Donors, parents, and other community members have been pushing back against Houston’s River Oaks Baptist School (ROBS), some even leaving the institution, in response to its descent into critical race theory (CRT) radicalism and outright hostility from administrators.
The Texas school, which is affiliated with the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and enrolls students from preschool to eighth grade, is led by Head Leanne Reynolds. Reynolds, who was formerly on the board of directors for the Independent School Association of the Southwest, and has been instrumental in furthering critical race theory at ROBS.
In one post on the school website from 2020, archived here, Reynolds discusses the implementation of CRT at the school. Reflecting on the year, Reynolds remarked, “I didn’t plan… to learn so much about my implicit role as a white woman in the systems oppressing people of color as we explored diversity, equity, and inclusion as an educational priority.”
She continued, noting “our academic leaders participated in the People of Color Conference (POCC) last winter and the Diversity Leadership Institute this summer. It is why we have engaged a curriculum consultant to work with our academic leaders on lessons in cultural competence and racial literacy.” The People of Color Conference, which hosted talks titled “The White People Way” and “Cultivating Anti-Racists and Activists in Kindergarten,” is led by a former Black Panther.
A report for the board of trustees also noted that critical race theory literature had been purchased for “all trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, and Parent Association leaders.”
The report noted that “This year’s all-school summer book read will be Waking Up White, by Debby Irving. This book is widely recommended by diversity practitioners and at diversity seminars as a starting point for independent school Leaders and teachers.” The book criticizes what it calls the “white way,” and at one point decries the “many horrors of whiteness.”
April 26, 2019 ROBS Board Packet by Breitbart News on Scribd
A Head of School Report from Reynolds also notes that the school hired San Francisco-based diversity consultant Alison Park to train the entirety of the school’s staff and faculty. Park, who runs Blink Consulting, explained in one post that she works “alongside my clients to unlearn and de-habituate all of the inhumanity we have been trained into by white supremacist patriarchal culture.” Parks has also worked in conjunction with the POCC and the White Privilege Conference.
In another post, she argues that when it comes to diversity trainings, “white people are supposed to be quiet and learn. Because you don’t have any experience. And this is not your place to speak.”
Erin Woods, a middle school Bible teacher, voiced her support for CRT in an email to Reynolds, writing that she was “baffled, particularly as a Christian, that CRT and DEI work is so controversial to people of faith.”
Woods continued, writing that “the Gospel and CRT do not contradict,” even contending that “there is no contradiction between the person and ministry of Jesus and the work of DEI or the effort of those who use CRT.”
Parents were also given a number of CRT resources, titled “parenting resources.” Articles that advise parents to discuss white privilege and other tenets of CRT were listed under the subsection “Talking to Children About Race & Racism.”
One community member noted that even ROBS’s hiring practices had been impacted by the administration’s CRT agenda. As Breitbart News previously reported, one job specifically discriminated against white people, listing “self-identification as a person of color” as a qualification.
In response to parental concerns, ROBS formed an ad hoc committee that investigated the presence of CRT at ROBS during the summer of 2021. When the committee concluded the investigation, it reported that the school “was not overtly teaching CRT through its curriculum. However, there is evidence that some had adopted, knowingly or unknowingly, thought processes, vernacular, and philosophy commonly associated with CRT.”
Ad Hoc Committee Recommendations by Breitbart News on Scribd
A separate document from the ad hoc committee found that when she was speaking with parents, Head Reynolds “insisted there was no CRT at ROBS then subsequently admitted verbally to two parents she hadn’t understood what it was and that it had indeed crept in.” The same report found that Alison Park’s Blink Consulting was “introduced through the NAIS ecosystem.”
Confidential – Ad Hoc Addendum by Breitbart News on Scribd
Notably, four out of the eight previous members of the ad hoc committee that had children at ROBS have since taken them out of the school according to a community member with knowledge of the situation.
A group of concerned parents contacted every parent at the school on August 18, 2021, with an email titled, “ROBS Leadership Has Lost Its Way.” The email began by asserting there were “major failures of leadership at our school” before going on to warn that “CRT can be found at ROBS in the classroom, curriculum, website, chapel, library, and social media, as well as in teacher and staff training.”
The email continued, decrying the racial shaming tactics of CRT and saying, “Parents never imagined they were paying $30,000 a year to have their children taught to feel guilty or ashamed about their background, race, or country,” also alleging that “one administrator said ROBS has been teaching history all wrong — from a white man’s perspective.”
The email also detailed ROBS loss of teachers, saying, “Experienced teachers who have committed much of their lives to ROBS have left,” and, “They have often been replaced by teachers with less experience, weaker credentials and poorer judgment because their views more closely coincide with the administration’s woke agenda.” The email concluded, “Parents have lost trust.”
Following the email blast, ROBS administration sent out a threatening email on August 31st, 2021 which has been obtained by Breitbart News. In the email, the administration reminds parents that if they engage in “disruptive” communications, the school has the ability to “place restrictions on the family member’s involvement or activity at School” or to “immediately dismiss a student,” even noting that “there will be no refund of tuition where such dismissal occurs and any unpaid balance is payable in full.”
Less than a month later, mother and donor Elizabeth Petersen contacted the board in a letter obtained by Breitbart News, announcing that The Petersen Family Foundation would not be funding the last $2 million of a $5 million dollar pledge to the school, citing “systemic failure” of both administration and the board of trustees.
“The school is promoting a culture of toxicity that promotes shame, fear, guilt, hatred and negativity,” the letter read, also asserting “Leanne Reynolds has lost institutional control and needs to be removed immediately,” the letter remarked.
Petersen told Breitbart News that she decided to pull the $2 million in large part due to the “complete disregard for any sort of parental concerns,” explaining that there was “zero transparency” and “no room for open dialogue.” Both of Petersen’s children have been pulled from ROBS, as have over 80 former students, one source who wished to remain anonymous told Breitbart News.
Head Leanne Reynolds has a documented history of disregarding parental concerns. As Breitbart News previously revealed, Reynolds even bragged when a parent petition addressing mask mandates was censored on Change.org.
In November of 2021, over 220 parents signed a letter to the board to request a meeting in order to discuss their grievances with administration. An email response from board chair Gail Stewart, reviewed by Breitbart News, simply told parents to submit their concerns by utilizing the proper chain of command protocol.
Stewart’s email also reassured parents who had anonymously signed onto the initial letter, telling them that ROBS welcomed “feedback from parents, and families who bring forward their concerns respectfully and in a manner consistent with our Community Behavior standards,” adding that they “should not fear retaliation of any kind.”
In the same school year, parents were faced with an updated re enrollment contract for the 2022-23 school year, which gave the school increased power to penalize dissent. The contract, obtained by Breitbart News, notes that the school “reserves the right to place restrictions” and even to “dismiss the family member from the community” if they voice “strong disagreement” with administration.
This same attempt to stifle dissent has become standard in contracts with NAIS-affiliated schools, as the Undercover Mothers previously documented.
ROBS 2022-23 Re-Enrollment Contract by Breitbart News on Scribd
ROBS received immediate pushback from parents upon sending out the contract. A letter from a former ROBS father, obtained by Breitbart News, explained why he was removing his children from the school. The letter read “ROBS has consistently pandered and sided with the ‘popular’ solution offered by the nonreligious and progressive world.”
The letter also charged that ROBS leadership “cared more about ‘social justice’ than about “trying to teach our children to be warriors for Christ” before blasting the NAIS, calling it a “manipulative and radically charged interest group.”
Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach out at slindquist@breitbart.com
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