Teacher Who Resigned Over DEI Says "Ideological Takeover" Is Getting Worse

In a recently released NY Post op-ed, teacher Dana Stangel-Plowe described why she publicly resigned from the Dwight-Englewood School in 2021 after witnessing what she calls an ideological takeover of K-12 education.

She writes that the shift began after faculty trainings on privilege and the hiring of a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) officer whose goal was to “transform” the school. According to the op-ed, DEI ideology soon spread through curriculum, faculty training, and student programming, with concepts like systemic oppression treated as unquestionable and some traditional authors labeled “dead white males” and removed from core coursework.

Stangel-Plowe argues the environment discouraged open debate, with students afraid to speak freely and teachers privately hesitant to challenge the new orthodoxy. After raising concerns internally without response, she resigned publicly.

The Post op-ed says that five years later, she says the trend has intensified nationwide, claiming ideological activism has spread through teacher training programs, unions, and curricula. She warns that politicized education undermines intellectual curiosity and civic learning, and urges educators and parents to confront the issue openly.

She also recounts what she describes as the social and professional fallout from her decision. After speaking out, she says she lost friendships and that even her children were excluded from some school community events. Despite the personal cost, she writes that the experience connected her with education reform advocates and parents across the country who share similar concerns about the direction of schools.

The op-ed further claims that activist groups and political organizers — including members associated with the Democratic Socialists of America — are increasingly influencing education through unions, curriculum partnerships, and political organizing.

Stangel-Plowe argues that schools should refocus on open inquiry and intellectual diversity rather than what she views as ideological instruction.