Paraclete Partnerships, LLC is a Mount Prospect, Illinois based company that focuses on providing critical race theory-aligned diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consulting for educators and school systems. The company provides a series of workshops to promote “racial equity” in the school system. The company was founded in 2020 by racial equity instructor and coach Devon Alexander. ¹

The company won a contract with the Oak Park and River Forest High School in Illinois in 2020 to train employees in left-of-center race ideology. ²

Overview

Paraclete Partnerships provides critical race theory-aligned diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting and services for educators, school administrators, and school systems. ³

The company offers both live and virtual trainings for educators and administrators on “racial equity” “educational racial equity concepts.” The company also offers virtual intensive trainings to reinforce the live coaching and expand on the racial equity education. Finally, it offers workshops that seek to undo what it calls the “racial equity miseducation of professional development.” These workshops are intended to unlearn previous professional development and relearn what the company tries to teach its clients. ⁴

In a podcast, the company’s founder Devon Alexander spoke about how his company was involved in the “reeducation” of teachers. He said that traditional professional development ingrains white supremacy in teachers and his company has a long-term approach to work with teachers to unlearn white supremacy. The company’s work is based on the far-left identity politics concept of “intersectionality.” ⁵

Contracts

In 2020, Paraclete Partnerships received a $10,000 contract from the Oak Park and River Forest High School in Illinois. The company was contracted to provide consulting to the district. ⁶

In addition to that public contract, the website featured a testimonial from Marcus A. Campbell, the principal and assistant superintendent of Evanston Township High School. The testimonial indicates that the company may have worked with that school as well. ⁷

In a podcast, the company’s founder claims to have worked nationally with other districts. ⁸

Leadership

Paraclete Partnerships is led by Devon Alexander, a former English teacher from the Chicago area who is a self-taught racial equity coach and teacher. According to a podcast episode linked on the Parents Defending Education site, he grew up in a low-income apartment housing complex and blamed racism as the cause of his troubled upbringing. As he grew up, he saw school as an escape from his troubled neighborhood and didn’t really focus on his academic potential until high school. He attended a military boarding school for high school and began focusing on academics. ⁹

According to the podcast, after college in Indiana, which he claimed was racist, Alexander became a teacher. He returned to the Chicago area to teach. ¹⁰

According to the podcast, he claimed that schools replicate the racism that diminishes the life experiences of minority students. He claims to be self-educated on the intersection of race and education. ¹¹

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11. “Paraclete Partnerships LLC.” Parents Defending Education. Accessed January 3, 2022.