Pennridge ends contract with former Hillsdale employee who promised ‘ideology-free’ education

Earlier this year, Bucks County’s Pennridge became the first school district in the country to hire Vermilion Education, a consulting company run by a former employee of the conservative Hillsdale College who pledged to deliver an “ideology-free education.”

But before the new Democratic-led school board takes over from Republicans next month, Jordan Adams is out.

On Monday, the outgoing board terminated its open-ended contract with Vermilion and accepted its final report, which cost $5,000, from Adams — who had promoted his services at this summer’s Moms for Liberty summit, describing himself as “the fox in the henhouse” working to remake school districts “on behalf of our side.”

Adams’ hiring, which dovetailed with board-directed changes to the social studies curriculum, had spurred outcry among community members — including faculty who warned this fall that they weren’t prepared to teach revised courses Adams had helped craft. (Among the resources teachers were directed to consult was Hillsdale’s 1776 Curriculum, which has been criticized by historians as ideologically driven.)

“The Vermilion experiment was a colossal failure, by any measure,” said one woman, whose remarks during the board’s public comment session were captured on a recording of Monday night’s meeting.

Democrats who promised to end Vermilion’s contract had swept the Nov. 7 school board elections.

“I really hope this report is an attempt to save face and not an indication that the Pennridge GOP is going to double down on culture-war fearmongering,” said another woman, Jane Cramer. Board members said Adams had simply finished his work.

The report from Adams identified “potential concerns” with Pennridge social studies and English courses, and concluded there were “patterns of bias” within the curriculum.

Among them: “a view that police are systemically racist,” “one-sided depictions that would lead students to favor a policy of unlimited immigration,” and “a rejection or criticism of what critics would call more ‘traditional’ values,’” according to Adams.

The report wasn’t clear on where exactly those themes were contained: For instance, most of the references to police that Adams cited were included in a digital resources document for social studies teachers with links to the Black Lives Matter organization and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

But Adams said some district courses needed “further definition and clarity” — like a prompt in an American government unit, asking students to “apply constitutional rights to contemporary issues.”

“It is recommended that discussing modern issues be omitted from school lessons,” Adams said, though if they are included, “teachers deserve greater clarity on how to do justice to each point of view in a contemporary issue.” Other areas he cited included a course’s distinction between individual and institutional discrimination, which Adams called a “Critical Race Theory view of history and society.”

Adams also listed course materials “warranting parent notification, balanced points of view, and/or general reconsideration.” Among them: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, included in a 12th-grade literature class; Beloved, by Toni Morrison, in a Western literature class; and 21 books in two AP English classes, including titles by James Baldwin, Albert Camus, Raymond Carver, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Ernest Hemingway.

“With the exception of this specific content,” Adams said, the AP English classes were “especially well-designed.”

Joan Cullen, a Republican board member who had opposed Adams’ contract, called the report “an embarrassment.”

“It’s basically a recitation of quotes he pulled out of context,” said Cullen, who, like other dissenting board members, abstained from voting to terminate Adams, because doing so would have also meant accepting his final report. “I want the record to reflect, Mr. Adams, you did not get the unanimous approval of the Pennridge School Board.”

Adams — who lives in Michigan and wasn’t present Monday — said in an email that “I trust that the vast majority of Pennridge parents will find Vermilion’s recommendations to be fair, even-handed, and informative.” He declined to comment on whether he was working for other school districts.

Adams’ supporters indicated they would continue to advocate for his recommendations. “My hope is the district will take Mr. Adams’ reports” and give teachers guidance to ward off bias, said Jordan Blomgren, a Republican board member who will become part of the minority next month.

Blomgren said she would “continue to fight to keep bias, social justice activism, CRT, and DEI out of our schools.”

But others indicated they weren’t putting much stock into the consultant’s findings. “I’m thankful we’ll not have to mention the word ‘Vermilion’ again,” said Ron Wurz, a board member who was reelected as part of the slate of five Democrats who won their elections earlier this month. “So let’s move on.”