Editor鈥檚 note: This story, and a draft report linked to in the story, include references to racist, Islamophobic language and bigoted views that are violent in nature.

Newark Public Schools leaders failed to 鈥渜uickly and consistently鈥� respond to racist and bigoted incidents against Black students and teachers at a city school designed to embrace world cultures, according to a draft of a scathing report that district officials have sought to keep private.

A , obtained by Chalkbeat Newark, details harrowing examples of how Black students and teachers at the Newark School of Global Studies were 鈥渟ubjected to acts of anti-Blackness and anti-Black racism.鈥� The review also highlighted how the school鈥檚 response failed to address the problems, and in some cases, magnified racial issues.

The May 2023 draft of the report written by the consulting firm Creed Strategies is the public鈥檚 first look into the firm鈥檚 review of the cultural, racial, and religious dynamics at Global Studies that pushed some Black students to transfer and teachers to resign. The draft obtained by Chalkbeat is not the latest version of the report. But the district has fought to keep all versions of the report private, nearly two years after Newark school board leaders commissioned it.

Attorneys for the district have argued in court filings that the report is a 鈥減redecisional draft document鈥� and therefore exempt from the state鈥檚 public records law. If portions of the report were disclosed, 鈥渋t would have a chilling effect鈥� on the district鈥檚 ongoing efforts 鈥渢o improve dialogue and sensitivity practices鈥� at Global Studies and other schools, according to a court record outlining the district鈥檚 opposition to the Newark Teachers Union lawsuit seeking the release of the report.

In 2023, the Newark Teachers Union filed two lawsuits against the district over the release of the report, but the union agreed to  without its release.

The draft report paints a picture of a campus where Black students and teachers reported being called racial slurs by Latino students, the N-word was commonly used among non-Black students, and where complaints by Black students were often dismissed or minimized by administrators and non-Black staff. A male student was repeatedly called an anti-gay slur in class while a teacher was present, and other students made threats to 鈥渢ake off鈥� and 鈥渟tomp on鈥� the hijabs of Black and Arab Muslim female teachers, according to the review.

Read takeaways from .

Many of the allegations in the draft report have  substantiated in , and are mentioned in lawsuits against the district. The issues also caught the attention of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who hosted a town hall to discuss unity among Black and brown communities months after students spoke publicly about their experiences.

Former Global Studies teachers filed a lawsuit against the district alleging that school and district leaders created a hostile work environment where they experienced racial discrimination and retaliation, according to the lawsuit filed in Essex County Superior Court last spring. The lawsuit is ongoing.

The former teachers also filed claims with the U.S. 鈥嬧�婦epartment of Education鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights. The department opened an investigation into the claim on Dec. 21, 2023, and it is ongoing.

Paul Brubaker, the district鈥檚 communications director, did not respond to Chalkbeat鈥檚 request to provide a copy of the full Global Studies report. Instead, in an emailed response, he reiterated the district鈥檚 stance that the report is 鈥減rivileged and confidential.鈥� Brubaker said the school board 鈥渞eserves the right to take any and all appropriate action to prevent or redress injury to itself,鈥� district staff, school or students.

Brubaker did not respond to questions about the district鈥檚 efforts to fix the problems at the high school, how it changed its policies to address racial problems, and the professional support it has provided teachers with since the incidents at the school surfaced.

Superintendent Roger Le贸n promised to fix the problems

Staff, parents, and students were interviewed by Creed Strategies鈥� six-member review team about their experiences at the high school and were anonymously quoted throughout the draft report. The research team was made up of professors and education experts with experience in school leadership and representative of the demographics at Global Studies.

In interviews with Creed researchers, Black students described a 鈥渟ense of betrayal鈥� when their peers and adults used racial slurs, according to the draft report. Most Black students 鈥渇elt stunned, at a loss for words, or angry鈥� when the incidents occurred, the report read.

