On July 8, the Board of Education (BOE) approved a new Educator Evaluation Plan (EEP). This plan is “strategically vague” but worth examining.

The EEP foundational belief is “equity.” Its genesis was in the summer of 2019 when Superintendent Dr. Paul Freeman introduced his “Equity and Social Justice Initiative” and spent taxpayer’s money to purchase copies of Ibram Kendi’s How to Be An Antiracis for every Guilford teacher.

In September 2020, Professor Donald Siler was hired to conduct an “Equity Curricula Audit” of English language arts and social studies classes in Guilford Public Schools. His 24-page double-spaced report delivered in January 2022, recommended that the current teacher evaluation model be revised to make the district’s emphasis on “equity” clear.

On April 26, 2021, the BOE issued their “Statement on Addressing Equity and Social Justice in Guilford Public Schools,” in which they state that “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.” They further “made a commitment to … address instruction and school culture regarding issues of social justice and institutional racism.”

The EEP highlights the support of Guilford’s Anti-Bias, Anti-Racist-Alliance, which rejects colorblindness on their website, saying, “It’s no longer enough to teach kids not to see color; in fact it’s harmful.”

The EEP states that Guilford’s Portrait of A Graduate competencies are the guiding principles for this evaluation plan, six competencies having nothing to do with being proficient in math, science, reading, writing, etc.

The EEP states that “professional autonomy can no longer be individual autonomy.” In fact, this plan uses the word “collective” over a dozen times. To understand this EEP plan better, go to www.youtube.com, search “Just the Facts: Parental Rights,” and watch this informative video, especially minute 52:30 on.

Dave Holman

Guilford