Students as young as fourth grade are participating in race-based affinity programs in the Pennsylvania school district of Lower Merion as part of the district’s equity initiatives.
The school district, located near Philadelphia, outlines its “equity efforts” on its website, which includes participation in an affinity program for “students of color” as early as fourth grade.
“Lower Merion School District is committed to taking a leadership role in closing achievement gaps and ensuring the achievement of all students through a comprehensive array of programs, strategies and community partnerships,” the district says on its website
. “The Lower Merion Board of School Directors and Administration have long applied an equity lens to decision-making and practices affecting students and staff throughout the district.”
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According to the district’s website, elementary school students are subjected to “cultural proficiency lessons … that use the social justice standards of identity, diversity, justice, and action.” Additionally, the district provides race-based support group programs for students beginning in fourth grade through high school.
The middle school affinity program, dubbed REACH, provides students of color with “safe spaces for students to engage in conversations and activities about race, empowerment, culture and excellence.” Likewise, the high school affinity groups “give students a safe space to engage in conversations and activities to voice their ideas, differences, goals, along with celebrating their cultural heritage,” according to the district’s website.
Middle school student participants were provided with a questionnaire that asked them which activities they were interested in participating in. The list included book talks, field trips, and other typical school activities but also asked students if they were interested in “activism opportunities” or “meeting with middle school students of color from different school districts in PA.”
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Lower Merion School District spokeswoman Amy Buckman said the district was “proud of its ongoing efforts to build a sense of belonging for all students and staff.”
“The District’s work in the areas of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is directed by District Policy 101
, which was approved by the Lower Merion Board of School Directors in June 2021,” Buckman said.
Mailyn Salabarria, the director of community engagement for the parent activist group Parents Defending Education, told the Washington Examiner in a statement that the racially segregated student groups were an “immoral” callback to Jim Crow laws.
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“Segregation based on race or ethnic origin was immoral during Jim Crow, and it is immoral today,” Salabarria said. “No amount of bureaucratic language will change that. Burdening young children with ideological agendas is not only wrong but also counterproductive. Children should be focused on academics and building healthy relationships with their peers of all racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. Racial segregation undermines that goal and harms young students. Schools must stop this backwards practice.”
