The Prep School Bolshevik Revolution Runs Out of Gas (And Anti-racist Molotov Cocktails) as “Woke Antisemitism” Costs Shipley Principal His Job

This essay features excerpts from the forthcoming book Who Killed the Preppy? by J.D. Busch. Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved.

Author's Note: I previously chronicled the hiring (and firing) of a DEI Director at Shipley on Linkedin in the article: The Shipley School: When a Case of DEI-Led Anti-Semitism Runs Deeper. Well, the case really did run deep. It turns out up to the school headmaster, who recently also parted ways with my prep school. While the lessons in this story are certainly relevant for all parents and students regardless of school, I would argue they are even more universal for businesses and boards of directors. Simply put, discriminatory DEI practices are a genuinely terrible idea if you want to build shareholder value and not destroy customer goodwill. And as the case of DEI at Shipley shows as well, they can also harm your balance sheet in the process.

A preppy and Karl Marx walk into a bar… 

Lisa Birnbach, known in preppy circles for her satirical take on the peculiar breed of American that dominated public life until they didn’t, once declared that “preppies are not snobs; they are just very particular.” The same could be said for what has become of their former schools. “Particularly” radical, that is, as blue hair, chest binders, and Hamas couture have become the metaphorical (and sometimes actual) new uniform du jour, replacing J. Press, Laura Ashley, and Brooks Brothers in what used to be the top high schools in America.  

Since I graduated from The Shipley School, a private secondary school outside of Philadelphia, in 1993, the institution transformed from a bastion of Democratic (yes, large “D”) prep school elitism to a DEI-led indoctrination center with a bullseye on the back of Jewish students and anyone else challenging the new progressive anti-racist orthodoxy. Some (including me, after a few drinks) might argue this is much needed if you fancy your diploma signed by Che Guevara and sealed with a kiss from Karl Marx — the secret recipe to get into Penn or Columbia these days, I suppose. 

Shipley is Philadelphia's answer to Francis Parker (for those in Chicago) — or Putney or Middlesex if you're from the East Coast. While it boasts bona-fide WASPY roots, the only sacred ritual it's ever truly dunked its community members in is left-wing politics, and more recently, DEI — that is, unless you count the trinity of squash, lacrosse, and field hockey as a form of divine intervention. 

Like Chicago’s Latin and Parker, Shipley never exactly rolled out the red carpet for those who didn’t fit the “Main Line” academic left-wing Protestant mold — including scholarship students, Jews, and, above all, vocal conservatives, who, at least in the past, were sometimes graded on their politics, unless they happened to come from families that endowed the general fund. Yet, I hold no grudges, despite hitting the trifecta of traits that made me public enemy number one, pulling down my GPA because my background and views were "problematic." In fact, I welcomed the environment as a shaping force. After all, nothing quite builds character like being the designated antagonist—or so I told myself between bouts of existential crisis and wondering if my yearbook photo should have included a pitchfork.

Back then, things really were fun and games, grading aside. When truly egregious behavior occurred — like a BDS movement gaining traction among students and faculty until a friend explained the anti-Semitism fueling it to the Dean—it was possible to appeal to logic and reason and get the school to change course. But in recent years, the “forced march” of progressivism, which started in universities, storm-troopered its way to Shipley, gaslighting and silencing anyone who dared to argue against it.

This progressive wave brought overt anti-Semitism, boiling over after the October 7th atrocities, turning once-lively debates at Shipley into echo chambers where dissent was treated like a contagious lab-leaked disease, with every Jewish student or those daring to question progressive orthodoxy becoming an unvaccinated patient zero (with the only antidote being an initial BLM prick followed by a continuous course of LGBTQIA+, affinity group, and intersectional training boosters). 

Forced DEI vaccinations aside, the creation of formal “equity” programs at Shipley and other prep schools not only provided fruitful employment to gender and ethnic studies majors — it also became a ripe breeding ground for the concept of mandated parity, forcing handicaps on those who happened to be cleverer, funnier, or better looking (or simply don’t like batting for the other team). Because you know, merit is so last century. Of course, challenging the concept of mandated parity wasn’t a good idea at Shipley, as elsewhere, unless you wanted to be subjected to a formal re-education or restorative justice session. To go against the prevailing narrative would be like suggesting a Packers jersey swap at a Bears tailgate: technically possible, but you're unlikely to leave without facing some serious side-eye or a punch to the face.

