Youngkin’s Education Secretary Pick, More of the Same or Worse? She Loves Student Data

I recall Youngkin campaigning on EDUCATION being the #1 issue for Virginia. He spent a lot of time in Loudoun County telling us all he was going to end CRT. Is he aware that CRT is merely a framework and has many tenets? However, I do not recall him running to ban the tenets of CRT.

Which leads us to his FIRST pick, Aimee Rogstad Guidera for VA Secretary of Education. Aimee started a company called “Data Quality Campaign” 15+ years ago that focuses on just that, data. More specifically, student data. Maybe her company has done some good, but that’s not the focus. The focus is on how her company, Data Quality Campaign places a heavy emphasis on the (3) most concerning tenets of CRT:

• Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
  • Think Second Step, Learning for Justice, Panorama
• School to Prison Pipeline/Restorative Justice
  • Think Virginia HB257, Florida’s PROMISE Policy 5006, except she calls it “Data for School Safety”
• Diversity, Inclusion and Equity

Glenn Youngkin ran and WON the Virginia election and elected by We The Parents. Education quickly rose as the #1 issue facing parents and students in the state of Virginia. Youngkin has vowed to end Critical Race Theory in Virginia. While that is great to read, gives parents and students hope. For MONTHS PACT has been saying we should NOT be focused on the CRT narrative as it’s been proven time and again that it is in our schools. CRT is merely a dangerous framework and a framework is useless unless there are actions or tenets that can carry forward the intensions of the framework to be implemented.

Why is the Youngkin Team declaring Aimee Rogstad Guidera a “win” for the people of Virginia, we did NOT vote for more of the same or worse? Maybe I’m missing something, however, all you have to do is go to the Data Quality Campaign’s own website or review some of Aimee’s Tweets and you too will be scratching your head. If I’m completely wrong, we’ll issue a correction. At the same time, I think Youngkin and Aliscia Andrews MUST issue an honest clarifying or confirming statement, especially when saying that Guidera is a “strong leader” that will “challenge our students to learn how to think and not what to think.” I find the latter of the previous sentence hard to believe when Guidera is such a proponent of SEL.

Data Quality Campaign Info on These (3) CRT Tenets:

• School to Prison Pipeline/Restorative Justice and “Data for School Safety”
• Using data to Address & Advance Equity
• Measuring Success in Social Emotional Learning (SEL)