JNS
There is an extremism problem in the School District of Philadelphia. It represents an opportunity for a governor with presidential aspirations.
The School District of Philadelphia has an extremism problem. As has been uncovered in multiple reports, their curriculum is riddled with anti-American and anti-capitalist lessons.
Power dynamics are consistently framed through an oversimplified oppressed versus oppressor binary. Teachers and department heads have exhibited inflammatory and threatening behavior toward parents online. A teacher has filed a Title VII claim against the district that is moving forward through the courts, and even the Biden administration found it in violation of the Civil Rights Act.
Things have gotten so obviously bad that a founder of the “meet me in the middle” caucus of the Pennsylvania legislature, which was formed to bridge partisan divides and promote practical governance, has urged Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to take action, warning that the SDP has become a case study in “radicalism gaining too much influence in our public institutions.”
Shapiro should take advantage of this opportunity and open an investigation into the district. The problems are blatant and go far beyond heavily politicized issues like diversity, equity and inclusion, minimizing political risk. The performance of the district is extremely poor, allowing Shapiro to tackle a national education issue at a local level in his state. He can distinguish himself as a strong liberal Democrat who will not kowtow to Socialist and anti-American extremists, boosting his national appeal as a serious future presidential candidate.
The issues go far beyond an overreaching DEI program in the school district. The district’s director of social studies curriculum, Ismael Jimenez, is an activist educator “committed to liberation.”
His curriculum requires students to replace “The Star-Spangled Banner,” play games that legitimize the overthrow of capitalist systems, and frame industrialization merely as a lead to greed and exploitation. His office door has a sign that celebrates Assata Shakur, an activist who was convicted of killing a police officer and remains on the FBI’s most wanted list. On social media, he refers to “white tears” as a reason not to listen to the concerns of a teacher who filed a discrimination claim. He has ties to Sharif El-Mekki, who leads an organization that has secured some $500,000 in contracts from the SDP and has sought to segregate schools to ensure black students are only taught by black teachers.
Typically, these classroom issues are hard to touch, being heavily politicized by the Trump administration’s stance and tactless approach to “discriminatory equity ideology” and attacks on DEI. However, the SDP’s issues run directly against state education standards that require students to be taught about “the principles and ideals of the American republican representative form of government.”
This is bound to continue, as Jimenez is in charge of creating a 250-year anniversary curriculum for a country his current curriculum frames as irredeemably racist. Curriculum and teacher actions have been purely anti-American, clearly discriminatory, grossly unprofessional and necessarily politicize the classroom. It would be an unassailable decision for Shapiro to oppose and investigate the critical situation in Philadelphia schools. The dire situation goes beyond any kind of political flashpoints. This is demonstrated by the founder of the bipartisan caucus urging action, creating an opening for Shapiro.
If Shapiro is to appeal as a future presidential candidate, he should take decisive action on issues of national importance. The struggling American education system needs major improvements; Philadelphia’s own performance reflects this. Its students perform far below national and state standards on reading and math. According to 2024 national assessment results, a mere 18% of the district’s eighth-graders are considered “at or above proficient” in reading, compared with 30% nationwide.
As U.S. President Donald Trump guts the federal Department of Education, Shapiro can show how his state’s education department can act to improve a school district and remove anti-American activism from the classroom that distracts from the fundamentals of education that drive proficiency. Shapiro is proud of a large increase in K-12 education funding, but investing more money in an extremist state of things will only make things worse.
Finally, since the 2024 election, the Democratic Party has been going through an identity crisis. Polls have shown that moderates and left-leaning independents prefer that the party become more moderate. It makes sense that moderating the party by separating from extremes would appeal to more voters. Even though former Vice President and 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris moved to the middle and ran a centrist campaign, she and other Democrats’ previous enablement of extremist views or candidates ultimately left many unwilling to vote for her. Shapiro risks the same fate unless he can separate himself from the extreme elements of his party.
This requires both a long-term vision that transcends political convenience and the courage to break from party lines, distancing from enablers and taking a strong stance against ideological extremism. Americans crave these qualities in a presidential candidate.
Shapiro has an opportunity for his “Sister Souljah moment,” with potential for bipartisan backing against radical SDP actors who embody the extreme views moderate voters rejected in the national election. He should seize this moment to reject extremism—and stand up for the parents and children in Philadelphia schools.
