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A well-paid school equity adviser has come under scrutiny for his remote work combating California inequality from the other side of the country.
Daniel Lee, 51, is a deputy superintendent for the California Department of Education, where his job focuses on racial and social equity in the state’s school system. He works for the California education system, despite living and running his own psychology consulting ventures in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to a report from Politico.
Lee is also a close personal friend of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and was hired privately without a public job listing. According to Politico, the California Department of Education confirmed that Lee’s salary is over $160,000.
“Irrespective of who it is, to have someone from out of state who is not familiar with California’s dynamics and politics and challenges come in and attempt to do this work only furthers the fundamental problem,” Sacramento Black Parallel School Board Director Carl Pinkston told Politico. “Which is that the California Department of Education fails to adequately monitor schools for inequities and push for enforcement.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a news conference in Oakland, California, on Oct. 27, 2021.
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
Normally, employment by the California government is open only to those living in the state, but Thurmond cited the pandemic as an opportunity to hire regardless of geographic location. Lee’s professional history shows a wealth of ventures on the East Coast of the United States.
N-PSY-T Psychological Services, a professional services company that aims “to support clients in their pursuit of personal and professional potential,” recently listed Lee as the business’s Principle Consultant. N-PSY-T is a company operating in Philadelphia, where Lee most recently voted, Politico reports. The company’s website is currently inaccessible.
“The fact that we have known each other for 30 years … if he’s doing great quality work, what difference does it make how long we’ve known each other?” Thurmond told Politico in an interview.
An even mix of proponents and opponents to teaching Critical Race Theory are in attendance as the Placentia Yorba Linda School Board discusses a proposed resolution to ban it from being taught in schools. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Lee is also a member of the “Do What You’re Built For” group of life coaches and self-help writers. He is listed as the author of the similarly titled self-help book.
The “Do What You’re Built For” website mentions that Lee, through his consulting practice, provides “comprehensive behavioral health and clinical services to public schools, charter schools, mental health agencies, shelter programs, non-profit agencies and on a private basis.”
Lee is also listed as the president of the New Jersey Psychological Association (NJPA), which is based out of Livingston, New Jersey — the seat is an elected position.
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California’s education policies have been a contentious and volatile subject as parents have begun to regularly clash with education officials regarding students’ curriculums.
Hundreds of highly distinguished science and math professors have signed an open letter expressing “urgent concern” over California’s efforts to reform mathematics education in the name of social justice.
The letter, signed by 597 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals, said the California Department of Education’s proposed new mathematics framework will aim to reduce achievement gaps by limiting the availability of advanced mathematical courses to middle schoolers and beginning high schoolers, making it more challenging for students to succeed in STEM at college.
Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
