Elmhurst D-205 'Deep Equity' Program Denounced

ELMHURST, IL — Those tense mask debates appear to be a thing of the past at Elmhurst school board meetings.

Now, some residents are renewing their emphasis on the district's focus on equity. They said they see that as critical race theory in disguise.

At Tuesday's Elmhurst School District 205 board meeting, the residents noted the district's agreement with Corwin, a publishing company.

Last year, the board voted to approve the "Deep Equity" and "Youth Equity Stewardship" training with Corwin. The contract cost the district $46,000 for a few days of training.

According to a memo last summer, the program calls for a framework for faculty and staff to discuss their "own personal identities, as well as honoring and embracing diversity within the schools."

The program is to help the district design an "equitable, welcoming learning environment" for all students, the memo said.

The memo also said it was a continuation of the work from the 2020-2021 school year. The goals, according to the district, are fostering a sense of belonging for all students and decreasing "measurable equity gaps" in academic programming.

At Tuesday's meeting, though, a few residents painted a grim picture about the training.

During public comments, resident Katie Vreeland said her junior transferred out of York High School for a number of reasons, including "overwhelming bias" in the classroom.

She said the Corwin contract is having a "detrimental effect" on Elmhurst. She labeled the program as "racist and bigoted."

"Students are being divided and segregated due to the Deep Equity training," Vreeland said. "Students are being bullied into silence and made to believe if they don't go along, they put their future at risk for fear of a lower grade or a bad recommendation."

Vreeland did not detail how students were being segregated.

She also contended, "As this ideology crept into our schools, we have seen a decline in student performance and soaring emotional and psychological struggles."

Resident Bill Sullivan said the training spreads the message that student achievement is suppressed by "white privilege" and that whites dominate nonwhites.

Quoting Corwin's founder, Sullivan said, "A key first step is to get students to focus on their differences from others by asking how they experience systems of privilege and preference, reinforced by power that favors certain groups over others in the school system."

Sullivan said Corwin's techniques don't encourage open debate. "Resistance is not tolerated in this program that is allegedly about diversity," he said.

Another resident, Pete Swanson, suggested the money for the Deep Equity program was "slipped" into the budget.

"All outside consultant programs need to be scrutinized, so that this does not enter our schools again," Swanson said. "The board needs to acknowledge this mistake."

Several speakers promoted the new local group, Elmhurst Parents for Integrity in Curriculum, or EPIC. It has a website and Facebook page, though the Facebook page was made private recently.

Tom Chavez, one of the group's founders, told Patch recently that the media should not call the organization "conservative."

"It's concerned parents, who are both Democrats and Republicans," he said in a text to Patch.

During the meeting, Chavez, who is considering running for school board next year, also criticized the Corwin contract.

"What kind of oversight is there over curriculum to ensure that it is academic and educational and not political and ideological?" Chavez said.

At Tuesday's meeting, a couple of other residents backed the district's equity focus.

John Collins read comments from his daughter, Elizabeth, whom he said was traveling on business. He said he agreed with her that systemic racism is a major problem.

"Learning about systemic racism within our neighborhoods and in our schools and workspaces is the first step in healing our divisions," Collins said.

As is its policy, the school board did not respond to the public comments.

Patch on Wednesday filed a public records request for the Corwin materials presented during the training.