AIM’s investigation into Dayton schools gains more local press coverage
February 8, 2023
Originally published at The Ohio Press Network
Dayton school administrators admit to misleading parents and teaching critical race theory in Ohio classrooms
Hannah Poling | January 31, 2023
Despite Republican State Senator Sandra O’Brien (R-Ashtabula) re-introducing the Parental Education Freedom Act to empower parents to be the primary decision-makers regarding where and what type of education their children receive, an undercover investigation revealed that school administrators in Dayton, Ohio are misleading parents and teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) into classroom.
As part of Accuracy in Media’s investigation, numerous school administrators admitted that teachers are sneakily and covertly introducing CRT to their students unbeknownst to their parents and that they don’t plan to stop even if lawmakers pass legislation prohibiting this.
CRT in classrooms would have been forbidden under legislation sponsored by Ohio’s Republican lawmakers last year.
According to House Bill 616, schools would have been prohibited from “teaching or providing training that promotes or endorses divisive or inherently racist concepts.”
The bill, which was disparaged as a “don’t say gay” law and juxtaposed with Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, failed to pass Ohio’s Assembly.
The state’s activist educators are adamant that even if the bill had become law, it would not have prevented them from continuing their work.
Betsy Gann (pictured above in video screenshot), director of curriculum at Bellbrook-Sugarcreek, Ohio schools, said that regardless of whatever prospective laws there may be, they will continue to teach what they see fit.
“It’s good stuff it’s just you know I mean labels are just getting attacked and really we’ve always tried to be culturally responsive,” Gann said.
She continued by saying that their district is careful not to use “triggering kinds of words” when talking about CRT such as saying culturally responsive or anti-racism. However, she claimed that the district still teaches students to be “antiracist.”
“We don’t formally use that. But that’s just because… It’s just individual choice. Like, I just don’t want to trigger someone to think that… I mean, that’s not putting you down, Caucasian man. It’s, you know, it’s being an advocate and not just… more than saying I’m an ally, but how can I turn this into being anti-racist instead of I don’t see color,” Gann said.