Parents who oppose CRT are like the Capitol rioters, according to the head of a DC Quaker school who is also a founding member of a ‘cartel-like’ association for woke private schools like Dalton.
Rodney Glasgow made the comment when speaking at a virtual conference for NYC private schools hosted by Dalton in May this year.
He was introduced by Dalton’s ousted head, Jim Best, who announced in April that he would be stepping down at the end of the school year after being panned by parents for pushing liberal agenda into the curriculum.
Glasgow, a Harvard graduate from Maryland, is the Head of School at Sandy Spring Friends School in Maryland where boarding fees run as high as $66,000-a-year, and he runs a company called The Glasgow Group which offers diversity, equity and inclusion consulting to private schools.
He is also a founding member of NAIS, the National Association for Independent Schools, a membership-based non-profit which represents 1,600 private schools across America.
It was founded in 1962 and also counts Brearley, Grace Church and Lycee Francais among members. It accredits member schools with its own criteria, like other private school associations in the country.
Rodney Glasgow made the comment when speaking at a virtual conference for NYC private schools hosted by Dalton in May this year. He used his speech to compare parents who oppose CRT and changes in schools to the Capitol rioters. Towards the end of his speech, he took off his red top to reveal a t-shirt with the words ‘I Make My Ancestors Proud’ on it
NAIS only represents about five percent of America’s private schools but critics say it is run like a ‘cartel’ where schools that disagree with its policies face not being accredited – something parents look for when selecting where to send their kids.
Glasgow spoke at Dalton’s annual conference in May when after a 50-minute speech from his living room.
He showed off his multi-colored nail polish, jewelry and a t-shirt which read ‘I make my ancestors proud’, which he revealed at the end of the speech by removing his red belted kimono-like top.
‘There’s an image of January 6 where the people are standing in front of the Capitol…someone who was meant to keep them out, someone who was meant to protect the Capitol, opened the gate and let everybody in.
‘In that moment I actually wept because there is no truer metaphor for independent schools than that moment,’ he said.
Earlier in his speech he said that private schools were ‘built to serve white male wealth’ and that they ‘replicate plantation mentality’
Head of Dalton Jim Best, who announced his resignation earlier this year after being slammed for pushing a woke agenda on the school’s curriculum, introduced Glasgow as a ‘beautiful person’
‘CARTEL’ PRIVATE SCHOOL ASSOCIATION WHICH ‘ONLY ACCREDITS SCHOOLS THAT ADOPT ITS WOKE POLICIES’
The National Association of Independent Schools was created in 1962 as a way of preserving standards and fairness in private schools, which aren’t subject to state and federal rules because they run themselves.
But parents say it has become increasingly liberal and is pushing its policies on the schools it represents.
Brearley and Grace Church are all members of NAIS – the National Association of Independent Schools. Some parents say it is like a ‘cartel’ which forces members to adopt woke policies or risk losing out on accreditation. The member schools pay up to $12,000-a-year to be a part of it and it’s run by a board of trustees
The schools fear losing accreditation if they miss out, which means losing out on access to the NAIS marketing tools and resources, like job searches and webinars.
NAIS was founded in 1962 and since then it has grown to represent more than 1,600 schools in America and 300 overseas.
There are more than 34,000 private schools across the country but some of the most prestigious, like Dalton, belong to NAIS.
The board of trustees has 24 members, many of whom work at schools and some who don’t like Donna Orem – the president. She was the COO for years before taking the position in 2016.
The NAIS says its mission is to ‘co-create’ the future of education by uniting and empowering our community.’
Member schools include;
- Dalton
- Lycee Francaise
- Brearely
- Grace Church
- Sandy Spring
- Georgetown Day School
- Sidwell Friends
- Marymount High School
He went on to compare the parents to the rioters and school staff who push back on CRT to the ‘gate keepers’.
‘We’re focused now on the parents on the outside fear and the anger and the pushback. We’re goin to help them through that.
‘But I want us to turn our attention to what’s happening internally to the gate keepers who are keeping the gate open,’ he said.
Earlier in his speech he said that private schools were ‘built to serve white male wealth’ and that they ‘replicate plantation mentality’.
Best, introducing Glasgow, gushed: ‘Rodney is quite simply, a beautiful, wonderful person.’
He also said New York schools still had slavery ‘encoded’ in their DNA and that private schools were ‘built to replicate a plantation mentality.’
Glasgow is the head of Sandy Spring Friends School in Maryland which charges up to $66,000-a-year for boarding. He says he wants to create change from the inside
Glasgow has held multiple positions within NAIS.
Membership is capped at $12,000 per school per year but until then, it costs up to $15 per student.
Glasgow also runs his own consulting group for schools on how they can become more diverse
The reason schools sign up is to give their teachers and leaders access to benefits like job postings, webinars, ‘strategy labs’ and conferences.
The association sets accreditation standards for its member schools. Others are represented by different state and national associations.
‘The association is a cartel. You think you have a choice but you don’t,’ one parent told The Washington Free Beacon.
The President of the NAIS is Donna Orem, who previously served as a volunteer on two school boards and worked at the American Association of University Women.
Its board of trustees has 24 members including staff from Collegiate – a private boys school in New York City.
The NAIS spokesman did not immediately respond to inquiries on Thursday.