They say that the Devil is in the details, but as we learned in a previous article, the Devil can also be in the consent calendar. This can be true for any local government entity from School Board to County Board of Supervisors. Today’s focus is on item 12.4 of the Education consent calendar for the August 24 meeting of the Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD). The consent item would have the school board outsource education duties to a woke third party education company.
Consent Item 12.4
The consent item reads “Dr. Michael Williams: Requesting Approval to Expand Alternative Education Options Through the Use of Subject Technologies, Inc.” and is recommended for approval. Well, expanding alternative education options doesn’t sound so bad, so why the focus? The reason may surprise you. Yes, the education company is woke at a cost of $200,000, and we’ll get to that, but there is something else that is disturbing. Open the consent item to read the description. Always read the descriptions. Here, I have it for you.
In other words, because there is a teacher shortage the district will spend $200,000 to outsource its responsibilities to a 3rd party vendor, when it should be spending some serious time self-reflecting on why there is a teacher shortage in the first place.
Teacher Shortage
Pssst, CVUSD, it isn’t the teachers, it’s you. Nobody wants to work for you, your policies and actions have been horrid.
Educators in California have been fleeing the profession since the implementation of restorative justice and secretive gender ideology policies back in 2014. Then the Wuhan Flu hit and teacher union CVUSD, like most other California school districts, hopped on the tyranny bandwagon and forced teachers to become fascist mask enforcers. Then, despite warnings from the public, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies became the norm. Teachers that remained and tried to point out common sense, or refused to comply with idiotic tyrants, were driven out. School districts today want diversity of physical appearance, they care not for diversity of thought. Yet, districts wonder why there is a teacher shortage. It is because good teachers cannot abide by woke education, though some last longer than others.
The teachers that remain in districts like CVUSD are quiet resistors, aghast at what has become of their profession, but fear losing retirement benefits. Some teachers, of course, simply do (and teach) what they are told, without inquiry or thought. A growing number of teachers however, are outright activists.
Make no mistake, teacher colleges will be cranking out the activist teachers to address the shortage. DEI policies are akin to activist-bait; to change the catch districts will have to change the bait.
Who is Subject Technologies
Analyzing the district’s rationale for any agenda item is the first step. Those that have read our Practical Guides to Agendas and Trustees, know the next step. Who is the district trying to give money to? In this case, $200,000 to Subject Technologies, Inc.
The rest of the consent item 12.4 description reads more like an advertisement for the company, void of useful information.
In fact, the entire description is simply a cut and paste from Subject Technologies‘ website. So far we have two names and a little background: Felix Ruano and Michael Vilardo, the co-founders. Good to know, but let’s go check out the California Secretary of State website and research Subject Technologies before scrutinizing the founders.
Subject Technologies was first registered as a foreign corporation in California in 2021 as Emile Learning, Inc. by Felix Ruano. The foreign corporation designation refers to the business being formed in the state of Delaware, which does not provide the access to documents that other states might. Be that as it may, Emile Learning became Subject Technologies in 2022 and Felix Ruano became Felix Ruano Camacho.
The only other document that provides information is the 2022 Statement of Information that confirms Ruano and Vilardo and names one other principal. Beyond that, the California website provides little else in the way of information.
Courses of Outsourced Woke Education
Leaving the founders background on hold for another moment, let’s take a look at the courses Subject Technologies offers. After all, the district proposes to use these courses “…when only a substitute teacher is provided in the classroom.” Translation: the teachers will be those found in the online program. Teachers hired by a company, not vetted or background checked by the district, to teach a curriculum developed and owned by the company, and apparently inaccessible to parents.
Chances are, the company would claim proprietorial rights and not release more than a sample. The public is aware of how teachers sneak DEI/CRT concepts into the curriculum, could full transparency be obtained with a private corporation? That is a question that should be posed to the CVUSD trustees.
Perusing through Subject’s website does not reveal anything more than vague course descriptions. Although, clicking through on those courses provides some information on the teachers.
Reader note: I actually edited out a snarky “education by TikTok” comment. Well….
A little concerning, given the fact TikTok is a recognized CCP data gathering tool. What else? Would a self-avowed “activist” teaching your children be concerning? If so, I have bad news for Algebra students:
We didn’t even make it past the first few courses, but there are more signs of wokeness throughout the course description bios. Again, it should be asked, who vets these instructors? Who took the time to vet the courses of this barely two-year-old company?
Founders
There is not much information to had on the founders of Subject Technologies, though all signs point to them being in lock-step with the woke establishment education complex. Woke. For instance, this 2021 article, which explains Subject Technologies quick rise, describes the duo as “Latinx,” the woke version of Latino. The article describes how the pair obtained $5.3 million in seed money from investors such as Kleiner Perkins and executives from Goldman Sachs, Uber and Cameo. World Economic Forum member Softbank Corp is also an investor and helped bring the total seed money to $29.4 million.
The company, wants to become the “Netflix of education,” and appears to include a social media aspect within its curriculum. While not stated as such, the founders refer to students having the ability to connect with the “Subject Technologies community” at any time. That would infer people to chat with.
Another Day, Another Woke Education Company
Taken all together, and considering the issues with other woke organizations, like The Trevor Project, one would think school districts would take more time than a cut and paste to vet vendors. One would think school district’s would pause to inspect the next shiny object put before them. But that isn’t happening. Except for districts like Temecula, Chino Valley, Paso Robles, and a few others that are standing up for parents, most districts in California continue to ride the Teacher’s Unions freight train to disaster. If school districts continue down the woke track unchallenged and unabated it will soon be too late to brake.