But of course, you can’t have a formal DEI program without its Felix Dzerzhinskys — the first leader of the Soviet secret police, the Cheka, who ruthlessly eliminated Bolshevik opposition — to enforce conformity, and that requires central planning from the private school Kremlin. Enter Carney Sandoe & Associates (CSA), a recruiting firm hired to lead the recently fired DEI Director search at Shipley and provide implicit bias training at the school, which one can summarize as “black, brown good, Jew white bad!”

By now, you’re probably wondering why this matters, whether you drive an F150 or minivan (unlike woke elites contemplating whether to listen to Robin Diangelo’s latest book or NPR in their Tesla Model X). After all, most people reading this essay have probably never heard of CSA let alone the Shipley School, before the DEI crusade. And who could blame them? It would be like hearing a band — let’s call them, “The WASPs”, after they’ve already broken up. But as I see it, whether you’re battling anti-Semitism or just trying to prevent a K-12 and college brainwashing experience, if we don’t teach kids how to think, versus sucking at the teet of DEI for intersectional nourishment, we might as well hand them degrees in gender studies and advanced TikTok auto-scrolling, while hedging our 401Ks by taking long-term short positions on all the financial markets in the West, while finding a way to get on Elon’s first Starship to Mars.

In other words, what transpired at Shipley is relevant not only to every parent in America but also to society as a whole. 

Here’s how it all began.

Extending a cordial (six-figure) invitation to a DEI Devil, de-centering whiteness, and covering up a failing school by the numbers 

CSA talks extensively on its website about the plague of white supremacy and how it works to address “white fragility” and “systemic racism” with students. When it posted the job opening for a DEI head at Shipley in July of 2023, it noted that the new Director of DEI “would serve as a strategic partner for the Head and have a deep knowledge of best practices in DEI work.” Alas, there was no mention of a direct red line to the Kremlin or CCP included as a fringe benefit in the job description, so I did not apply.  

But CSA — which is currently recruiting the President of Holy Trinity School High School and Morgan Academy in the Chicago area — certainly did its job with hiring and embedding a Kommissar at Shipley, following the guidance of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), of which Shipley is a member, who frequently recommends this firm to spread critical theory and “global citizenship” gospel to the schools it accredits (hold that thought as we’ll get to NAIS’ role as the Kremlin in the Shipley mess in a minute). Indeed, the first public signs of trouble began with the hiring of CSA’s hand-picked DEI Director at Shipley — a social media influencer of sorts, but only if you count "influencing" as spreading vitriol against Israel and Jews. Before she shut down her Twitter account, it read like a who's who of bad ideas, complete with endorsements from the blue-haired cancel culture club. I think Greta may have even been a follower.

The situation worsened as Shipley’s new Head of School, Michael Turner, protected the anti-Semitic DEI programming (and team), even when the community challenged it. Turner defended the DEI Head’s “lived experiences,” according to community members. Moreover, he blamed her eventual firing on a parent mob, after the board took action (going over the head of Turner). Throughout this intersectional escapade, the social justice warrior attempted to save DEI face in front of teachers and administrators, refusing to take any responsibility other than continuing to double down on the DEI programming that had led to antisemitism in the first place. 

By this time, Shipley was well down the path to become its own dystopian woke novel. Lest anyone declare this misinformation, let me share a graphic (that includes the Shipley crest) and blog (since removed) from Shipley’s website, which instructed parents on how to “take whiteness out of their home.” And no, Shipley was not referring to slapping on a new coat of beige over Benjamin Moore.

The author of this essay observes that “as the parent of three children (ages 8, 7, and 3), I’ve been thinking a lot about how our family is dominated by and/or perpetuates the values of white culture and how I might recenter our home with multiracial values. To say that whiteness is “at the center” of American society is to say that access to power, control of resources, and the ability to enforce cultural values and policies disproportionately belongs to white people.”

In the spirit of Martha Stewart meets Ilhan Omar, the author’s recommendations also include the task to “Walk through your home and take note of the artwork on the walls, the books on shelves, the toys in the playroom, DVDs, and the colors, patterns, and textiles of your decor” because “our homes tell the story of who we are and what holds meaning in our lives … [and we need to know if anything is coming] from a white-centered approach.” 

In a move that would make even Orwell or Huxley chuckle, Shipley also advised parents to dive headfirst into the 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones in another since-deleted blog post on the school’s website. Meanwhile, Thomas Sowell, John McWhorter, Glenn Loury, and other esteemed black academics who might offer a counterpoint were never mentioned, perhaps because balanced debate and factual accuracy are kryptonite to rewriting history and quashing dissenting voices.

But who needs multiple perspectives when you have a narrative to uphold, right?

