Dale Allender is a left-leaning academic who also provides private consulting services to public schools and other companies and organizations on left-leaning critical race theory-inspired diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues.

Allender is an associate professor of language and literacy in the Department of Teaching Credentials at California State University, Sacramento and holds a Ph.D. in education and a master’s degree in education which included an emphasis on Critical Race Theory. His clients have included public school districts in multiple states as well as the Sacramento City Unified School District, the San Juan Unified School District, Panasonic, Texas Instruments, and the Verizon Foundation. ^{1 2 3}

Dale Allender was among the firms and private consultants profiled by Parents Defending Education in its “Consultant Report Card,” which uncovered that Allender’s training services had been used by school districts in New York, Minnesota, and California. ^{4 5}

Background

Dale Allender was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for his undergraduate studies. He was then a ninth-grade teacher in Iowa City, Iowa, while he completed a master’s degree in education at the University of Iowa which included an Emphasis in Narrative Research, Multicultural Literature, and Critical Race Theory. Allender then worked as an instructor in the college of education at the University of California at Berkley, and as the director of the National Council of Teachers of English West Coast Office. In 2010 he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Queensland in Australia. Allender has also been the interim executive director at the Lick-Wilmerding High School Center for Civic Engagement in San Francisco, and the executive director of the Bay Area Teachers Center in San Francisco. ⁶

Since 2014, Allender has been an assistant professor at California State University, Sacramento and has also worked as a consultant to the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education. ⁷

Allender is also co-editor of An Introduction to Ethnic Studies, and the second edition entitled Our Stories in Our Voices, which is billed as the first Ethnic Studies textbook written for high school students. ⁸

Consulting Work

In addition to his work as a professor, Allender provides diversity, equity, and inclusion coaching and training consulting services to a variety of public schools, nonprofits, and companies. Most of his consulting work stems from his consulting partnership with the National Urban Alliance and its partnerships with local school districts, particularly in Minneapolis and Buffalo. Other longtime public-school clients of his include the Sacramento City Unified School District, San Juan Unified School District, and Roseville Joint Secondary School District in Northern California, where he is contracted to provide “professional development in Ethnic Studies and Racial Social Justice” for teachers in those school districts. ⁹

Other clients that Allender lists on his website include Panasonic, IFC, Annenberg Learner, WGBH, the Center for Black Literature, and the Anti-Defamation League. ¹⁰

“Consultant Report Card”

Dale Allender was profiled by right-leaning advocacy organization Parents Defending Education as one of dozens of left-leaning consulting firms that provide consulting services on critical race theory-inspired diversity, equity, and inclusion issues to schools. ¹¹

Parents Defending Education identified that Allender provided consulting services for seven school districts in New York, Minnesota, and California including the Elk Grove Unified School District (CA), San Francisco Unified School District, Minneapolis Public Schools, Roseville Area Schools (MN), Osseo Public Schools (MN), and Buffalo Public Schools. ¹²

1. Dale Allender.” Parents Defending Education. Accessed November 12, 2021.  https://defendinged.org/report/dale-allender/
2. “About.” Dale Allender. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.daleallender.com/about
3. “Clients.” Dale Allender. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.daleallender.com/clients
4. “About the Consultant Report Card.” Parents Defending Education. Accessed November 12, 2021.   https://defendinged.org/case-study/about-the-consulting-report-card/
5. “Dale Allender.” Parents Defending Education. Accessed November 12, 2021.  https://defendinged.org/report/dale-allender/
6. “Dale Allender.” Parents Defending Education. Accessed November 12, 2021.  https://defendinged.org/report/dale-allender/
7. “Dale Allender.” Parents Defending Education. Accessed November 12, 2021.  https://defendinged.org/report/dale-allender/
8. “About.” Dale Allender. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.daleallender.com/about
9. “About.” Dale Allender. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.daleallender.com/about
10. “Clients.” Dale Allender. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.daleallender.com/clients
11. “Dale Allender.” Parents Defending Education. Accessed November 12, 2021.  https://defendinged.org/report/dale-allender/
12. “Dale Allender.” Parents Defending Education. Accessed November 12, 2021.  https://defendinged.org/report/dale-allender/