NYC charter school administrator says teachers who believe all kids are ‘equal’ won’t be hired

The Bobster

Senior News Editor since 2004












NYC charter school administrator says teachers who believe all kids are ‘equal’ won’t be hired​



By
Jesse O’Neill


September 6, 2022 9:47pm
Updated









NYC charter school administrator says teachers who believe all kids are ‘equal’ won’t be hired



0:00
/
0:51










More On: schools






A New York City charter school administrator was caught on camera saying teachers who don’t “embrace” sexual orientation and “diversity at all levels” would not be hired at his specialized schools.
Todd Soper, a grade K-4 assistant principal at Neighborhood Charter Schools, was secretly recorded by Project Veritas talking about the schools’ onboarding practices in a clip released by the controversial outlet Tuesday.
Soper, filmed drinking a beer at a bar, told a man wearing a hidden camera that any applicant who answered a “Diversity-Equity-Inclusion” question wrong was an “automatic not hire.”
“If they [candidates] say that diversity is about — if they say something that lends itself to be colorblind, which could happen, like, ‘Oh, it’s like, you know, like everyone is equal.’ Those things that are well-intentioned statements, but they’re missing the depth of understanding of how the intersections of our identity live out in the world. So, that person wouldn’t get hired,” Soper reportedly said.
Todd Soper as filmed by Project Veritas.An assistant principal at Neighborhood Charter Schools in the Bronx and Harlem was secretly filmed talking about hiring practices.Project Veritas
Students at NCS’s two locations in Harlem and the South Bronx were also taught to embrace “identities that are based on ethnicity, skin tone and gender,” the administrator unknowingly told the outlet.
1_th.jpg





00:02 01:17


The schools — which are funded by the New York City Department of Education but run privately — focus on “social emotional learning” and have an “inclusive” program catering to children with autism — who make up about 15% of the student population, according to the school’s website.


“For kindergarten, for Pride month, we got — every kid had a mirror and we talked about — a read-aloud about an animal, or about a boy that said he wanted to be a mermaid. It’s a way to start, like, ‘You should be whoever you feel like you should be,'” Soper was filmed saying.

Todd Soper as filmed by Project VeritasSoper said teachers who don’t talk “openly about race and talking about injustices in the world” would not be effective at his schools.Project Veritas
The assistant principal also said a teacher who refused to teach lessons on Juneteenth and Black Lives Matter and didn’t think the races of the students were “a big deal” would have been fired if she didn’t voluntarily leave, according to the video.






Students who are economically disadvantaged fill 88% percent of the seats at Neighborhood Charter School of Harlem and 99% of the kids who attend Neighborhood Charter School: Bronx are minorities, according to US News, which ranks and analyzes schools.


“Our students’ lives matter based on the color of their skin, and how that intertwines into the context of the world. So, if you’re not willing to embrace fully that aspect of our students — and that means talking openly about race and talking about injustices in the world, then I don’t know if you’re going to be able to fully fulfill your [teacher] responsibilities,” Soper reportedly said.


Soper is the third tri-state-area educator recently caught on camera talking about school politics by Project Veritas, a conservative outlet known for infiltrating left-leaning organizations and surreptitiously recording people.


Jeremy Boland, assistant principal of Cos Cob Elementary School in Connecticut, talked about the “subtle” ways progressive teachers indoctrinate students, and said he wouldn’t hire conservative Catholics. He was subsequently put on leave by the Greenwich school.


Jennifer Norris, the director of student activities at Manhattan’s $60,000-a-year Trinity School, was also put on leave after being recorded talking about “sneaking” liberal views into the classroom.


All three educators were filmed via hidden camera at a public restaurant or bar while appearing to drink alcohol. Project Veritas has been known to record unwitting subjects under the guise of being on a date.


Neither Neighborhood Charter School officials nor Soper immediately responded to a request for comment from The Post.
 
Back
Top