Nevada schools reckon with race, triggering polarization

RENO, Nev. — Nevada has become the latest flashpoint in a national debate over how to teach students about racism and its role in U.S. history, with parents clashing over curriculum proposals. “You guys have a serious problem with activist teachers pushing politics in the classroom, and there’s no place for it, especially for our fifth graders,” Karen England, Nevada Family Alliance executive director, told Washoe County School District trustees Tuesday. Opponents gathered outside carrying signs that read “No CRT,” “CRT teaches racism” and “The School Board works for the people!” “You say there’s no CRT in this curriculum,” Sparks resident Bruce Parks told trustees. When you use words and language like ‘white male privilege,’ ‘systemic racism,’ that’s straight out of CRT.” On the other side of the entrance, students, parents and teachers wore green T-shirts and carried signs with slogans including “Amplify Student Voices” to signify support for “Washoe County School District Students for Change,” a group that has pushed for curriculum additions. “I’ve yet to see anything in the curriculum that shows that we are actually going to take a hardcore approach to critical race theory,” said Tingle, who has four children enrolled in district schools.