Pollyanna Incorporated, a leftwing non-profit that works with the National Association Independent Schools (NAIS), hosts a “teen council” encouraging students as young as the eighth grade to take part in diversity, inclusion, and equity (DIE) initiatives.
The goal of the teen council is to involve students in the diversity agenda at their respective schools to foster a new generation of DIE activists by bringing them together for monthly Zoom calls to discuss progressive goals in education.
According to their website, the “Pollyanna Teen Council consists of 8th-12th graders (13-18-year-olds) from across the U.S. who are committed to helping their schools achieve their DEIB goals,” with the acronym referring to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
The discussion topics include “Being an Advocate, Activist, Accomplice,” “Celebrating LGBTQIA+ Diversity in Our Schools,” and “Representation and Inclusion in Our School Curriculums.” Another talk is called “Drawing a Line Between Free Speech and Bigotry.”
Schuyler Bailar is one of the speakers for an upcoming teen council discussion. Bailar’s website says that she is “the first transgender athlete to compete in any sport on an NCAA Division 1 men’s team.”
“Schuyler is a leading DEI speaker and advisor for hundreds of businesses, organizations, and schools,” it adds. Bailar opposes bills that prevent children from undergoing medical interventions in an attempt to change their gender.
In addition to endorsing extreme gender theory, Pollyanna pushes Critical Race Theory into private schools associated with the NAIS. The leftist organization created “racial literacy” curriculums for students from kindergarten to high school.
Their eighth grade Critical Race Theory curriculum includes a portion titled “Racism as a Primary ‘Institution’ of the U.S. — How We Combat Systemic Inequality” where “students will unpack sophisticated ideas like white privilege and white supremacy.”
Their Critical Race Theory curriculum is intended to promote “a movement to empower people of color to reject racist socialization and to empower White people to be allies for racial justice work.”
The organization has also published a number of position papers that advocate for leftist reforms within the American education system. One such paper was specifically focused on implementing the DIE agenda despite opposition from parents.
One paper called “Naming and Navigating Pushback to DEI Work,” collected quotes from DIE practitioners who’ve found that some in their school community oppose their agenda. One quote reads “My main challenge has been a few very conservative Board members” who “see DEI as a leftist political agenda, and they see LGBTQ+ informative work as appalling and uncomfortable.”
Another practitioner said that “People unwilling to examine or acknowledge their unearned privilege, namely white male faculty members and Board members” are one of the biggest obstacles to the DIE agenda.
Perhaps most notably, the paper cites parents and families as the biggest opponent of the DIE agenda, reading “The constituent named most frequently in our survey as being resistant to DEI work by Heads and DEI Directors were parents and families.”
“The parents have been most challenging with their notions of ‘color blindness’ and worry that their white children will be labeled racist,” another quote reads.
Pollyanna curriculum is used at numerous schools affiliated with the NAIS, the largest accreditor of private schools in the country, including Maryland’s Maryvale Preparatory, where a former DIE Director advocated for racial discrimination in the name of equity.
EXCLUSIVE: @MaryvaleLions Administration lied to parents about teaching Critical Race Theory following my investigation.
I've obtained a letter from administration in response to my exposé on Kalea Selmon, who said that nonwhite students must be protected from the 'white gaze.' pic.twitter.com/i5OLNEu5Zs
— Spencer Lindquist 🇺🇸 (@SpencerLndqst) September 14, 2022
River Oaks Baptist, an NAIS school in Houston, Texas, encouraged staff members to attend a training on microaggressions hosted by Pollyanna. River Oaks Baptist has pushed Critical Race Theory and the diversity agenda, even going so far as to discriminate against white applicants for a one-year teaching fellowship.
Breitbart News previously revealed that the NAIS’s People of Color Conference was started by Randolph Carter, a former Black Panther. The conference has previously hosted talks with titles such as “Cultivating Anti-Racists and Activists in Kindergarten” and even “Decolonizing the Minds of Second Graders.” Other presentations have showcased slides with titles such as “Burn Shit Down” and maligned the “White People Way.”
A covert network of concerned parents, called Undercover Mothers, has formed to fight back against the indoctrination of students at the hands of the NAIS. The network describes indoctrination in the private school system as a form of “elite capture.”
Following exposés by the Undercover Mothers, Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) pledged to investigate the NAIS if the Republicans retake the majority in Congress. Rep. Banks specifically scrutinized the organization’s role in political advocacy given its 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit.
Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach out at slindquist@breitbart.com.
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