One theory I have is that by instructing community members in a step-by-step manner on how to extirpate the plague of whiteness from their humble abodes while simultaneously turning Main Line soccer moms into social justice crusaders, Shipley was hoping to draw attention away from Turner’s total compensation, which approached $700K by the 2022 tax year (a material rise over his starting package). Like the Roman bread and circuses, the entire affair tossed some “red” meat to the aspiring woke masses to detract from a deeply corrupt state.

But just as previous empires crumbled on the weight of themselves — not to mention hedonism and indulgence — with a twist of free market irony, under Turner, enrollment dropped from 846 students when he took the helm to 715 (nearly 20 percent), while peer schools either maintained or increased enrollment (source: Private School Review and the “Wayback” Machine). Curiously, Shipley's balance sheet declined from $113MM to $101MM during Turner’s tenure, as well (source: ProPublica). 

How DEI gone wild leads to “Woke Antisemitism” 

Turner’s response to the DEI-gone-wild “pin the horns on the Jew” escapades under him at Shipley was literally akin to defending a flat-earther’s lived experience against those pesky global enthusiasts. This included, just like squad member Cori Bush, following her primary defeat, blaming the Jews for the loss. But this was just the start in terms of community anti-Semitism. It should come as no surprise given that Jewish students were held to different standards and “victims” under Turner — as in intersectional victims — who threatened Jewish students were tacitly encouraged to continue their behavior, as they faced virtually no consequences for their actions. 

Such is common with “Woke Antisemitism,” as author and expert David Bernstein defines in his book by the same name, as “a form of antisemitism that arises from the ideologies associated with progressive movements that include concepts like privilege, equity, whiteness, and the oppressor/oppressed binary. This framework tends to view Jews, and especially the Jewish state of Israel, as oppressors due to their perceived privilege or alignment with Western power structures.”

Woke anti-Semitism even brought DEI sogginess to bake sales at Shipley. For decades — since I was a student — Shipley has had a history of students baking cookies and brownies to support singular causes (or more recently, in certain cases, heading to Costco, but keep that part quiet!) 

Until, of course, when the cause was for Israel after the October 7th attacks — specifically supporting Magen David Adom, the Israeli Red Cross, which serves a diverse group of Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Jewish students organizing this particular bake sale were told 50 percent of the bake sale earnings had to go to Gaza, something that had never happened at the school previously (as one community member told me, one of the last bake sales had been for Ukraine, and students did not have to send any of the proceeds to Russia!)

The bake sale was just one anti-Semitic incident of many. At a school that has gone to great lengths with students and parents to explain the mortal sin of “misgendering” or “dead-naming” members of the community, when a student threatened to rape a Jewish student while also stating his distaste of Jews, he was only given a slap on the wrist in the form of an in-school, few-hour suspension, according to sources.

Of course, it would be convenient to explain Shipley as a one-off institution in its embrace of the Woke Antisemitism and its DEI religion, which treats Jews as subhuman students. But Undercover Mother, a Substack that has chronicled the politicization of private education (sometimes hard to read, but always entertaining), literally wrote the storyline for what happened at Shipley, courtesy of NAIS (i.e., the prep school “Kremlin”) years ago. Recall that NAIS is the central training, accreditation, conference, networking and private school authority.

To sum up the NAIS playbook in twelve steps (I’ve added some additional color as well, in addition to Undercover Mother):

Step 1: NAIS advises Independent X School on its “Principles of Good Practice”. According to these principles, the board should lead from a distance rather than being at the forefront. The board's main responsibilities are fundraising and hiring or firing headmasters, with a primary focus on fundraising. 

Step 2: The school changes (or adds to) its mission statement, which was previously centered on academic preparedness/excellence and character building, to global citizenship (Editor's note: emphasis added). See here! 

Step 3: NAIS oversees accreditation. Meanwhile, tuition starts an upward trajectory. 

Step 4: NAIS partners with an executive search firm (e.g., “henchman Carney Sandoe”), which will place candidates at the school that follow the NAIS agenda based on their (NAIS-approved) training in social-emotional learning (SEL), DEI, and global citizenship.

Step 5: The search firm presents the new headmaster (or DEI director) candidates with impeccable credentials, a fundraising background (in the case of school heads), and the experience to enable students to become the future of global leadership. 

Step 6: In the interview process the headmaster candidates appear unassuming and make balanced statements.

Step 7: The new headmaster is hired, but members of the community with spidey sense begin to observe from the start that he appears potentially incompetent, albeit with clear authoritarian streaks—a Justin Trudeau-like figure, if you will. Teachers, parents, and others are silent or gaslit if they speak up—or are told they are racist or bigoted.

Step 8: Executive compensation (for the head of the school) reaches a new high and tuition follows suit. 

