‘Tearing the School Apart’: How DEI Changed Kentucky Country Day School

“Despite the occupation, despite the apartheid, Palestine will one day be free,” declared Mahmoud Kutmah, the valedictorian of Kentucky Country Day School’s class of 2021, at the end of his graduation speech.

What followed that May 2021 commencement ceremony set off a chain reaction that enabled education consultant Rodney Glasgow to enter the picture and aid the school’s administration in establishing a progressive woke diversity, equity, and inclusion culture that one parent said “literally was tearing the school apart.” 

“When you say that name [Rodney Glasgow], it’s like the emotions of wanting to just cry. I get chills. That name and what he did to our community was just unimaginable,” said a parent of a current Kentucky Country Day School student, granted anonymity due to the risk of their children being expelled from the elite independent school that costs a maximum of $30,200 per year. 

Glasgow runs The Glasgow Group, which, according to InfluenceWatch, is a Maryland-based for-profit educational consultant company that specializes in diversity, equity, and inclusion training for teachers and school administrators.

The Glasgow Group’s website states it is “a consortium of consultants providing skills, tools, and experiences through a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion that enhance and deepen schools,’ organizations,’ and individuals’ capacity for transformation.” Its consulting roster features heavy hitters from the private school DEI circuit. 

According to his resume, Glasgow has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard, a master’s degree from Columbia, and a doctorate in education, human and organizational learning from George Washington University. His resume states that his dissertation was on “Readying the Pond: The Experiences of African American Male Leaders in Predominantly White Independent Schools and Their Strategies for Navigating Nonprototypicality.” 

A Diversity Consultant’s Take

In 2020, Glasgow became head of school at Sandy Spring Friends School in Sandy Spring, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C.

According to local news outlet The Greater Olney News, Glasgow “became familiar with SSFS while working as a diversity consultant. He was wrapping up a diversity audit by interviewing students about their experiences at school. While waiting for the students to arrive, he took a walk around campus,” and claimed he was “‘touched by a spiritual wind. … I thought, this could be a place where I would want to be the head of school.’” 

Glasgow later discusses his experience doing the Sandy Spring Friends School DEI audit on a podcast with other school administrators. Glasgow said, “So, some people ask the question of, ‘You were doing this audit. What happened? What was it in response to?’ And I always say, ‘No, this was proactive. … We were trying to get out ahead of climate and culture.’”

“I’m telling you, schools now are scrambling to do these audits. And it takes, as we’ve seen, a year to do the audit and a couple of years to implement,” Glasgow added. “When we look back two or three years from now, and the life of that audit is sort of done, and it’s time to do the next audit, what do you want to say for sure it (sic) came out of this one?” 

Over the summer, Sandy Spring Friends School quietly announced a leadership change for the 2024-2025 school year, promoting Assistant Head of School Christine Lewis, the first female to hold the position.

Glasgow has long been associated with the National Association of Independent Schools, or NAIS. 

NAIS is a Washington-based nonprofit that serves as the accreditation agency for private schools. According to its website, the organization has more than 1,700 member schools, as of this writing. 

In August 2024, Glasgow was introduced as “the Interim Associate Director of Friends Council on Education — the National Association of Friends Schools.” The Friends Council on Education is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)3 that serves as a Quaker education consortium for “76 schools in 21 states,” according to its website. He also currently serves on the boards of Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys and Lowell School, both in the District of Columbia. 

A NAIS member school was exposed in late 2022 by Project Veritas, when the dean of students for Chicago’s elite Francis W. Parker School, Joseph Bruno, was quoted on undercover camera discussing how his school lets students handle sex toys in class, talking to them about “using lube versus using spit” and how “that’s a really, like, cool part of my job.” 

Every fall, NAIS organizes a “People of Color Conference” in a different American city, and independent school administrations will send a delegation of their teachers. Coinciding with the People of Color Conference is the Student Diversity Leadership Conference, which Glasgow has chaired since 2012. The SDLC, as it’s known, is attended by hundreds of students annually, and they’re usually handpicked because they are viewed as progressive student leaders who will go back to their schools and influence their other students, according to the Undercover Mothers. 

Reportedly, 2,000 students attended the 2023 SDLC held in St. Louis, where a video from the account “Jews in School” began circulating that appeared to show Glasgow on stage with a student who was giving an anti-Israel speech to the student audience.

“What did you expect from these people? And like, they only, Hamas has only, like, done, like, their revenge for only one day. The whole world, the whole media, is like blaming them for that one day,” said the unidentified male speaker to a conference of cheering high school students. 

The video features a redaction of the student’s face, which the account, Jews In School, confirmed to The Daily Signal was done in order to conceal the identity of a minor. Glasgow can be seen in the video positioned close to the speaker. 

