Earlier this week we reported that a member of the Manitowoc Public School District’s Board of Education was concerned that Administrators and Staff are being trained in CRT concepts.
On Friday’s Jim and Rick Show on WOMT Radio, Jim reached out to that Board member, Stacy Soeldner, who has been on the Board since April of this year.
He asked Soeldner what led her to the conclusion that Derute Consulting Cooperative out of Milwaukee was training MPSD staff in CRT concepts.
She pointed to the language the group used on Facebook.
Soelnder quoted the group as saying “Today we kicked off a year of facilitating racial equity work with the Manitowoc School District Leadership team. We appreciate the full spirit leaders brought to the session, and the courage it took to name white supremacy as something they wish to understand, and address in their District. Get ready.”
Mark Holzman was given time to respond, and while he admitted that the District did enter a contract with Derute, but said it was “to help support some of our District Leaders’ understanding of how we can better address some learning disproportionate gaps that are happening within our district.”
Holzman also noted that the contract ran from May of 2020 to June of this year.
The Superintendent told Jim and Rick that, “We have heard some criticisms, from Stacy in this case, and some other community members, and we have not continued a relationship with Derute, specifically until our Board can be better in step with what our model will be moving forward to help support high levels of instructional practices for all kids.”
To hear the full interview, including how Soeldner defined Critical Race Theory, and why the school board meetings keep being moved, visit the podcast section of WOMTRadio.com.
