Abolitionist Teaching Network – How a Radical Critical Race Theory Organization is Infiltrating the Department of Education

In a recent report, Fox News uncovered how the radical Critical Race Theory (CRT) organization Abolitionist Teaching Network (ATN) is infiltrating the Department of Education and trying to indoctrinate students across the country.

Do you know what your kids are learning in school? For decades, education mostly focused on learning the basics, like reading, writing, math, history, political science, science and other critical topics that young people need to survive and thrive in the workforce. However, the latest guidance from the Department of Education on reopening schools included a link to the ATN.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki claims the link was made in “error.” The Department of Education did the same, but this group still has a growing influence at some of the highest levels of education policy making in this country.

According to its website, “Abolitionist Teaching Network’s mission is to develop and support those in the struggle for educational freedom by utilizing the intellectual work and direct action of Abolitionists in many forms.”

It does this by using what it calls “professional agitators,” who work part time, to the tune of $30,000 a year, “to lead ‘abolitionist educational organizing in their respective cities’ and further the group’s agenda.”

In its “Guide for Racial Justice & Abolitionist Social and Emotional Learning,” the organization encourages teachers to abandon the traditional social and emotional learning educational philosophy, which calls on “children and adults to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.”

Instead, it encourages teachers to embrace a CRT bent to this practice, one that will not be “a covert form of policing used to punish, criminalize, and control Black, Brown, and Indigenous children and communities to adhere to White norms,” but instead centers on “integrating Abolitionist SEL into curriculum, daily personal/classroom rituals, restorative justice circles, and racial justice initiatives.” This practice should encompass “all aspects of teaching, learning, and relationship building with students, families, and communities.” (emphasis in original)

The guide goes on to state that schools and teachers should “remove all punitive or disciplinary practices that spirit murder Black, Brown, and Indigenous children.” It also suggests that schools should remove “any and all police and policing from schools,” and “address how policing practices show up in our own work, even when police are not present in our schools.”

Any school that does follow that directive will certainly be the subject of lawsuits if a school shooting tragically happens on campus.

The San Diego Unified School District embraced a similar philosophy last year, arguing that it will “no longer consider non-material factors when grading. Things like turning work in on time and classroom behavior will now instead count towards a student’s citizenship grade, not their academic work.” This was done in order to supposedly help minority students, who were generally failing in higher numbers.

In years past, if many students were failing then the district would bring in additional resources to try and help get certain students back on track. Now, the school district no longer considers it an issue for a minority student to turn work in late or not at all.

No doubt, many students took advantage of this change in policy to avoid doing their work altogether, setting themselves up for failure in the future and making it difficult for teachers to manage their classrooms.

But to these educators, it’s about indoctrinating the students about CRT and Marxist philosophies, not helping them learn and succeed.

It’s unclear how much influence the ATN has in the Department of Education, or in school districts across the country, but it’s another example of how certain teachers and educators are using their influence and authority to undermine parents and push a very specific agenda.

Photo from Abolitionist Teaching Network