Students attending the SDLC signed this agreement prohibiting recording at the conference: 

RECORDING: Participants are prohibited from (a) recording any part of any SDLC program; recording any participants or other individuals participating in any SDLC program; and sharing, broadcasting, and/or making public any materials created or recorded by NAIS or its employees, SDLC faculty, or anyone else in relation to SDLC.

The Glasgow Group performed an audit at Kentucky Country Day School in February 2023, which The Daily Signal obtained a copy of. There were 703 people surveyed: 105 employees, 11 board of trustees, 100 parents, 450 students, and 37 alumni.

“The Glasgow consulting group was hired to do a DEI survey and the results were 42 pages of very detailed information given to parents. Some of the Glasgow recommendations were not even identified as problems, but solutions were implemented to fit a DEI agenda,” said Michelle Hertzman, a mother whose daughter graduated from Kentucky Country Day School earlier this year. 

The overall result of the audits were explained as follows: 

Overall, the school is perceived to be between a Culturally Competent School Community and an Equitable/Inclusive School Community, with 65.72% of all respondents choosing one of those two designations for the school. While this is a positive result, it must be noted that 34.28% of the respondents found the school to be less than Culturally Competent, with 29.38% of respondents finding the school to be either an Image Conscious School Community (doing diversity work on a token level for marketability) or a Knee Jerk School Community (engaging in the work mainly in response to critical incidents without strategic thought or infrastructure). 

One year later, Kentucky Country Day School administration decided it was time to change a tradition that its high school seniors had done for 51 years. Every graduation, the boys would wear white tuxedos and the girls would wear white dresses. In 2024, the graduating seniors wore unisex caps and gowns. 

According to Hertzman, that was the final straw for many parents, some of whom are Kentucky Country Day School alumni themselves. Upset parents pointed the finger at Glasgow’s recommendations as the catalyst for that major change. 

“Tradition for them is absolutely the worst thing that they can have,” said one parent, who believes that the group seeks to eliminate the old ways in order to create their own established customs. 

Glasgow’s audit “seemed to create problems that were not even present in our school,” said Hertzman, and it didn’t address the real problems the Kentucky Country Day School was facing. 

“The word ‘antisemitism’ wasn’t even mentioned. How that report failed to mention antisemitism is beyond me,” another parent told The Daily Signal. 

Hertzman, whose children are Jewish, summed up the order of events that unfolded after Kutmah’s valedictorian outburst. 

“At the 2021 graduation, the valedictorian went off script and yelled out ‘Despite the occupation, despite the apartheid, Palestine will one day be free,’ while some prepared audience members and students waved Palestinian flags. Since that incident, there have been many complaints about antisemitism at the school. The Glasgow Group’s detailed DEI survey results didn’t identify any issues with antisemitism, nor did the five-month investigation the school did to uncover additional complaints of antisemitism,” Hertzman explained. 

‘Literally Was Tearing the School Apart’

Peter Huestis was the head of school at the Kentucky Country Day School for five years, leaving the job at the end of the 2024 school year. Sources say he is bitter over his exit, and he has started his own consulting group, EL5 Consulting, LLC. 

“EL5 Consulting was the natural next step for our CEO and founder, Peter Huestis, as he transitioned away from his role as a Head of School,” the firm’s website reads. The organization appears to be focused on integrating science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics at schools and conducting “assessments” of its clients. 

Huestis was blamed by Kentucky Country Day School parents for letting the situation at the school spiral out of control during his five years as head of school. It was on his watch that The Glasgow Group was hired, and he also oversaw a series of controversial moves that upset the school community, also known as the Bearcat Community. 

“We had a headmaster that decided to crush 50-year, long-standing traditions, ignored the October 7th [2023] massacre, allowed a schoolwide invitation to be sent out for a Palestinian event, thereby alienating any Jewish families. At least 100 families wrote letters to the board with various legitimate concerns. We were all basically ignored. The head of the board (Hank Alford) refused to speak to any families. His one job is to manage the headmaster, and he failed miserably,” Hertzman explained.

Other Kentucky Country Day School parents say that their comments, questions, concerns, and complaints fell on deaf ears with the administration. 

“When you would try to go talk to Mr. Huestis, he would do the one thing that they’re famous for. He would not return your emails. Would not have this conversation,” one parent said. “It literally was tearing the school apart.” 

The Daily Signal obtained a copy of a December 2023 letter that circulated among the Bearcat Community, written by a Kentucky Country Day School teacher, Anne Jay, who has since left the school.  

In her letter, Jay warns that “KCD’s reputation as a school of excellence is deteriorating rapidly” and that her “overall concern is how poor, intimidating, and heavy-handed administrative leadership at KCD is taking the school and community in the wrong direction.” 

