Candidate List of Shame
Joyce Fletcher, Republican for District 1 Magistrate
Embedded Files
Confucius Institute
Records dating back to at least 2018 reveal that the Oldham County School Board, under the leadership of Ms. Fletcher, partnered with the Confucius Institute, which claimed to be a program that would teach students about Chinese culture and language. However, reports began to emerge that it was a program tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), along with concerns about the content in the curriculum.
In an article titled, "Little Red Classrooms", the author stated, "While the United States is not officially part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese state media has touted the work done by Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms to further the Chinese Communist Party’s global influence."
Spectrum News reported, "According to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, the Department of Defense could limit the higher education institutes from receiving DOD funding if the college or universities are hosting a Confucius Institute.
According to the Government Accountability Office, researchers and government officials have been concerned for years about Confucius Institutes with their written content as well as the role and power of the Chinese government. "
Concerns about the program were also raised during the July 31, 2023 School Board meeting. Both community member Clint Elliott and School Board member Joe Dennis expressed these concerns while discussing the district’s continued partnership with the program. Ultimately, Joe Dennis and Larry Dodson voted against it. Note: Ms. Fletcher was not serving on the Board at that time.
Confucius1.movConfucius2.movThese concerns also extended into the State Legislature, with Senator Lindsey Tichenor filing SB166 in 2024 to ban the program from our schools. Unfortunately, the bill did not pass.
According to this article, Confucious is now under a new name, "Ministry of Education Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC)"
While the current status of the partnership in OCPS is unknown, two teachers are listed on the Confuscious website as being employed in the district- Sun Yi at North Oldham Middle School and Suo Li at South Oldham Middle School.
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