Leading Educators (LE) is a critical race theory-aligned educational nonprofit that purports to create better educational outcomes for minority students by teaching left-of-center concepts about racial equity through mentoring. ¹ In April 2021, LE released an official teachers guide, “Teaching for Equity,” to incorporate these concepts into the classroom. ² LE announced that one of its equity-based programs “stems from a central belief that schools are a critical unit of social change, and teacher leaders should be drivers of that change in pursuit of equity.” ³ Leading Educators’ website says that it has worked with more than 2,000 teachers since 2008. ⁴

In February 2022, billionaire left-of-center philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife, donated $10 million to Leading Educators. The group announced the new funds would allow them to “double the number of students reached each year,” to 400,000 nationwide. “With this backing from MacKenzie Scott, we’re ready to accelerate racially equitable outcomes across school systems,” said Leading Educators’ CEO, Chong-Hao Fu. ⁵

Approach

Leading Educators offers coaching, facilitates weekly planning meetings by teachers, analyzes school curricula in terms of equity, and monitors teachers to assure ongoing implementation of an equity-based curriculum. Leading Educators emphasizes five focus areas: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Equity, Learning Systems, and Leadership and Culture. Teachers who participate in LE’s program will evaluate all society “using an equity lens.” ⁴ The group claims that it changes teachers’ core convictions on 11 of the 13 issues it measured within one year. ⁶

Leading Educators believes in teaching critical race theory-aligned concepts in every area of the curriculum.  It instructs math teachers to “(s)elect or adapt the contexts of problems to infuse social justice into mathematics.” It encourages all teachers to “(a)sk for and use students’ pronouns and your own” and to “(a)void gender generalizations” by saying “students” instead of “boys and girls” and using “inclusive labels for families (e.g., use ‘your adults’ vs. ‘parents’).” It also warns teachers against disciplining students for behavior disruptions in a way that would upset racial equity. ⁷

Partners

Leading Educators lists its current “supporters” as Baptist Community Ministries; The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; The Booth Bricker Fund; Carnegie Corporation of New York; Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies; Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; Douglas and Maria DeVos Foundation; NewSchools Venture Fund; the U.S. Department of Education, Investing in Innovation; and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. ⁸

Leading Educators currently partners with the following school districts: Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Charleston, South Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan; New Orleans, Louisiana; Oakland, California; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Yakima, Washington. Former partners include Aurora, Colorado; the District of Columbia; Houston, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Lawrence, Massachusetts; Memphis, Tennessee; and New York City, New York. ⁹ The Kentucky Department of Education partnered with LE in 2019 to create its Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS), which prescribed the material students should be learning in every school in the state. ¹⁰

In August 2021, LE announced it partnered with the Detroit-based nonprofit Teach 313 to create the “Leading for Liberation Fellowship,” a two-year program for teachers in Detroit that “seeks to move beyond equity toward creating spaces … free from systemic oppression.” ¹¹ This includes forging connections with “community leaders and activists” so they and their students can begin advocating for political changes “grounded in liberation and resistance.” ¹²

Leadership

Since 2018, Leading Educators has been led by CEO Chong-Hao Fu, whom LE describes as “a national thought leader on education equity.” ¹³ His predecessor, Jonas Chartock, was LE’s first CEO when he joined in 2010. Nine employees at Leading Educators made more than $100,000 a year from their employment at LE, according to the organization’s 2019 tax filings. ³

Financials

Leading Educators had $12,295,578 in revenue in 2019, including $10,848,547 in expense and $10,414,178 in assets. ¹⁴  In February 2022, MacKenzie Scott announced she made a $10 million donation to Leading Educators, approximately doubling its budget. ¹⁵

1. “Our Approach.” Leading Educators. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://leadingeducators.org/our-work/approach
2. “Together for Equity.” Leading Educators. Accessed February 28, 2022.

   https://leadingeducators.org/blog/together-for-equity

3. Leading Educators’ 2019 990. Propublica.org. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/451447048/12_2020_prefixes_41-46%2F451447048_201906_990_2020123017584381
4. “About Us.” Leading Educators. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://leadingeducators.org/about-us
5. ^[1] “Leading Educators Receives $10 Million Gift From MacKenzie Scott To Accelerate Racially Equitable Outcomes For Students.” Leading Educators. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://leadingeducators.org/news-resource/leading-educators-receives-10-million-gift-from-mackenzie-scott-to-accelerate-racially-equitable-outcomes-for-students
6. ^[1] 2019 Annual Report. Leading Educators. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://leadingeducators.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Annual-Report-FY19-1.pdf.
7. “Teaching for Equity” workbook. LE. Accessed February 28, 2022.

   https://mcusercontent.com/7cdb7361dedc73544e613b492/files/3789792c-3eff-98e3-6d5d-52f818908527/Teaching_for_Equity_Workbook_1_compressed.pdf

8. “Our Supporters.” Leading Educators. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://leadingeducators.org/about-us/our-supporters
9. “About Us” Leading Educators. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://leadingeducators.org/about-us and “Partners LE. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://leadingeducators.org/partners
10. “Kentucky.” Leading Educators. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://leadingeducators.org/partnership/kentucky/
11. “Partners Launch Leading for Liberation Fellowship for Detroit Educators.” Leading Educators. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://leadingeducators.org/news-resource/leading-for-liberation-fellowship-for-detroit-educators
12. “Teaching313 Leading for Liberation Fellowship.” Teach313. Accessed February 28, 2022. http://www.teach313.org/teach-313-fellowship
13. “Chong-Hao Fu.” Leading Educators. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://leadingeducators.org/about-us/our-team/#chong-hao-fu-0-0
14. Leading Educators, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (IRS Form 990), 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/451447048/202011959349303326/full
15. “Leading Educators Receives $10 Million Gift From MacKenzie Scott To Accelerate Racially Equitable Outcomes For Students.” Leading Educators. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://leadingeducators.org/news-resource/leading-educators-receives-10-million-gift-from-mackenzie-scott-to-accelerate-racially-equitable-outcomes-for-students