Amid all of the controversy, Kentucky Country Day School appeared to take action. The administration brought in Shannon Hamilton, a lawyer with Stites & Harbison, to lead a separate investigation into what was going on at the school.

“Stites & Harbison, led by seasoned attorney Shannon Hamilton, conducted a comprehensive evaluation, including a survey sent to over 1,200 recipients—all KCD parents, guardians, faculty, staff, and administrative team members,” said Hank Alford, in a May 28, 2024, email blast addressed to the “Bearcat Community.”

“In addition to the survey questions and responses, participants were given the opportunity to speak directly with Shannon, which resulted in more than 125 personal interviews. We thank everyone who participated in this important process,” the email stated. 

Alford was chairman of Kentucky Country Day School’s Board of Trustees at the time. His email continued: 

The due diligence review has been completed. Information regarding a variety of issues was received, and the board has been briefed. As hoped, the review identified no existing or new issues requiring board action. The review confirmed that, with respect to matters of utmost importance to the board, the administration consistently follows established practices and procedures once an issue is raised, engages the parents of involved students when appropriate, seeks outside advice as warranted, and handles situations confidentially and with the best interests of the student, parents, and school in mind. 

But in what parents and former employees described as a clear conflict of interest, it turns out that the Kentucky Country Day School’s Board of Trustees’ general counsel is Tom Halbleib, executive member of the Louisville office of Stites & Harbison. 

A former employee also says that at least one of Hamilton’s children is a Kentucky Country Day School alum.

A number of parents and former employees told The Daily Signal they were suspicious of the law firm’s investigation. 

“It was a five-month investigation where parents, students, teachers, and alumni were encouraged to confidentially speak to the ‘third party,’ hired by the school and beholden to the board,” explained Hertzman.  

Former teacher Jay’s letter continued: “In addition to terrifying political and religious contention on campus and in the KCD Community, severe and major changes to class schedules and curriculum, increasing tuition rates, larger class sizes, student educational needs not being met, spending (on consultants, facility ‘improvements,’ for example), security issues (such as alleged sexual assault and threat of gun violence), and the decimation of Fine Arts programming, it is my intention through this letter to make you aware of concerns regarding employment and the state of overall working conditions at KCD.” 

Hertzman also mentioned “a possible unreported sexual assault” taking place within the walls of the Kentucky Country Day School. 

‘Swept Under the Rug’

Kentucky Country Day School has three schools: upper, middle, and lower. Fifth grade is where middle school starts. 

Sources say there were two unreported incidents at Kentucky Country Day’s middle school in the spring of 2023, one of which was an alleged gun threat that took place on Friday, April 28. The student was back in school on Monday, May 1, after “a full mental health evaluation” was conducted over that weekend, according to an email sent by Huestis. 

Another possibly unreported incident was an alleged sexual assault that is said to have occurred in the boy’s bathroom between two students who identify as male. Multiple former Kentucky Country Day School employees have told The Daily Signal it was possibly covered up because the victimizer, a fifth grade student at the time, is the son of a teacher (who will not be named) still employed at the school. At the time, the alleged victim was a sixth grader, one grade ahead of the alleged victimizer. 

“It was totally covered up. Swept under the rug is the phrase they use around here,” said one former employee. 

Kentucky Country Day’s middle school director, Jerry Loewen, would occasionally send emails out to faculty saying, “If you get an email from so and so’s parents, please do not respond, and just let me know,” according to a source. 

On May 7, 2023, Loewen addressed staff in an email update about the alleged assault and gave bullet-point guidelines for them to follow. 

• “_______ will not be returning to KCD for the remainder of this year nor next year.” 

• “There will be no more work assigned or expected from _______.” 

• “There is to be no more communication between teachers and _______ or teachers and the family.” 

• “If you do receive any correspondence, please forward that to me and Peter [Huestis].” 

• “We can announce to students that _______ will not be back at school due to ‘family business.’” 

Loewen added an apology, saying, “Sorry for the cryptic nature of all this.” 

On June 1, 2023, the parents of the victim sent a detailed letter to the sixth grade teachers about what happened to their son. A former Kentucky Country Day School employee described the letter as “very shocking and very upsetting to read.” 

“Everybody knew this had gone on, at least the faculty members and the kids especially,” a former employee said. “I’m sitting here thinking, ‘Jesus, these kids are dealing with a gun threat and a sexual assault all within a month of each other.’” 

A former Kentucky Country Day School staff member told The Daily Signal that they are concerned that the school’s administration did not report the alleged assault to the proper authorities. 

The commonwealth of Kentucky has mandatory reporting laws, like Institutional Responsibility to Report Citation: Rev. Stat. § 620.030, which says, “Any employee of an institution, school, facility, agency who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child is dependent, neglected, or abused shall immediately notify the supervisor of the institution, school, facility, agency, or designated agent of the person in charge. Upon notification, the supervisor or the designated agent, if any, shall facilitate the cooperation of the institution, school, facility, or agency with the investigation of the report.”

