Education Elements Inc. (Ed Elements) is a critical race theory-influenced education consulting firm. Members of the Ed Elements staff have said teachers must “acknowledge white supremacy culture” in schools [1] and has promoted “abolitionist teaching” to “counter colorblindness on intersectionality” in the classroom. [2]
Ed Elements officials have worked with more than 1,300 schools in 250 school districts; [3] promoted reading lists from controversial critical race theory-inspired authors and projects such as Ibram X. Kendi [4] and the 1619 Project; [5] and linked readers to left-of-center organizations’ plans of action for discussing race in school, including the controversial Southern Poverty Law Center’s Learning for Justice, far-left agitation group Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ), the pro-immigration group United We Dream, and others. [6]
History and Leadership
Education Elements Inc. was founded by Anthony Kim in 2010 [7] to support personalized learning for students. Ed Elements officials have worked with over 250 school districts serving 1 million students [8] and have promoted critical race theory-inspired concepts at these schools. In a YouTube video, Ed Elements staff said that equity is “people getting the support they need to get equal results.” [9]
Former charter school administrator Angela Kennedy-Toon is Ed Elements’ managing partner. [10]
Activities and Funding
Education Elements, which is influenced by critical race theory, promotes “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in schools and “restorative justice” to reshape the American legal system, [11] and develops strategic planning, leadership, and personalized learning for students. [12] Ed Elements supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement [13] through the racial-advocacy organization Movement for Black Lives. [14]
Ed Elements staff has said teachers must “acknowledge white supremacy culture” in schools [15] and has promoted “abolitionist teaching” to “counter colorblindness on intersectionality” in the classroom. [16]
The organization also has instructed teachers to disassociate the Black Lives Matter movement from riots, looting, violence, and criminal behavior and instead think about how to “communicate the value of people over property,” [17] contextualize riots in American history, and co-develop critical analysis of media coverage to students. [18]
In the summer of 2020, Ed Elements redesigned their programs to commit to dismantle perceived unequal systems in education. [19] Ed Elements supports “prioritizing hiring for equity,” [20] hosts webinars on how teachers can “leading with equity,” [21] and has hosted blog posts by staff that claim that “racism shapeshifts to keep up with the times” and is “seeped into all American institutions.” [22]
At the same time, Ed Elements shared a critical race theory-inspired “anti-racist reading list” by controversial author Ibram X. Kendi [23] and the 1619 Project; [24] resources about “getting real about race in school;” and links to left-of-center organizations’ plans of action for discussing race in school, including the controversial Southern Poverty Law Center’s Learning for Justice, Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research, Color of Change, Equal Justice Initiative, Families Belong Together, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, MPowerChange, NAACP, Refugee and Immigration Center for Education and Legal Services, far-left agitation group Showing up for Racial Justice, the pro-immigration group United We Dream, and others. [25]
Ed Elements has worked in schools in Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming; [26] it has also worked with Loudoun County Public Schools in Loudoun County, Virginia, the site of much critical race theory and left-progressive ideological controversy. [27]
Funding
Education Elements Inc. receives money from program service fees and private investors. In 2012, Ed Elements received $6 million from Harmony Partners venture capital with contributions from Rethink Education and private investors to assist schools learning with technology. [28] In 2011, Ed Elements received $2.1 million of seed investment from Tugboat Ventures, NewSchools Venture Fund, and Imagine K12. [29]