On July 8, the Guilford Board of Education (BOE) approved a new Educator Growth Plan, which can be accessed at www.guilfordps.org, clicking on Board of Education, Agendas, and then searching deep into the agenda packet for the BOE July 8 meeting. I recommend everyone read this plan as it is alarming.

The first paragraph describes “equity” as a primary foundational belief on which this evaluation plan is based. “We, in Guilford Public Schools, believe that all students have the right to high-quality instruction that fosters attainment of Guilford’s Portrait of a Graduate competencies. [Six ‘woke’ competencies that don’t include proficiency in math, reading, writing, science, technology, etc.] This belief is deeply routed in the Guilford community, as evidenced by the Guilford BOE’s statements addressing equity and social justice... [Institutional racism is a part of American history, and educators must explicitly address this reality and create a culture that helps eradicate it moving forward.] It is further supported by community organizations like Guilford’s Human Rights Commission [who invited an advocate for gender-affirming-care for children to speak in Guilford in October 2022] and Guilford’s Anti-Bias, Anti-Racism Alliance [which promotes resources for foundational knowledge about racism, bias, raising and teaching anti-racist kids. As a predominantly white, cis-gendered community, we are shaped by our privilege and limited ability to fully understand the impact of bias and racism.]”

The plan goes on to reference the book Professional Capital by Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan, saying, “educators must work with colleagues to collectively improve instruction, and that ‘professional autonomy can no longer be individual autonomy’… this Educator Growth Plan is a road map for organizational learning, providing the structure necessary to realize the benefits of collective learning … this plan seeks to rethink the traditional roles of teachers and administrators.”

Is “collective” code-speak for indoctrination?

Dave Holman

Guilford