When asked by researchers about the reported incidents, some of the staff responded defensively, while others said they did not know about the issues until students spoke publicly in 2022, the review found. Teachers reported that the lack of transparency about the issues at Global Studies limited their ability to understand what was happening and eroded morale, the report read. Other staff said the aftermath of the issues becoming public caused 鈥渟ome upheaval鈥� at Global Studies with 鈥渧ery few鈥� attributing the chaos to the racist incidents Black students and teachers had described in 2022, the draft report stated.

But  revealed that school administrators had known about the issues before they became public, and a parent begged state and district officials for an end to the harassment against her son. School leaders missed an opportunity 鈥渢o address the professional learning needs鈥� of teachers to be responsive to the incidents and create 鈥渃ulturally responsive鈥� learning, according to the draft.

Some interviewees cited in the report also framed 鈥淏lack women and girls鈥� as 鈥渆asily triggered and angry鈥� when discussing the incidents at the school, the review notes. 鈥淚nstead of focusing on the systemic racism that Black women and girls are speaking up against, there was a sense of defensiveness,鈥� the draft report says. In claims filed by former , they alleged they 鈥渟uffered harassment and racial hostility by students and supervisors鈥� and felt their 鈥渨orth as a teacher and human being has been diminished.鈥�

Newark school board leaders commissioned the review of Global Studies at the start of 2023 in response to Black students speaking publicly about a pattern of racist harassment on campus. The May 2023 draft provided the district with three recommendations, which were released publicly, and meant to be 鈥減roactively implemented鈥� to tackle anti-Blackness and build Global Studies鈥� understanding of diversity, the draft read.

A mix of Global Studies parents, students, teachers, some board members, and community advocates have been calling on Superintendent Roger  the full report on the high school and address the problems. Le贸n promised students he would fix the problems at the school but he has not said what changes or efforts have been made at Global Studies, one of the district鈥檚 top magnet schools. Deborah Smith Gregory, president of NAACP Newark, is one of the advocates who has called on Le贸n to release the Global Studies report but has been ignored, she said during a school board .

鈥淚t seems that the rule of the superintendent is being sanctioned by the board with little oversight and question,鈥� said Smith Gregory in December.

Despite calls for transparency, the Newark school board last month quietly  to remove one of its longest-serving members after her daughter filed a legal claim against the district alleging racial harassment and discrimination during her time as a student at Global Studies. A New Jersey judge denied the petition but the state鈥檚 commissioner of education will issue a final decision by February.

School leaders did not communicate seriousness of harassment

Students reported racist incidents at the high school since  during remote learning in 2020, while the number of Black students has decreased steadily since then, according to the draft.

According to the draft report, Global Studies鈥� leaders had a 鈥渓imited response鈥� to the harassment reported by students and 鈥渃entered impact rather than intent鈥� of the incidents. Interviews found that some school staff learned about the incidents through their relationships with students and the teachers involved. A 鈥渧ery small group鈥� said 鈥渢hey had no knowledge of the incidents before the students鈥� public comments鈥� in November 2022, the report read.

Staff interviewees also said 鈥渢he effect of the public reports and media鈥� on the school environment led to 鈥渃haos鈥� and 鈥渋ll feelings,鈥� the draft states. Some suggested that the feelings were 鈥渋ntensified by the lack of clear communication about why students were complaining and leaving the school,鈥� the report read.

鈥淚 think that has made some students more like, upset, angry 鈥� Unraveled things a little bit. So that鈥檚 like an unfortunate thing that it鈥檚 like kind of causing some upheaval,鈥� said one interviewee in the report.

As part of the review, teachers and administrators told researchers about 11 reported incidents. Discipline for those incidents ranged from written apologies and cultural sensitivity training to mediation and suspensions, according to the draft. Of the consequences, 22 students had in-school detention, seven received out-of-school suspensions, seven had a parent conference, six received mediation, four participated in out-of-school counseling, three received after-school detention, and three more had a conflict resolution session, according to the draft.

