The Louisiana Board of Education has partnered with PragerU Kids to include K-12 educational materials as state-approved resources for the upcoming school year. The educational media company, started by conservative talk show host Dennis Prager, will provide these resources to enhance classroom instruction across the state.
The new partnership will be announced at a teacher summit in New Orleans on May 28, where over 7,500 teachers are expected to gather.
Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley lauded the partnership, saying, “Louisiana was the first state to adopt new, rigorous social studies standards that teach students about American exceptionalism and our quest for a more perfect union.”
PragerU CEO Marissa Streit spoke about what her organization hopes to accomplish with the partnership, telling The Epoch Times that “PragerU Kids’ ultimate goal is to teach what should be taught in American classrooms and in homes around our nation.”
Partnership Details
The partnership between PragerU and the state board of education has included the organization taking the Louisiana social studies curricula and matching those lessons to pieces of content by PragerU to supplement the materials being used in the classroom.Teachers will have videos, typically around five minutes in length, to show students on topics like the Constitution, the difference between a Democracy and a Republic, and the Electoral College.
A special set of supplemental materials has been set aside to use for the state’s “Freedom Week,” which takes place in September. During the week, each teacher will have special resources, chosen and approved by the state, to correlate with the topics being taught and celebrated that week,
Prager University Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded more than a decade ago that creates educational videos that promote traditional American values. The website says they offer a free alternative to much of the left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education.
The organization’s popularity has grown around their series titled “5-Minute Videos,” which condense information on a broad range of issues, including politics, cultural topics, and the economy into easily digestible 5-minute videos.
What Parents Can Expect
Ms. Streit said that parents and teachers have looked to PragerU to offer alternative resources to “counter the radical and divisive materials” on issues like diversity, equity, and inclusion, critical race theory, and the sexualization of children.“Our videos, lesson plans, and worksheets are wholesome, age-appropriate, engaging, fun, relevant, and relatable,“ Ms. Streit told The Epoch Times. ”Many of our supplementary materials are helpful in teaching subjects required by State standards and Common Core.”
She also noted that PragerU Kids videos, magazines, worksheets, and lesson plans are all available free of charge at PragerUkids.com.
“I can say that when I talked to parents and teachers, looking for alternative history in their schools is not what they’re interested in,’’ said Hobbs.
A PragerU spokesperson addressed some of the concerns voiced by detractors, pointing to the importance of educational freedom and noted the considerable support the initiative has received from parents and educators alike.
PragerU’s state partnerships now include Florida, Oklahoma, Montana, New Hampshire, and Arizona. PragerU is also an official vendor in Texas, and PragerU Kids content has reportedly received 26 million views across all platforms.
