A local private Christian school, Wesley Prep, has hired a new leader who appears well-versed in Critical Race Theory (CRT), and one activist group is vocally opposing the appointment.
The Wesley Prep search committee selected Meg Fahrenbrook to replace Linda Altick as the head of school, effective June 1, 2022.
Tweets obtained by The Dallas Express reveal that Fahrenbrook has supported ‘CRT’ instruction and ‘gender fluidity’ theory.
“Save Texas Kids reached out to Ms. Fahrenbrook with questions about her record, and no response has been provided,” said Save Texas Kids Director Carlos Turcios. “We would like a response from Ms. Fahrenbrook to let concerned parents, students, and even teachers clarify her Twitter posts advocating ‘equity training’ and ‘Critical Race Theory’ rhetoric.”
Neither Fahrenbrook nor Altick replied to requests for comment.
On Twitter, Fahrenbrook posted a tweet that linked to a Harvard University website of CRT academics called Teaching the Hard Histories of Racism.
“Great ideas here about how to teach the hard realities of history,” Fahrenbrook stated.
https://twitter.com/MegFahrenbrook/status/1371606083295346688
On her Twitter profile, Fahrenbrook lists her ‘pronouns’ as (she/her) and in another Tweet endorsed the California-based ‘anti-racist’ consultants Leadership + Design.
“Thank you for hosting! It was energizing, thought-provoking, and so good to see all those awesome humans,” Fahrenbrook posted on Oct. 29.
https://twitter.com/MegFahrenbrook/status/1454039702936371205
Leadership + Design promotes a racial immersion program on their website, which is described as a sequence of four interactive, nested experiences that begin with the school’s leadership team.
“If you participate in all four, you will eventually include the entire school community,” the website states. “Part I of the Racial Immersion Program is available now as a three-module experience for your senior leadership team. Building an anti-racist culture must start from the top. The Racial Immersion Program is designed for a ‘majority white’ team of educators that realizes that it is time to change and dig deeper as an organization, but it is not for the administrative team that is checking the ‘race training box.’ We will challenge your entire team to go beyond intellectual learning to emotional and experiential learning. We will not work with teams seeking a comfortable experience: the Racial Immersion Program is impractical, hard, uncomfortable – and powerful.”
https://twitter.com/MegFahrenbrook/status/1359840003912847366
Fahrenbrook has worked at the Episcopal School of Dallas for seventeen years as a teacher, advisor, middle and upper school mentoring director, middle school advisory and student leadership coordinator, and assistant head of middle school, according to a message distributed by Wesley Prep’s Board of Trustees.
“Texas’s new Senate Bill 3 recently went into effect this month, and we want assurance from Ms. Fahrenbrook that she will comply with the new law,” Turcios told The Dallas Express.
House Bill 3979, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law on June 14, instructs how America’s history of slavery and racism is taught in Texas schools.
However, Senate Bill 3 is more restrictive and has broader application, according to media reports. It should be noted that Senate Bill 3 is only applicable to public schools, not private institutions like Wesley Prep.
“Parents want leaders that will not bring unnecessary politics and divisive ideologies into the classroom,” Turcios added. “We have seen the distractions that such theories and politics can cause in schools. Parents deserve school leaders who will put students’ education first and not bring politics and ideological tendencies into the classroom and the school.”