It continues, “Any person who knowingly causes intimidation, retaliation, or obstruction in the investigation of the report shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor. This section shall not require more than one report from any institution, school, facility, or agency.” 

A former employee told The Daily Signal an administration official assured them that Kentucky Country Day School “yielded to the guidance of their attorney” regarding this matter.

The Daily Signal submitted a records request to Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services for all records related to this alleged incident.

“We are denying your request. KRS 620.050(5) prohibits the Cabinet for Health and Family Services from disclosing a report of suspected dependency, neglect, or abuse and any records gathered or generated through an investigation conducted pursuant to KRS Chapter 620 except to persons identified in the statute,” Peyton Sands, an attorney for the state’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said in an email.

A New Headmaster

A former Kentucky Country Day School employee described a situation that allegedly led to the school’s director of security’s contract being terminated by the school’s chief financial officer, Adam Beckum, earlier this year. 

According to the source, a Kentucky Country Day School student was involved in a situation that required an emergency protection order that was issued. Beckum allegedly asked the director of security, who was an off-duty police officer, for a copy of the protective order. 

A former Kentucky Country Day School employee said that, after the director of security denied Beckum’s request, he pushed further, and pitched what they say he described as “a workaround from the legal system,” requesting that the off-duty police officer “just print it, scan it to me on our scanner, and then email it to me as a workaround from the legal system.” 

When police records are accessed electronically, they are time-stamped with the officer’s name, his or her department, and how long they viewed the document. These precautions are taken to protect victims and their families. Sources in the Kentucky Country Day School community have described Beckum’s alleged request as an order to the off-duty officer to abuse their police contacts on behalf of the school’s administration.

Beckum was then informed of the legal way to obtain a copy of the emergency protection order, which would involve the school’s attorney making the request to law enforcement. The security director then received a termination letter a couple weeks later, which a school source says listed two reasons for the firing, one of which was “refusing to provide documentation to the school that was required,” according to the source, who added that it had to do with the emergency protection order. 

The second reason for termination was for “failure to meet the 12-month contract,” which the source says didn’t make sense because the head of security had just recently been given a 5% salary increase in a new contract for the upcoming school year. 

Earlier this month, Kentucky Country Day School announced a new head of school for the 2025-2026 school year, educator Deena J. Carey, who is currently associate head of school at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. 

“Ms. Carey was selected from a talented and diverse pool of more than 30 applicants from around the United States. From that group, the committee interviewed seven semifinalists and invited four finalists to visit KCD’s campus in September,” said Chris Brice, current chair of the Kentucky Country Day School Board of Trustees. 

Parents in the Bearcat Community expressed doubt over the search process. They described Carey as a Glasgow-style DEI advocate. They don’t feel she is an appropriate hire after all that has transpired over the past few years. 

“Are you looking to bring in a new headmaster that will continue The Glasgow Group’s recommendation? Also, have you informed the four finalist candidates for headmaster that you’re interviewing about what they’re stepping into?” said one parent during Kentucky Country Day School’s head of school search this year. 

During the course of this investigation, members of the Kentucky Country Day School community explained to The Daily Signal how risky it was for them to speak publicly, even on background. 

Parents, in particular, said that they aren’t free to criticize the school in any way and that their children would be expelled if the school’s administration finds out the identities of those who spoke out. 

A parent recalled, “There was one family who spoke out against DEI so heavily, that one family, their three children, got expelled. They were never given any warning. They were brought in on the day before spring break and told that the wife was causing trouble, refused to give them any examples. Admitted that the kids had no problems; the kids were excellent students. The entire family was expelled at the end of a Friday before spring break.” A former employee also confirmed that this happened.

While conducting interviews for this story, The Daily Signal has also learned that many of the former board of trustee members and former employees signed nondisclosure agreements with the school. 

The Daily Signal also became aware that a former Kentucky Country Day School teacher was sentenced to six years in prison in 2017 after he was “accused of sharing child pornography on a social media application,” according to the Louisville Courier Journal. 

Rodney Glasgow, former KCD Head of School Peter Huestis, incoming Head of School Deena Carey, former Chair of the Board of Trustees Hank Alford, KCD CFO Adam Beckum, KCD Middle School Director Jerry Loewen, and Shannon Hamilton of Stites & Harbison PLLC did not respond to interview requests for this report. Mahmoud Kutmah, now a student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, declined to comment. 

“For too long, too many parents kept their heads in the sand. DEI woke up the sleeping parents,” said one parent. “If there’s a silver lining to DEI, it’s that we all need to be aware of what’s going on in our school’s walls.” 

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