Silver State Times

The Washoe County School District is questioning the future of the social justice curriculum task force.

Superintendent Susan Enfield, who was hired in April 2022, inherited a district that had established the group under her predecessor, Kristen McNeil, as a means of reviewing social justice content within the school curriculum, KUNR reported.

When it was established, the task force was composed of 18 members. Two are student representatives, four are teacher representatives, four are community members, five are parents or guardians from the five districts, and two are representatives from the school's equity and diversity department and curriculum and instruction department. The task force met monthly during the 2021-22 academic school year, but went silent after its last recorded meeting on May 29.

Enfield did not respond to our request for comment about the fate of the task force.

The issue of social justice content in Nevada schools was gaining attention at the time of the panel’s creation. 

In October 2021, local parent group Battle Born Moms for Education issued a statement that read, in part, "We are firm believers that there is room for multiculturalism at every level. As we learn to appreciate and admire one another's differences, we can better understand one another and build mutual respect and unity. But, ‘social justice’ focuses on shaming and blaming. It lifts one cultural group at the expense of another. No child should be subjected to divisive curricula in any form, especially at such a young age.” 

During a public hearing in June 2021, the matter was discussed.

“It is very clear that in looking at the K-12 methodologies, it is intentionally designed to view everything through the lens of race, oppression and socialist Marxist ideology,” retired teacher and Reno resident Joseph Morabito, who is president and CEO of Paragon Global Resources, said during the public comment period of that meeting. “Without a doubt, critical race theory and the 1619 Project form the foundation of this curriculum, so the district should stop saying this is not the case.”

Another retired teacher also addressed the proposal of approving mandatory Critical Race Theory in the curriculum.

"CRT is a divisive lens through which race becomes the predominant motive of all actions and relationships," Susan Merritt said. "Instead of infecting young minds with the hostility and ethnic stereotypes inherent in CRT, the curriculum for our schools needs to emphasize personal responsibility, motivation toward self-sufficiency, and a shared sense of national identity through the basic subjects of reading, writing, math, history, science and the arts.”

Enfield, who served as superintendent for Highland Public Schools in Burien, Washington, and had previously served as interim superintendent for Burien Public Schools, has been vocal on the issue of race in the past, KOLO reported.

In her application for the Washoe schools position, Enfield listed “equity” as her top component when it comes to communicating “our values and commitment to our families and community.”

She also has posted about the topic on social media.

”If you are a white superintendent, especially if you are serving a richly diverse community – and like me you are feeling anxious, scared, embarrassed, ashamed or uncertain – good,” Enfield tweeted on June 6, 2020.

Enfield co-authored a November 2021 article entitled, “Decentering Whiteness from Our American Schools.” In that article, "whiteness" is described as a "pervasive culture" that "erases any validity of other cultures or ways of being.” 

During the Washoe County Public Schools superintendent selection process, the issue of critical race theory and school curriculum was discussed, the Reno Gazette Journal reported. 

Enfield said that while CRT is not being taught in schools, she would address parents’ concerns about the topic and have “deep dialogue." 

“We can’t shy away from engaging young people in conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion," she told the trustees, according to the Gazette Journal report. "We just simply can’t right now, and we must do so in responsible, developmentally appropriate ways."

Enfield took over the Washoe superintendent’s post on April 26, 2022. About a month later, the task force met for the last time. 

The notes for the May 29 meeting are scant, saying only: “The task force worked independently, reviewing materials to decide whether they would be recommending supplementary curriculum to the superintendent or not. The work they submitted will be reviewed and a summary will be shared with Dr. Parks, who will then share it with Superintendent McNeill.”