With one exception, Black adult interviewees expressed their belief that Black students experienced racial harm at the high school, while six out of the seven non-Black, non-Latino adults interviewed said 鈥渢hey believed the students and expressed concern about their well-being,鈥� according to the report.

Some said they were also aware of racist incidents against Black and Asian American teachers in the building, the report found. The former teachers who filed a lawsuit against the district claimed they also suffered 鈥渟evere emotional problems鈥� leading them to seek 鈥減sychological counseling鈥� after experiencing racial harassment at the high school. But nine interviewees also suggested the reports of Black students and media coverage 鈥渨ere exaggerated and wanted to set the record straight,鈥� according to the report.

Others lamented the school鈥檚 approaches to addressing the incidents and 鈥渓ack of communication about them were eroding teacher morale,鈥� according to the draft. One teacher specifically suggested that because of the public scrutiny, 鈥渁dministrators started to backtrack reports stated about one of the formally reported incidents,鈥� the report read.

鈥淚 want to say that when I hear these recordings about what people are saying and including the students that are in the school, to me, it feels like they鈥檙e talking about another school. Because I do not see that. You know, I have not heard that,鈥� an interviewee told researchers.

Missed opportunity to support staff, teachers at Global Studies

One of the main draws of Global Studies was that it promised students would 鈥渄evelop a global perspective鈥� through second-language immersion, exploration of different cultures and career pathways that emphasized international relations in business and diplomacy.

But the overall environment at the school 鈥� and the way it was run 鈥� led to administrators 鈥渕issing the opportunity to represent the diversity of its students鈥� lived experiences and aspirations within the environment and their learning,鈥� according to the report.

When Global Studies opened its doors in 2021 following remote learning, the school was newly renovated and well maintained with college-related signs throughout hallways. But researchers found that the overall tone of the school lacked 鈥渢he spirit and vitality typical of a high school,鈥� with much of it resembling an elementary and middle school, according to the report.

Most classroom walls were decorated with word walls and inspirational posters or pictures, the report found. Wall displays 鈥渞arely demonstrated鈥� how students grappled with topics like geographical and linguistic diversity and global political institutions, the report found. The main theme of the school, which highlights students as global citizens, was often tied by staff to specific celebrations such as Hispanic Heritage and Black History months and notable figures, according to the report.

Additionally, most teachers lacked previous high school teaching experience, according to the report. Students spent 鈥渆xtended periods of time sitting silently鈥� and had a lack of dialogue in classrooms, the report found.

Early on, the school and district administration had not cultivated an environment that encouraged staff to examine and challenge their assumptions of implicit bias and other forms of racism, according to the report.

When Black students spoke about their experiences of racial harassment, school administrators hosted a staff discussion of a book called 鈥淐ourageous Conversations About Race,鈥� according to the report. But staff members weren鈥檛 clear about why they were attending the discussions and told Creed researchers the conversations felt 鈥渟urface-level鈥� and 鈥渓acked transparency and support, and limited their capacity to understand and address the issues鈥� that were happening, the report read.

鈥淭here was a missed opportunity to address the professional learning needs of instructional staff to be responsive to these issues as a part of student learning,鈥� the report said.

Response did more damage, leading to transfers, resignations

After Black students spoke out publicly, district leaders held assemblies largely viewed 鈥渁s insufficient and ineffective鈥� by others, according to the report.

During the 2022-23 school year, Global Studies principal Nelson Ruiz held an assembly for the entire school where he told all students not to use the N-word or they would be suspended, according to the report. The school鈥檚 zero-tolerance for the N-word was 鈥渘ot only viewed as harming victims, but it also policed the language and speaking practices of Black students,鈥� the report read.

Interviewees also discussed a pizza party for Black students that some students felt 鈥渨as an attempt to drive their attention away from the issue,鈥� according to the report. During the , a former Global Studies student said school administrators called members of the Black Student Union 鈥渁nd gave us pizza, candy and even soda,鈥� in what she felt was an attempt to silence students. Ruiz did not respond to calls, a text, or emailed questions from Chalkbeat about his response to the incidents.

