. 

We DO support diversity of thought in the classroom and high standards for students of all ethnicities. 

We DO support teaching students how to think but not what to think.  

We DO NOT support the new educational ideology that prioritizes equal outcomes (equity) ahead of excellence and seeks to divide us on the basis of race. 

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Happening Now!

MB:  At the October 20 board workshop, MBUSD gave the go ahead to implement every recommendation from CLEAR, the CRT based entity. 
 
RB:  The school board is now talking about creating a Social Justice Committee in order to weave Social Justice throughout the curriculum.  Read about the California proposed math framework (Putting The Pieces of the Puzzle Together newsletter) in which math is no longer just math, it is about Social Justice.  In the world of Social Justice, Excellence in Education takes a back seat as ideology takes center stage in the classroom.  
 
HB:  the PTO is discussing the cancellation of the cherished Father Daughter dance. Fathers are an important part of a girl’s life and should be celebrated. All fathers should speak out against this – it is part of the overall push against the family unit.