New Training Prepares Schools to Confront the Threat of White Nationalism

By Jessica Acee, Nora Flanagan, Lindsay Schubiner, Adrienne van der Valk

Educators will be navigating uncharted waters this fall, whether their schools open in person or remain virtual. Setting the tone for a new academic year is never easy, but now, teachers must establish relationships and classroom cultures with young people who have been at home for almost six months. It’s a challenging time, complicated by circumstances teachers, parents, and caregivers can’t control, such as student isolation, political polarization, and unprecedented amounts of unsupervised screen time. Unfortunately, these circumstances combined have created an ideal opportunity for white nationalists to target young people and push their dangerous rhetoric online.

Western States Center’s Confronting White Nationalism in Schools toolkit focuses on helping educators, students, administrators, and community members respond to such rhetoric — and the bigoted organizing behind it — when it makes its way into classrooms. Among other resources, the toolkit offers strategies schools can use to foster a more inclusive culture and scenarios adults can reference when deciding how to respond to young people who express hateful ideas or target other students. This October and November, WSC will convene cohorts of educators and community members for “train-the-trainer” events designed to extend the reach of the toolkit into schools and community groups across the country.

“Our hope is to equip at least 100 trainers with resources, practices, and scenarios so they can return to their schools and communities prepared to educate adults and students alike,” says Lindsay Schubiner, toolkit co-author and Momentum Program Director at Western States Center. “The toolkit can help everyone in the school community prevent, detect, and resist white nationalist rhetoric and recruitment and better understand how these ideas spread. It can also support ongoing conversations about how to better express values of equity and justice through school policies, practices, and other paradigm shifts.”

As a nonprofit committed to fighting hate and strengthening inclusive democracy, Western States Center (WSC) knows how urgently schools need this training. And, although white nationalist recruitment activity is up currently, the need is not new. After the 2016 election, educators across the country reported significant increases in hate symbols and harassment, including swastikas, nooses, uses of the n-word, and other racial slurs. Researchers who track extremist group activity also observed that recruitment specifically focused on young people was becoming bolder and more sophisticated. It was within this context that the toolkit originally launched last year; since then, thousands of people — including teachers, administrators, parents, clergy, coaches, and other adults invested in keeping students safe — have downloaded it and begun putting the practices to work in their communities.

“There are ways that we can strengthen our school communities against hate and it doesn’t take more than some intention and concerted effort to get started,” says high school teacher and toolkit co-author Jessica Acee. “The toolkit offers resources and tangible action items that apply to a variety of school settings and audiences.”

The “train-the-trainer” model is part of a cascading implementation strategy that will expand the footprint of the toolkit over the next two years and includes classroom resources to supplement many of the toolkit practices. The national network of trainers will not only be able to support one another in sharing the toolkit widely, but also learn from each other’s experiences and successes. And, because they are familiar with their communities, local trainers are in the best position to help educators address issues and challenges unique to their districts, schools, and classrooms.

“We know digital literacy and other critical thinking skills are key to helping young people recognize white nationalism propaganda,” Schubiner says. “The toolkit addresses this and then goes further by emphasizing prevention, communication, community building, and many other school climate elements that can help inoculate students against hateful ideas.”

WSC is looking for potential trainers with a strong background in education, community organizing, and/or working for racial justice who can commit to sharing the toolkit material in one of three ways (virtually or in-person): by conducting a professional development training with staff, by hosting a community discussion, or by presenting the information at a local meeting or conference. Once trainers have successfully completed the workshop, they will be invited to join an online community of trainers who can help support this work on an ongoing basis. Educators who would like more information about how to apply to become a Confronting White Nationalism in Schools trainer can find more information here.

(Application deadline has passed, thank you for your interest!)