Le贸n also held an assembly during the 2022-23 school year, specifically for the junior class, where students were told, 鈥淚f they don鈥檛 feel comfortable [at NSGS], basically they can leave,鈥� a student interviewee said. Students interpreted Le贸n鈥檚 comment as 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 like it, you can leave,鈥� according to the report. Student interviewees also felt as if school staff were not facilitating their transfer requests because of a lack of communication between Le贸n and the school, while others said it was because the school 鈥渄id not want to lose high-achieving Black students,鈥� the draft report stated.

Those findings echo what students had told Newark school board members. During the January 2023 board meeting,  they were being told by guidance counselors that they couldn鈥檛 transfer. One student told board members that Leon鈥檚 speech 鈥渄idn鈥檛 feel like it had any empathy and it gave very much, 鈥榠f you don鈥檛 like it, then go home.鈥� Another student said 鈥渁 vast amount of students鈥� lined up outside of the guidance counselors鈥� offices the day after Le贸n鈥檚 assembly. A third student said guidance counselors told her multiple times that she couldn鈥檛 transfer and if she left 鈥渉ow would that make us feel.鈥�

Staff interviewees also said high-performing Black students were the first students to try to transfer out and some considered how that would impact the school鈥檚 image, according to the draft report.

The transfer rates of Black students have 鈥渟ignificantly increased鈥� each year at Global Studies in comparison to all other student groups, according to data included in the draft report. Black students have been less likely to complete an academic year at the school than their peers at Newark School of Data Science and Information Technology, Newark Fashion and Design, and Newark Vocational, the report stated.

At the end of the 2021-22 school year, six Black students transferred out of Global Studies and in the following school year, another seven Black students had transferred as of March 15, 2023, according to the report. During the 2022-23 school year, three Black female teachers resigned, all from the same department, and two Latino students were transferred out, the report notes.

Throughout the report, researchers also found that the school鈥檚 restorative approach to the issues did not adequately address 鈥渢he persistence or saliency鈥� of racist comments by students. To address the incidents, administrators called for parent conferences and time of reflection with students that led Black students to feel emotionally unsafe about being forced to work with students who used racist language toward them and were allowed to remain in classes, according to the report.

The practices also 鈥渃reated an atmosphere where some Latino students felt they could use racist language toward Black students and teachers without consequence,鈥� the draft reads.

Staff members who were interviewed said they were following district policy and 鈥渆mploying a restorative approach鈥� to discipline students while others acknowledged they had an 鈥渆ducative role鈥� to address the use of racial language by non-Black students, the report found.

One teacher acknowledged that education 鈥渙n the background of why some of the things [students] say to each other are so hurtful鈥� would be useful.

鈥淚 think especially for recent immigrants, they come here, and they hear that kind of dialogue, and they adopt it thinking like they鈥檙e gonna be proud and part of American culture and have no background for it, and don鈥檛 realize that for them, it鈥檚 not appropriate to talk that way,鈥� according to the teacher.

The report  build school staff鈥檚 capacity to identify cultural gaps, create a racially conscious and inclusive environment, foster conversations about race, and assess the effects of anti-Blackness on the school system.

Researchers also noted that 鈥渢he courage and resilience鈥� of Black students at Global Studies who assumed leadership positions in school organizations, participated in extracurricular activities, and are high achievers demonstrated a level 鈥渙f social awareness and activism鈥� by challenging racial discrimination.

Their efforts were aligned with the Global Studies theme, the report found.

This was originally published on .

An erroneous outcry around critical race theory created more red tape for Akeem Brown, complicating the opening of , a school designed to celebrate the Black and brown communities who partnered with Brown to co-create it.

identifies and prepares excellent leaders to transform education in their communities. Brown is a , and we are proud to have walked alongside him in his remarkable journey to found Essence Prep, set to open in August 2022 serving students in kindergarten through second grade. 

