School district cuts ties with top teachers union amid major anti-woke overhaul

In 2018, the D11 school district hired Dr. Michael Thomas as superintendent. Thomas promoted an aggressive DEI agenda that left schools preoccupied with “diversity” and “equity.” He pushed “inclusive” practices race-based hiring favoring non-White teaching staff, addressing teachers’ “implicit biases,” and modifying disciplinary policies. In 2020, with the school board’s approval, he created a Department of Equity and Inclusion. George Floyd’s death around the same time propelled Thomas and the board to intensify their efforts, which included hiring a firm to audit the school’s diversity.

In June 2021, the firm told the board that D11’s Black and Hispanic students were underperforming when compared to White students. This was immediately blamed on a lack of diversity and racism among teachers. D11’s new DEI czar, Alexis Knox-Miller, proposed hiring more non-White teachers as a solution. When Parth Melpakam, one of the board members, agreed with the proposal but insisted that competence remain a job requirement, he was accused of being racist.

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By then, D11 schools had fallen into disrepair. Enrollment was plummeting, and 15 schools — nearly a third of the district — were performing so poorly they were placed on a state watchlist. Mitchell High was about to be taken over by the state. Just 17% of D11’s students were proficient in math, and only 34% were proficient in English language arts. 

A revolution

D11’s abysmal condition galvanized parents, and in November 2021 conservatives flipped two seats on the school board, giving the district its first conservative majority in decades. The board, now under President Parth Melpakam, immediately dismissed Thomas and disbanded the DEI department. It hired Michael Gaal, a results-oriented veteran, as the new superintendent. Academic performance became the new focus and schools began offering STEM classes and trade education. Cell phones were banned in classrooms and teachers received the highest raises in the district’s history. The board trimmed $4.5 million of administrative fat and offered scholarships based on academic performance. In 2023, the board’s conservative majority rose to 6-1.

The change has been significant. As of this year, the number of schools on the state watchlist has fallen from 15 to three. Mitchell High, instead of being taken over by the state, now has a program that builds aircraft engines. Enrollment, grades, and graduation rates have all improved.

(7/10) In such a short time, the results are already shocking:

✅ Brought the number of schools on the state watchlist for poor performance down to 3.

✅ Improved enrollment for the first time in over a decade (for two consecutive years).

✅ Academics, graduation rates, and… pic.twitter.com/7nBW3tJJLr

— D11 Momentum (@D11Momentum) December 23, 2024

Cutting the NEA loose

On December 11th, D11’s school board took another major step: it voted to discontinue the district’s 56-year-old contract with the Colorado Springs Education Association (CSEA), the local affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). The teachers union has vowed to “transform” the education system into a hotbed of controversial ideologies like transgenderism and DEI. It promotes Critical Race Theory (CRT) in schools, which teaches that White children are natural oppressors while others are perpetual victims. When parents pushed back on the indoctrination, the NEA begged social media platforms to censor such “violent group[s] of radicalized parents.” The NEA also fought rabidly for school closures during the pandemic, a move that devastated children. 

CSEA has been restricting the school board from governing as it should, members say. And despite being a “nonelected private corporation,” it has been impeding progress, making demands, and evading accountability. Board Secretary Jason Jorgenson also said negotiations have soured between school board members and CSEA officials.