Despite abysmal student test scores across the commonwealth, the state continues to prioritize social justice initiatives over academic outcomes. Last year, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) signed an agreement for $350,000 to “achieve educational equity and racial justice by rebuilding the national Black teacher pipeline.” 

Last month, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) published the results of the annual assessment of student proficiency, known as the PSSA scores. The 2024 scores show that only 53 percent of students in grades three through eight are proficient in reading and writing and only 40 percent are proficient in math.

Yet PDE and the Governor’s office are spending money on projects that have little to no bearing on academic achievement. One such example is the Center for Black Educator Development (CBED), a local nonprofit that espouses the theory, “educational equity requires racial justice.” The center was the grant recipient of $350,000 of Covid relief funds, and while that may seem like a drop in the bucket, some elected officials, school districts, and the teachers’ union are clamoring for more funding to address deficiencies in academic achievement.

In October, The Free Press reported on the nonprofit and its founder, Sharif El-Mekki.

“Sharif El-Mekki is an adviser to Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro. He also supports school segregation, is a member of the Black Panther Party with family ties to Iran, and runs a nonprofit that has raked in nearly $20 million in donations from the government and nonprofits, including the Gates Foundation,” the article notes.

The article includes a link to this document, Respecting Educator Activists of Color, an anti-racist guide to teacher retention. At the bottom of the cover page, PDE along with two other entities, is listed, presumably as some type of collaborator or partner in the project. 

The guide focuses on why children of color must be taught by teachers of color and provides a strategy and resources to attract more teachers of color to the profession. In and of itself, encouraging more young people of color to enter the teaching profession and working with school districts to recruit and maintain more teachers of color is a lofty goal. Yet, the strategies that El-Mekki advocates for are nothing less than racist.

He is unapologetic in his social justice approach — which has no place in a publicly funded school.

“Teaching is activism.” 

“Only by working together can we liberate education. For us, it’s not just about fixing a system that’s broken. As slavery had to be abolished, and not reformed, we also need to liberate education.”

Notably absent from the 69-page guide is a strong emphasis on academic outcomes. While the term “academic” is used eleven times in the document, there is no discussion on how hiring more educators of color will actually improve academic performance for children of color. One section states that academic achievement is important, but lacks any clear definitions.

“Presuming we agree that a defining purpose of a public education is to help all children achieve, explore their talents and gain confidence in their abilities and worldviews so they can have the best chance at life success and liberation, we must then take to heart the research that says the cultural pedagogical approach a school decides to take (rather than asserts without being aware or by default) can make a significant difference.”

What does “help all children achieve” or “explore their talents” really mean and how does that translate into reading, writing, and math proficiency? 

When I contacted CBED, they referred me to their public relations firm, Fenton, whose mission is to “drive social change.” Fenton referred me back to PDE. “I do believe the PDE will be best to answer the initial questions and details on our reach can be found on CBED’s website.”

Neither PDE nor the Governor’s office returned my requests for comment.

As a result, I submitted a Right to Know request that yielded a grant agreement signed in September 2023 to provide “job training and education programs.” 

The state awarded leftover Covid relief funds to support a project with sketchy outcomes and no actual measurable items. For example, “gains in early literacy for elementary students” is a targeted outcome but there are no metrics listed about how this will be measured and what the goal is. Is a one percent increase in reading proficiency a successful outcome, and if so, what tool will be used to measure it?

And that is the only academic outcome. Most of the goals are more difficult to measure, and again, there are no specific metrics identified. “Increases in positive racial identity and self perception.” How do they plan to measure increases in positive racial identity and what types of gains should they expect? And more importantly, how does that translate to an improvement in academic achievement?

Meanwhile, the vast majority of students across the state are struggling with basic skills. This chart depicts the percentage of students who are proficient in English Language Arts, Math, and Science in 2015, 2019, 2023, and 2024. These numbers are staggering, even if you don’t believe that these standardized test scores are the best measure of achievement — which I don’t. However, the PSSA scores are the only tool the state currently utlizes to measure proficiency.

The trends are alarming and potentially catastrophic, especially for children in under performing schools. Students need increased instructional time and remediation in reading, writing, and math. Ultimately, the color of their teacher’s skin does not matter if they don’t learn to read and write; and spending taxpayer funds that were supposed to be used for Covid relief measures on social justice initiatives with no real impact on academic outcomes is beyond irresponsible.

El-Mekki, an advisor to Governor Shapiro who is pictured below on the center’s website, is focused on an anti-racist approach to recruiting, training, and hiring teachers.

“We reviewed teacher retention resources, only to find most were focused on retaining white teachers in white school cultures, or materials assumed a misleading race-neutral approach. We did not find widely shared materials that are anti-racist, intentionally designed to eradicate educational inequities and social oppression.”

At a time when colleges and universities are scaling back their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, PDE and the state need to take the same approach. Public schools should be focused on, at a minimum, basic proficiency in reading, writing, and math. 40, 50, and even 60 percent proficiency in basic skills is unacceptable.

Innovative ideas have the potential to change the current trajectory of our education system, but they require honest examination and a thorough assessment process. If the Governor and PDE are actually interested in radically changing the current system, investing in research for pilot projects makes much more sense than dumping money into unproven, racist initiatives with no scientific rigor.

Josh Shapiro should stop relying on a social justice advocate who has an agenda that appears disconnected from actual academic achievement, and the state should spend taxpayer dollars on programs and initiatives that either have proven outcomes or a robust evaluation system to measure its effectiveness or lack thereof.

Beth Ann Rosica resides in West Chester, has a Ph.D. in Education, and has dedicated her career to advocating on behalf of at-risk children and families. She covers education issues for Broad + Liberty. Contact her at barosica@broadandliberty.com.