White Privilege

Glenn Singleton

In 2010, the St. Paul, Minnesota School District, SPMSD, contracted with the Pacific Educational Group, PEG, a San Francisco educational consulting company claiming to improve achievement and discipline with black students.  In 1992 it was founded by Glenn Singleton, a black man which a race chip on his shoulder who thinks he has the solution to the race problem.

Glenn claims American education is incorrectly based on white culture, tradition and social norms that result in “white privilege” that is unfair to black students. He claims black students will only achieve if school curricula are customized to meet their culture and rejects suspensions, expulsions or discipline of any kind to black students.  In other words: "License to do as we damn well please!"

Bizarre as this may sound it is not unique in the angry part of the "black" community.  There are some who say that where we kept them repressed for 150 or 400 years, depending on who is speaking, that they should lord over us for an equal period in the name of racial justice.  Meanwhile back in Minnesota:

The Saint Paul school board and officials paid PEG $137,720 in 2010-11, $366,800 in 2011-12,  $598,900 in 2012-13,  $489,150 in 2013-14 and $285,895 in 2014-15, a total of $1,878,455 plus "matched amounts" of $132,072 in 2010-11, $363,260 in 2011-12 and $537,900 in 2012-13 for a grand total of: $2,911,687 with no explanation for the additional payments.  These figures were only obtained with a Freedom of Information Act court filing.

The program has been a rolling disaster from the beginning.  The only good thing that can be said is that no one has been murdered in the district, but stick around.  The program is continuing!

Soon after Pacific Educational Group, PEG, arrived policy changes were made, on their orders:  "Special needs" students with bad behavioral histories were "mainstreamed," in PEGspeak, returned to regular classrooms.  Student suspensions were replaced with “time outs,” and school officials were ordered to forgive or ignore violence by PEG people.

The result was totally chaotic with black students out of control because they knew there would be no consequences for whatever they did.  It was almost as if  Baltimore "State Attorney" Marilyn Mosby had been there and said, "It's our time!"

Harding High School Teacher Becky McQueen tried to stop a fight between two basketball players.  One grabbed her; threw her to the ground and was only sent home for two days.  In a properly run school district he would be in a juvenile hall jail for a week or two.

In another incident two boys ran into her classroom, hit a girl in head and ran out.  One boy been recorded as having done 30 such attacks and nothing was done.  Another student repeatedly ran into her classroom, hit students, cursed at aids and yelled at McQueen, "I'll fry your ass!"  Her students said that is black death threat.  The Administration did nothing.

McQueen now locks her classroom door and has the students use a secret knock to enter.  She told a reporter,  “There are those that believe by suspending kids we build a pipeline to prison.  I think that by not, we are.  I think we’re telling these kids you don’t have to be on time for anything, we’re just going to talk to you. You can assault anybody and we’ll let you come back.”

Over the past four years, as PEG has cast its shadow in St. Paul, the number of students living in the district but attending non-district schools, has increased 30% from 9,000 to 12,000, according to Joe Nathan, executive director of the Minneapolis-based Center for School Change.

Community educators are supposed to be leaders, but these appear to be cowering to a man who has a bad idea, a rotten record and an ability to write very big bills for cleaning up on "white privilege."


Adrian Vance