Step 9:  Parents begin to express concern about critical theory programming (equity/DEI, SEL, LGBTQIA+) being presented as fact, not theory, in the classroom and community. Alternative views are never offered, and debate is frowned upon. The headmaster, activist teachers, and others are careful never to put anything meaningful in writing and continue to gaslight parents in 1-1 meetings. The board is generally clueless as to what is going on and most members are kept equally in the dark.

Step 9: Critical theory ideology is cemented as a core value and cornerstone across the entire institution and DEI becomes more important—and gains greater resources — than the college counseling function. The school is now fully aligned with the UN, WEF, Aspen Institute, TED, US Democratic party, etc. obsession with “equity/equal outcomes,” “global citizenship,” and drag-queen story hour. 

Step 10: Teachers are silenced (if they speak in opposition) to any of the new programming, whilst Western civilization is replaced with a BIPOC/oppressor curriculum. Jews become Zionist colonial oppressors. 

Step 11: The net promoter score of the school among parents decreases (if it’s even measured). Community members (who have been there the longest and are the most respected) resign, as do integral families. Donations slow. Parents pull their kids out. 

Step 12: The endowment is tapped to meet operating budget shortfalls. 

So, my dear readers, does any of this sound like Shipley? Or Latin, Parker or Bernard Zell if you’re in Chicago, for that matter? Remember: it’s a playbook these schools (and their leaders) have been instructed on. Whether it’s 80 percent accurate or entirely does not matter. What does is that if you choose to oppose it (or even call attention to it), you are a hopeless racist who is “getting in the way of progress.” 

Turner, of course, defended this script as long as he could. But ultimately, according to sources close to the school, he was summarily dismissed by a group of board members and legal counsel in late June after refusing to even contemplate stepping back himself. After all, how could he? The equity religion of Robin Diangelo and MSNBC was pulsating through his veins, standing ready to gaslight or shame any non-believer.  But finally, when this new religion started sacrificing Jews at the BIPOC altar of Ibram X. Kendi, it would prove a step too far, and the board and Turner parted ways. Still, the board did not present the situation as it actually happened to the community. Rather, it issued a cover story, albeit one that was pretty easy to see through. 

In an email to the school, Turner (or Shipley’s lawyers, writing for him) wrote on June 27th, “After thoughtful consideration … I have decided to pursue other opportunities … While the past five years have been challenging for schools, members of our community have taken special pride in how Shipley has responded. I am delighted to have been a part of the team leading our efforts to realize the myriad achievements that have led to this sense of accomplishment.” Minutes after this “resignation” email was sent out, another followed introducing the new Interim Head of the School, Steve Lisk, who would take Turner’s place. 

Just then, I knew I had to speak with him, not only for this essay but also to handicap the chances of Shipley getting its preppy mojo back. 

An interview with Shipley’s new interim Head of School 

So, after he joined, I contacted Steve, who graciously offered me the chance to speak. In our Teams chat, Steve struck me as someone with a turnaround mindset. He was clearly in “fact-finding” mode during his first three weeks on the job, although it was apparent that the NAIS “global citizenship” concept had worked its way into his thinking, as evidenced by his use of that phrase during our talk. 

I first asked Steve about enrollment at Shipley, which had materially declined over the years to the point where it impacted the operating budget and created a revenue shortfall against forecast (my analysis, not his). Steve suggested, “Trustees and administrators have noticed a downturn and yes, this is a key metric.” He further noted that his own project plan so far was to understand why this had happened and then build a plan to address it.

While our discussion only lasted 45 minutes, Steve reminded me more of the turnaround consultants I've worked with over the years than a typical head of school—a good thing. He volunteered, “Whatever happens in formal marketing, you can't overcome word of mouth,” acknowledging that the school had to accept this reality. He also noted the need to “respect the traditions” of the school he was tasked with getting back on track.

Our conversation next moved to the topic of character—specifically, the character-building of young minds. I asked him what role Shipley should play in building the character and core values of young people, and if so, what those values should be and where they should come from.

He responded with an example from Roxbury Latin in Boston. Steve noted that a previous head of school would meet with every family who attended and tell them, “Your son will be known and loved here.” The focus was to ensure that “no students at the school would slip through the cracks — while students would be challenged academically, they would also be supported with no particular bias or slant.” 

He then mentioned a phrase I was surprised to hear: “In day schools, we come from a Judeo-Christian background that starts with compassion. Work on citizenship is important. And yes, Some form of the pure academic path matters. But the foundation makes a critical difference in the life of the mind and the broader choices you make.”

