Parents: Online Learning Program Has Racist, Sexist Content

As parents help their children navigate remote classes, they’re more aware of what's being taught, and it's often not simply coming from an educator on Zoom

Jayme Gershen/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Zan Timtim doesn't think it's safe for her eighth-grade daughter to return to school in person during the coronavirus pandemic but also doesn't want her exposed to a remote learning program that misspelled and mispronounced the name of Queen Liliʻuokalani, the last monarch to rule the Hawaiian Kingdom.



Parents have called out “towelban” as a multiple-choice answer for a question about a terrorist group and Grumpy from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" described as a “woman hater.” Some also say the program isn't as rigorous as it should be.


Thousands of schools nationwide use Acellus, according to the company, and parents' complaints are leading some districts to reconsider or stop using the program.

“We wouldn't have had this visibility if it weren't for all of us at home, often sitting side by side and making sure: ‘Is this working for you?'" said Adrienne Robillard, who withdrew her seventh-grade daughter from Kailua Intermediate School after concluding Acellus lacked substance and featured racist content.




In a video on his website, Billings responds to criticism about his credentials by saying he earned a bachelor's degree in “composite fields” of chemistry, physics, engineering and other subjects from a university he doesn't name. He says he started a company focused on hydrogen energy technology and that he later earned a “doctor of research and innovation” degree at the International Academy of Science, the nonprofit that develops Acellus courses.



Vetting educational programs takes time, but with the pandemic, districts needed to quickly find remote learning platforms, said Eric Hirsch, executive director of EdReports, which helps schools review instructional materials.






Seeing the queen's name misspelled and information that the Hawaiian islands were “discovered" by Europeans was enough for Timtim and her husband to decide their daughter should join Waipahu Intermediate School's hybrid remote and in-person program despite their concerns about COVID-19.

Then most of Hawaii's public schools, which began virtually on Aug. 17, extended remote learning until mid-October.


The Hawaii Department of Education, the nation's only statewide school district, is considering what to do about Acellus, but some schools decided on their own to stop using it. Other U.S. districts, like Alameda Unified in California, quickly dropped the program after complaints surfaced.


A Sept. 17 memo Hawaii's superintendent sent to the school board said education officials were working with Acellus to address inappropriate content.

Mariko Honda-Oliver heard concerning things from other parents but didn't find anything she considered racist. She was troubled, however, that her son, a second-grader at Makalapa Elementary, blew through more than a week of material on his first day.

Similarly, Cassie Favreau-Chung said her son, a freshman at Mililani High School, was looking forward to the independence of remote learning but found he wasn't getting a quality education because the program had no writing assignments.

“He hasn't found anything on his own that he thought was racist or sexist,” she said. “However, I will also say that a lot of kids, it'll go over their heads.”

For example, “towelban,” Favreau-Chung said.


The experience has made Favreau-Chung lose faith: “It's the first time that I have not been proud to have my kid in public school.”



Copyright AP - Associated Press
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