The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) has focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, but critics of the department say the focus has shifted away from students and academics, and the focus has been on picking winners and losers. It is said that
“The Oregon Department of Education fosters equity and excellence for all learners through collaboration with educators, partners and communities,” the department’s website reads.
The Department of Education’s “Equity Lens” is featured prominently on its website to help “educators and decision makers recognize institutional and systemic barriers and discriminatory practices within the education system.” is designed to A document posted on the agency’s website describes what barriers exist to achieving fair results and how racial and ethnic data is collected when allocating resources. Questions to consider are listed.
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One former ODE staffer said this was primarily a virtue signal among department leaders.
“ODE leaders appear to use every opportunity to send signals both internally and externally, but their main goal is to line their own pockets so that their friends and allies outside the ODE have little or no accountability. It’s about helping us get lucrative contracts without liability,” a former ODE employee, who requested anonymity, told Fox News Digital.
Mark Thielman, a former superintendent of schools running for governor of Oregon, said the system had begun picking winners and losers.
“What we have is a system that is not focused on its basic purpose, picking and choosing winners and losers. It’s designed,” Thielman told Fox News Digital.
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The Educator Advancement Council within ODE “intends to help Oregon obtain quality, well-supported, and culturally-appropriate educators for every classroom.” According to the RJI website, Shadyin Garcia previously served as executive director of the Council for the Advancement of Educators.
The American Institute for Democratic Education (IDEA), a Mississippi-based organization, eventually won a $2 million contract from the Council for the Betterment of Education to create RJI. The RJI has “a racially, ethnically, or linguistically diverse participation of educators across the school system from Pre-K to 12.”
According to Garcia’s LinkedIn, she later left ODE and is now executive vice president of the Metropolitan Group, as well as coordinator and principal facilitator of IDEA’s Institute for Racial Justice.
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Daniel Ramirez served as Interim Executive Director of the ODE Educator Advancement Council from September 2020 to July 2021, his LinkedIn says. While at the Department of Education, Ramirez served as the contact for a contract with Community Design Partners, which expanded from his $545,000 to his over $1.6 million. Hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to community design partners for this deal was approved by Ramirez.
Ramirez then left the Ministry of Education to work for Community Design Partners, joining in July 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile. According to the Community Design Partners website, the organization “will address a wide range of social justice issues, including access to post-secondary school options, diversifying the education workforce, and promoting student success by removing systemic barriers. I am dedicated,” he said.
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Carmen Urbina is the owner of the Oregon Center for Education Equity (OCEE) and was also the Deputy Director of ODE. In her position at the Ministry of Education, Urbana endorsed the “Taking it Up” training offered to her ODE staff. This training was developed by Urbina’s company, her OCEE, and delivered by OCEE’s previous owner. A training document presented to ODE staff went so far as to say, “Special thanks to the Oregon Center for Educational Equity.”
Urbina listed no conflicts of interest in a contract request form asking whether the contract would “benefit the parties involved.” However, a Ministry of Education spokesperson said, out of “due caution,” Urbina declared a potential conflict of interest to them.
The Pick It Up training itself was a two-day seminar focused on “institutionalized racist barriers to closing the racial performance gap in schools.”
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ODE spokesperson Mark Siegel said in all these cases the procurement process was completed “in good faith and in compliance with state laws and practices.” He also announced that the department will implement Governor Kate Brown’s Executive Order 2018-3, “Promoting Diversity and Inclusion Opportunities for Oregon’s Minority-Owned, Women-Owned, Disabled Veteran-Owned, and Start-Up Small Businesses.” He said he was trying to work together.
Thielman said the Department of Education’s equity priorities have been narrowed down to K-12 schools, impacting education.
“ODE has worked hard to purge conservatives from the industry at large,” Thielman said, urging parents to keep their children out of public schools if possible. There’s nothing to represent, it won’t happen.”
In the end, Thielman said all of the Education Department’s money goes to promoting racial ideology.
Changing the division’s structure would require a complete leadership overhaul, Thielman said. “ODE is nothing but the governor’s political organization,” he added.
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Siegel defended the focus on fairness within ODE.
“It is clear that racial equality must be addressed in order to support all learners. I know there is,” he told Fox News Digital. “We emphasize culturally relevant professional learning and a comprehensive curriculum that reflects all communities in our state. , there is an intellectual and ethical foundation for centering professional learning and equity in teaching materials, conditions that enable all students to reach their full potential.”
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“Racial prejudice in education has a long and painful history. Students are ready for systems and institutions to change. Not only is it good for us, but it’s good for our community and our shared future,” he continued.
Metropolitan Group, IDEA, and Community Design Partners did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
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