Educators receive gender and sexuality coaching at progressive Illinois Math Academy

A woke Illinois math and science boarding academy makes teachers meet with an “equity” coach over “lack of inclusion” and “incorrect pronoun usage,” according to emails obtained by The Daily Wire.

Teachers at the Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA), a public boarding school in Aurora for grades 10-12, are told to meet with an “Equity Instruction Coach” if they are found to have violated school DEI policies, according to emails obtained by Parents Defending Education (PDE) and shared with The Daily Wire.

The emails show a school culture where teachers are expected to undergo a plethora of DEI-related trainings and an extensive process for faculty and community members to report alleged instances of bias. In one instance, a teacher was ordered to undergo a “coaching” session with the equity coach over pronoun use.

“It has been determined that there is no evidence of bias, but rather a lack of inclusion,” IMSA’s DEI Officer Adrienne Coleman wrote to the teacher in September 2023. “In this instance, while you were proactive in collecting students names and pronouns, IMSA students still felt uncomfortable and unsafe due to incorrect pronoun usage.”

The teacher was then told to prepare to “engage in a coaching session around gender and sexuality, as well as appropriate use of pronouns,” with an “Equity Instructional Coach.”

“The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) is committed to maintaining a learning environment that is inclusive and supportive of all students, regardless of an individual’s race, sex, age, color, national origin, religion, disability or physical or mental ability, veteran’s status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry, and/or other characteristics protected by applicable law,” IMSA told The Daily Wire. “The goal of coaching conversations and educational conversations in gender bias is to raise awareness and promote understanding and empathy.”

Other emails obtained by PDE show a number of supposed bias incidents being investigated, including an allegation from the school’s equity coach against a member of a committee reevaluating school policies through an “equity” lens. According to PDE, the school’s equity coach said that the incident made him question how the committee was selected, suggesting that white males and Christians shouldn’t be involved.

The equity coach said the incident “has made me question how individuals were chosen for the committee, considering the purpose of the work and how policies are inherently geared toward privileged individuals (white, straight, cis, able-bodied, men who are middle class and Christian) and, in reviewing for equity, should be evaluated by those who are not privileged,” the email said.

“These systems have no place in K-12 schools and are antithetical to a healthy educational environment,” Rhyen Staley, a researcher for PDE, told The Daily Wire. “It is deeply concerning to see a system in place that promotes reporting fellow students and staff for facial expressions and thought crimes. It is a tragedy that students are subjected to such draconian measures in the name of ‘safety’ and ‘equity.’”

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The public information request from PDE also obtained a bias report that had been filed in 2022 by Coleman, who has been with the school for 16 years. In it, Coleman said that she was offended by evaluations referring to black staff members as “incompetent” and by having to “constantly” defend DEI programs at the school, among other allegations.

“This is exhausting and sometimes traumatic! Walk a mile in my shoes, have a conversation with me, do not judge me, erase the stereotypical perspectives that you have of me, get to know me, see my ‘Blackness,’ and understand that it is the most important part of my identity!” she wrote.

It is unclear how the complaint, filed in October 2022, was resolved, though The Daily Wire reached out to IMSA for comment.

Previous Daily Wire reports on IMSA have focused on the school’s policies for staff to create “personalized” gender “support” plans for students who identify as transgender and hosting of a race-based retreat open only to black and “Latinx” students.

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