Critical Race Theory At Lyons Township High?

LA GRANGE, IL — La Grange resident Victoria Franzese last week cited a couple of statistics about Lyons Township High School that she said disturbed her.

According to the Illinois Report Card, 42 percent of Lyons Township students were not proficient in science in 2019. A year before that, 36 percent of the school's graduates were taking remedial courses at Illinois community colleges.

At a school board meeting, Franzese presented what she said was a possible way to improve these figures: Stop wasting resources on programs such as critical race theory.

Such programs, she said, are often rebranded as equity, social justice, diversity, inclusion or culturally responsive teaching.

"However it's named, critical race theory is a reformulation of cultural Marxism," said Franzese, a 1975 graduate of the school. "The goal of Marxism is not to heal, certainly not to heal racial divisions."

Rather, the objective is to divide people into cultural groups and ultimately, the nation, Franzese said.

"Critical race theory creates division and a sense of unwarranted inferiority and confusion," she said. "Get rid of it."

In Lyons Township High School's view, there is nothing to get rid of. On its website, the school says it does not teach critical race theory.

Franzese provided no examples of lessons at the school that she believed promoted the theory.

On its website, the school described the theory as taught in graduate-level law courses to explain "the persistent impacts of racism that still exist in American society after the Civil Rights Act."

"This academic framework centers on examining the systemic nature of racism, in contrast to seeing racism as an act by an individual who wants to intentionally cause harm," the school said.

The school said most teachers have never been exposed to critical race theory in their own course of study. This level of inquiry would not be presented or taught as part of instruction from kindergarten through 12th grade, the school's website says.

Other school districts also have been accused of teaching critical race theory. Among them is Hinsdale High School District 86. Some residents there have contended District 86 is teaching the theory, but have provided no evidence.

The residents have circulated documents online that they say involves the theory. By their own admission, though, those handouts were distributed during District 86's staff training, not used in classroom lessons.