Building and leading a locally responsive public charter school is the ultimate exercise in community organizing and engagement for school leaders. BES understands how to do this, and we believe Brown did it very successfully in designing Essence Prep.

While Essence Prep will deliver a high-quality education to any and all students, Brown intentionally co-created a public charter school with a predominantly Black and Latino community; a community who expressed a desire for a public educational option designed to meet the unique needs they face every day in San Antonio鈥檚 Eastside and beyond. The charter application he submitted in 2021 promised high academic standards, culturally responsive teaching, social-emotional learning and a focus on learning about public policy. 

At first, the Texas Education Agency enthusiastically recommended the school be granted a charter with an 11-3 vote. Days later, TEA leadership received feedback from an elected official citing . Though this criticism inaccurately lumped together the school鈥檚 diversity, equity and inclusion practices with critical race theory, it effectively influenced TEA to request that Brown and his team remove anti-racist language from their website and from the charter application, unnecessarily lengthening the authorization process. Not only did this delay cost Essence Prep energy, time and money, it forced them to rewrite parts of the application that were important to the founding of the school 鈥� a process they had worked on together with the community.

To be clear, Essence Prep never promised to teach critical race theory; critical race theory was not mentioned in any part of the application, its curriculum, or its website. What Essence Prep promises is an inclusive learning environment that celebrates students鈥� cultures; ensures a psychologically safe environment for students of all backgrounds, needs and abilities; and teaches students to examine and interrupt the inequality they see in their own lives. Preventing anti-racism is inherently racist, and it is wrong.

Under the new Texas law, a 鈥渢eacher may not be compelled to discuss a widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs.鈥� Charter schools are public schools, held to the same accountability standards as any district-operated school and the curriculum taught in public charters must uphold state law. Unfounded claims about Essence Prep鈥檚 charter application created more work for a team made up entirely of people of color, forcing them to compromise on authentically representing the voices of the community, one of the hallmarks of their school model that parents stated they couldn鈥檛 find in other schools. Using these laws to limit opportunity for people of color is rooted in white supremacy. It is racist, and it is wrong.

Essence Prep was pressured to abandon its equity vision statement, which called for its school community to focus on 鈥渆ducational reform to achieve social, cultural, environmental, economic, and racial justice.鈥� All references to 鈥淏lack and brown students,鈥� and all references to anti-racism were dropped from their website and marketing materials. We at BES believe this pressure was driven by the fear that children might be taught to critically examine the world around them and create pathways to help all people overcome oppression. Those who fought against Essence Prep鈥檚 anti-racist design argued that such an educational experience would be uncomfortable for the school鈥檚 white students. This claim is baseless, and it is wrong. 

Families have a right to high-quality educational options that are intentionally designed to celebrate their communities and cultures and meet the unique needs of their students. Brown and his team spoke with nearly 500 families when designing Essence Prep; families who want their students to be able to interrupt the injustice they experience, develop knowledge of themselves and be agents of change in their communities and beyond. Essence Prep has promised to do this and more.

 Just as privileged, often white, communities have the opportunity to create and choose school options that meet the needs of their children, communities of color have the right to help design public school options that are aimed at creating safe, inclusive and anti-racist spaces for all students. Essence Prep will be that school when it opens its doors in a few months.

School district leaders might deny that they鈥檙e openly teaching critical race theory, but the nation鈥檚 largest teachers union is launching a campaign to have them do just that.

Delegates at the National Education Association鈥檚 annual meeting last week a calling for a campaign to implement the theory in curriculum and oppose efforts to ban it. Other items approved include researching organizations 鈥渁ttacking educators doing anti-racist work鈥� and naming Oct. 14 鈥� George Floyd鈥檚 birthday 鈥� as a national day dedicated to teaching about oppression and structural racism.

On Tuesday, the leader of the nation鈥檚 other major teachers union joined the fray. American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said critical race theory is not taught in schools, but pledged to back any teachers who address topics the laws seek to exclude from classroom conversations.

