The Tennessee Star on Thursday obtained an open letter written by parents of students at Lipscomb Academy, warning the Head of School at the Christian K-12 institution allowed a “subtle but deliberate” infiltration of radical teaching concepts.
Written by a group of concerned parents who asked The Star to remain anonymous, citing fears of reprisal against their minor students at Lipscomb, the letter warned, “a subtle but deliberate infiltration of liberal ideologies – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) – has taken root,” morphing its Christian classrooms, “into conduits for secular agendas.”
The letter assigned blame to Head of School Brad Schultz (pictured here), who serves under Lipscomb University President Candice McQueen, for the change in direction. As The Star reported last year, Lipscomb Academy described the educator as “a champion of inclusivity and diversity” when Schultz was selected to serve as the Head of School in 2020.
Schultz is notably the Lipscomb Academy faculty member who announced the reassignment of Jesse Savage, the former Head of Upper School who stopped students from wearing formal attire to mourn after the assassination of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk.
The Star reported last year that Schultz’s 2013 doctoral dissertation analyzed, “a private Christian school’s intentional effort to significantly diversity its student bodies after decades in existence,” and explored, “how existing power dynamics between white mainstream and marginalized cultures might be embedded and reflected in this initiative and the ways in which these power dynamics informed this seemingly progressive reform.”
The parents’ letter contained previously unreported elements from the dissertation, revealing that Schultz’s analysis described an apparent effort by the private, Christian school he profiled to intentionally recruited students, and potentially new staff members, based on race.
According to the letter, in his dissertation, “Schultz concludes that these efforts ‘were successful,’ boasting that ‘the school’s student body diversity increased from 1 [percent] to 25 [percent] minority representation’ and ‘the school’s faculty and staff diversity increased from 0 [percent] to 15 [percent] minority representation.'”
Schultz also reportedly revealed that the school established a “multicultural curriculum” and “multicultural professional development program for faculty and staff.”
The parents argued that Schultz’s dissertation prioritized “racial metrics” over “spiritual unity,” and warned that his tenure at Lipscomb Academy was yielding similar results.
“This modus operandi – using DEI to ‘transform’ Southern private schools – has now been applied to Lipscomb Academy, where Schultz has overseen the integration of similar initiatives,” wrote the parents. “Under his leadership, the school has embedded DEI through equity-focused programs, anti-racism training for staff, and curricula that promote identity politics, such as required readings on ‘white supremacy’ and system oppression for incoming students.”
Questioned last year about compliance with the Trump administration’s effort to cut federal spending to institutions with DEI programs, a Lipscomb University spokesman told The Star, “Both Lipscomb University and Lipscomb Academy are fully compliant with all Department of Education and Department of Justice guidance on matters related to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
The letter comes only months after Lipscomb Academy was thrust into the national spotlight since Lipscomb Academy students were prohibited from wearing formal jackets and red ties after Kirk’s death.
Lipscomb Academy ultimately reassigned the staff member and allowed the students to wear the formal attire, sparking protests from staff members. The Star obtained photos of educators wearing black clothing, and one teacher reportedly cried at his desk rather than instructing students.
The school later asked two family members of students to sign a non-disclosure agreement before discussing the matter further.
One of the Lipscomb family members asked to sign the NDA was Savannah Chrisley, the influencer and TPUSA spokesman who previously suggested the conduct at the school could violate the terms set by the university’s founder, David Lipscomb, when he granted land to the school in a 1904 deed.
Read the full open letter written by anonymous Lipscomb Academy parents:
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Lipscomb Academy” by Lipscomb Academy.
School systems should never hire people with a PhD. These people are nothing but stupid. The more books since radical behavior they learn the less common sense they have and the more radical they become. The head of the school needs to be fired and sent packing.