District addresses 'concerning rumor' regarding social studies curriculum
LEDGER — Critical race theory won’t be taught in Mitchell County Schools, the school system said in a press release this past week.
The Thursday, July 29 release addressed a rumor that area schools would begin implementing critical race theory into the regular social studies curriculum for grades K-12.
“There is a concerning topic and rumor with misinformation going around Mitchell County about the social studies curriculum K-12,” the release read.
The release clarifies that the Mitchell County Board of Education has not adopted or approved any curriculum related to critical race theory and has no intention or plan to do so.
Additionally, MCS officials clarified that the school system has not purchased any new social studies curriculum, has no plans to do so and will continue to follow North Carolina standards regarding social studies classes.
The release closes by directing any concerned parents to set up an appointment with their child’s social studies teacher and administrator to discuss the curriculum.
Critical race theory is a body of legal scholarship and an academic movement of civil rights scholars and activists in the United States that seeks to critically examine U.S. law as it intersects with issues of race and to challenge mainstream American liberal approaches to racial justice.CRT examines social, cultural and legal issues primarily as they relate to race and racism in the United States.
Though it has origins in the 1970s, CRT has become a popular topic in modern times, with some pushing to make it a cornerstone of social studies education within public school curriculum.