鈥淢ark my words: Our union will defend any member who gets in trouble for teaching honest history. We have a legal defense fund ready to go,鈥� she said at the opening of the union鈥檚 annual professional development conference. She added that 鈥渃ulture warriors want to deprive students of a robust understanding of our common history.鈥�

It鈥檚 unclear whether the NEA is encouraging members in states that have already passed anti-critical race theory legislation to violate the law. At the very least, it is arguing that teachers shouldn鈥檛 gloss over 鈥渦npleasant aspects of American history鈥� according to the union’s adopted statement.

The theory 鈥� bitterly dividing communities across the country 鈥� teaches that racism is an integral part of U.S. systems and institutions that purposely disadvantage people of color. The unions鈥� stance comes as nine states have already banned instruction that references structural racism, white supremacy and other key principles of the theory. More than 20 other states have considered similar bills.

The union was 鈥渇orced to some extent鈥� to enter the fray because of how volatile the debate has become, said Bradley Marianno, an assistant education professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

鈥淭heir members, particularly those who wish to instruct on elements of critical race theory, want to know that they have a union behind them if their jobs are jeopardized by their classroom instruction,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is not a new role for teachers’ unions in the broadest terms but is also somewhat unique in that this one is tied so tightly to instruction informed by a single theory.鈥�

Like the conflict over reopening schools, the clash over critical race theory is pitting parents who want a say in what schools teach against unions seeking to protect teachers鈥� autonomy, Marianno said, adding that they 鈥渨ill continue to butt heads throughout this school year.鈥�

Weingarten, in fact, predicted that this coming school year could be even more challenging than the last.

鈥淚t won鈥檛 be easy, and some people will try to make it harder, like those who have disparaged educators, scapegoated our unions and blamed us for things outside our control, like school closures caused by a pandemic,鈥� she said.

Marianno said the NEA鈥檚 action could be an effort to preempt any further bans on instruction related to critical race theory, but that the union has also 鈥渙pened up the avenue for litigation鈥� in the nine states with existing restrictions.

Not all teachers, however, agree with the focus on race and racial oppression in the classroom. The conservative Southeastern Legal Foundation is representing a Chicago-area teacher in , filed last week, that argues antiracist training for teachers and students is unconstitutional. Stacy Deemar, a middle school drama teacher, argues that the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 is violating prohibitions on discrimination by race, color or national origin. According to the lawsuit, the district has organized both teachers and students into racial 鈥渁ffinity groups鈥� and required them to participate in 鈥減rivilege walks鈥� where they are segregated by color.

Meanwhile, teachers are receiving increasing support from civil rights groups, who are drawing comparisons between the current uproar over critical race theory and the struggles of the 1960s. One group, the , a nonprofit seeking to preserve the history of a student-led organization that participated in the civil rights movement, penned an open letter to teachers.

鈥淲e who resisted the laws of segregation by sitting at 鈥榃hite Only鈥� lunch counters, and organized voter registration campaigns among those historically denied the right to vote, stand now in support of those teachers and professors who today defy this new form of McCarthyism by pledging to continue writing, speaking, and teaching about systemic racism, structural inequality, and institutionalized white-supremacy past and present,鈥� the letter said. 鈥淭o all the courageous teachers who won’t back down from teaching their students the truth, we stand with you.鈥�

Editor’s note: Reporting for this story was based partly on 鈥渂usiness items鈥� that the National Education Association passed at its annual meeting last week, but which no longer appear to be on the union鈥檚 website.

An item referring to critical race theory in curriculum appeared under prior to its approval and reads that the union will support and lead a campaign that results 鈥渋n increasing the implementation of culturally responsive education, Critical Race Theory, and Ethnic (Native People, Asian, Black, Latin(o/a/x), Middle Eastern and North African, and Pacific Islander) Studies curriculum in Pre-K-12 and higher education.鈥� The news of its passage also no longer appears to be on the union鈥檚 website, but was .