Steve continued, “I’m from a sleepy hometown in North Carolina — not a sophisticated place, but one with some really good people. My upbringing gave me a really good foundation. It encouraged me to read, to act on curiosity, and to try my best in the arts. Pursuing these things defined who I became, and I believe the experience rounded me out, not just as a scholar or athlete, but as a whole person, something I know I bring to my view on educational leadership.”

Our next talking point turned to the embrace of DEI at Shipley. I specifically asked Steve if he thought the adoption of DEI was what created the anti-Semitic environment at the school. Steve responded, “Coast to coast, schools have turned to DEI. In my previous school, we had an upper school head who was a Peace Corps veteran. His cross-cultural competence informed him. When he made presentations to other members of the team, he brought with him broader perspectives.”

He continued: “This experience elevated the work of the whole, and I see DEI as a piece of that. But when DEI focuses on narrowing to select lanes of preference or devolving to competition among different lanes within a defined box, I cringe. DEI is something we must work on, and I am happy to champion it, but when DEI diminishes one group or another, that is a challenge.”

I then turned the discussion to viewpoint diversity. Specifically, I asked Steve what was being done to bring viewpoint diversity to the board, administration, and faculty, where viewpoint diversity (e.g., conservative/classical liberal views vs. progressive) has been non-existent for decades.

He observed, “I am the second of four boys, who were fortunate enough to have young, energetic parents. My mother has always been a Republican and my father was a Democrat. I registered independent initially, which took me out of primary voting. The point is I grew up in a context. My parents had different perspectives. I majored in political science and taught AP US government. I also taught history. With all of my students, I enjoyed the dialogue and debate immensely. Community, wellness, respect for others—granting dignity to those we disagree with and respect is essential to a functioning world. We must encourage kids to form their own opinions, which is critical to intellectual development and the life of the mind.

As to Shipley, Steve concludes: “I don’t know what existed before me. I am not investigating the past as my focus in my role this year. I am trying to understand where the community is today and embrace a better future. Fully understanding the situation from all sides is an essential first step before taking any action.”

Putting in place a turnaround strategy 

Even if the school is on the right track with a new head who is conducting a full analysis of the sunk hull before righting the ship — as I believe it is — it’s pretty clear what Shipley will need to do to compete for students in an environment where attending such a prep school offers little advantage (and potentially disadvantages students) in competing for coveted slots at elite colleges and universities compared to public or parochial options these days. To wit, it must focus one excellence, not advocacy.

In this spirit, I appreciate Steve’s response and his fact-finding approach, as well as focusing on the future, not the past. But I suspect he will conclude, after his fact-finding, what any reasonable party examining Shipley would observe today: the school has not had a single vocal non-radical on the upper school faculty since Dr. Anthony Morinelli retired (the former head of theater, humanities, and philosophy) and “viewpoint diversity” at Shipley resembles that of The New York Times or New Republic (i.e., all views are welcome, provided they are not “problematic” views). 

In other words, Shipley created the conditions for advocacy to topple excellence, and Turner was a symptom, not the cause.  

Personally, if I were a turnaround advisor on the Shipley “deal,” my first priority would be to come clean to the entire community about what happened. This should include issuing a public apology to the Jewish community. In addition, faculty and administrators who previously engaged in or condoned anti-Semitic activity should be dismissed. Students who engaged in it (but received a mere wrist slap instead of facing appropriate disciplinary procedures) should be forced to learn about the history of anti-Semitism, including why anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism, and face the same disciplinary consequences had they discriminated against a “protected” group within the school.

Shipley should apply the same test of discrimination against Jewish students and Jewish identity as it would if the party facing discrimination were black or LGBTQ. It’s a simple policy: If you wouldn’t want it done to Kamala, don’t do it to anyone else. Many forces on the board and in the administration will be loathe to do this given the institutional DEI forces and identity politics that have become more important to the school’s ethos than academic excellence, but if Shipley fails to take this step, the progressive intellectual mono-think that has come to define the place will remain.

To aid this effort, Shipley should hire an outside consultant — not one recommended or affiliated with the institutionally captured NAIS, which Shipley is affiliated with, but a truly neutral party — to conduct a full audit of its DEI program to examine the root causes of anti-Semitism. An organization such as the non-profit Jewish Institute of Liberal Values would be an ideal choice to lead this initiative, given its familiarity with anti-Semitism and the linkages with DEI in K-12 schools. The recommendation to either reimagine, reshape, or fully eliminate its DEI program, as many corporations are doing at the moment, should come from this neutral party. Shipley should also admit, as the audit would find, that the embrace of DEI created a fertile ground for anti-Semitism. 

You can continue reading the remainder of this essay on Chicago Contrarian.