South Carolinian taxpayer dollars will soon be going toward opening a Moms for Liberty-endorsed public charter school in Charleston. The Ashley River Classical Academy is currently slated to open for the 2024-2025 school year, and its leadership has been found to be intertwined with the Charleston chapter of Moms for Liberty.
Moms for Liberty was founded in 2021 by former Florida school board members, Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich, along with current Current Sarasota County, Florida school board member, Bridget Ziegler. The Southern Poverty Law Center has classified the group as extremist, identifying it as “a far-right organization that engages in anti-student inclusion activities and self-identifies as part of the ‘modern parental rights movement.” SPLC also points out other key factors about Moms For Liberty, including it “grew out of opposition to public health regulations for COVID-19, opposes LGBTQ+ and racially inclusive school curriculum, and has advocated books bans.”
The Ashley River Classical Academy’s board is closely tied to the Charleston chapter of Moms for Liberty, with three of the members directly involved in the Charleston chapter: Tara Wood, who serves as the Moms for Liberty chairperson; Janine Nagrodsky, the treasurer; and Nicole McCarthy, the head of the education committee.
The academy is set to use the controversial Hillsdale College’s 1776 Curriculum, which has been criticized by academics and education experts as a conservative reinterpretation of American history. According to reporting from The Advocate, critics say the 1776 Curriculum takes what it calls a “patriotic” approach to history by minimizing the impact of racism on American institutions, as well as eliminates mentions of LGBTQ+ people who were part of American history.
Reporting from The Post and Courier revealed the new charter school would fall under the jurisdiction of Erskine College, which is currently facing financial distress and accreditation issues.
The founding of The Ashley River Classical Academy comes after waves upon waves of Moms For Liberty endorsed candidates lost their elections in the last year. These election losses, among other incidents such as rejections of curricula similar to the 1776 Curriculum show a growing trend of people becoming more skeptical about the group’s approach to education.