Keeping Kids in School (KKIS) PAC used students' pandemic struggles to get their start and to garner attention and donations. Despite claims of being a bi-partisan children's advocacy group, the PAC and its candidates are now pushing a political agenda supported by partisan funding and enacted by cloistered local activist groups.
[UPDATE: Wealthy venture capitalist KKIS PAC donor Paul Martino announced on July 7 that he is pledging half a million dollars to fund 50 new KKIS PAC "franchises" throughout the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The new statewide PAC, named "Back to School PA", will be chaired by current KKIS chair Clarice Schillinger, and will funnel money and provide training and resources to local PACs throughout the state.]
The pandemic was a difficult time for schools and families. School boards and administrators wanted clear, consistent guidance for opening schools, but struggled to get it. They had to make difficult decisions to protect everyone’s safety. Teachers wanted to educate students the best way they could, but many were getting sick with COVID. In at least one Pennsylvania community, so many teachers were sick or quarantined that a school district had to call on parent volunteers -- "no experience required" -- to stand in as substitutes. Remote learning was not ideal for many students. Families and businesses struggled.
It was an unprecedented time, with communities and families doing their best to weather the storm.
Activist Groups Emerge
As school districts transitioned to remote and hybrid learning in accordance with federal, state, and local government guidance in late summer and fall of 2020, activist groups emerged in a strikingly similar pattern that repeated across many communities in Southeastern Pennsylvania:
Facebook groups appeared under the name “Brick and Mortar” or “In Person Education” with key ringleaders emerging within the groups,
Parents and community members who did not agree with group leaders’ views were blocked and/or ostracized from these social media groups,
Videos of children crying, looking upset, bored, or distracted during remote learning began circulating on social media,
School boards, administrators, teachers, and local government officials were targeted and villainized on social media,
Groups of parents staged protests and began showing up (or bombarding zoom comments) at every School Board meeting,
Districts were inundated with costly Right to Know public records requests, disputes, and lawsuits,
Key group leaders and members emerged as School Board candidates, backed by Keeping Kids in School PAC.
Plagued by worry and concern over their children, many parents joined these groups. It seemed reasonable to weigh the pros and cons of remote/hybrid learning. But some of the groups descended into conspiracy theory, misinformation, and drama. Anti-mask and COVID hoax claims were rampant in many of the groups. School administrators and teachers were targeted and villainized. In some groups, parents who were affiliated with the district (even through a spouse) were prohibited and removed. Dissenters and doubters were blocked and banned, as the groups transformed from open, diverse forums to exclusive, private, and fiercely loyal communities.
Within individual communities, the emergence of these local activist movements appeared to be independent and organic, but online information and activity show that many of the groups were connected, coordinated, and possibly acting on guidance from a central, organizing group named PIPE4KIDS ("Parents for In-Person Education").
The pattern of activity and the strategies implemented by these local activist groups match the guidance in a political playbook published and disseminated by Keeping Kids in School PAC and PIPE4KIDS.
PIPE4KIDS is a Montgomery County organization whose members sued the Montgomery County Board of Health over COVID closures (the case was eventually dismissed). Media reports and a who's-who of group leadership show that PIPE4KIDS was a precursor and/or partner to the group now known as Keeping Kids in School PAC.
A Political Playbook
The KKIS/PIPE4KIDS playbook, entitled “Getting Your School Board on Board,” is published on the websites of both organizations and includes instructions for parents and community members to implement an activist movement targeting school districts working to comply with COVID guidance. The playbook (which can be downloaded in its entirety below) and the websites from which it was published include:
Steps for creating a community Facebook Group, with instructions to “eliminate interaction with others who don’t agree”,
Steps for organizing rallies, protests, and ways to get media attention, including a directive to “Drum up as much support as you can for sympathy in the local media”,
Directives to solicit parents to take videos and photos of their children looking “bored during the day, asleep, upset, or playing around the computer instead of learning” and “video of very upset children acting out with tears or frustration”, with instructions to send these videos to district administrators, local media, and share on social media,
Instructions to designate a group of parents and students who will always attend school board meetings and speak at every opportunity for public comment, with guidance to “outnumber any comments from detractors”,
Instructions to “flood zoom comments” of online School Board meetings with a reminder that “the Zoom comments function can be hacked”,
Guidance that parents should file disputes and lawsuits against the district,
Instructions for launching mass communication efforts in which parents “Weave [their] children’s personal experiences into a narrative” and generate a “constant barrage” of emails, texts, and calls,
Templates for parent emails, videos, presentations, and lists of data to cite,
Contact information of KKIS/PIPE4KIDS leadership available for assistance with how to “implement the suggestions” in the playbook.
Download the complete KKIS/PIPE4KIDS playbook here:
There is no reason to believe families who were solicited by these groups to share their stories or who advocated for in-person learning weren't being honest or that their struggles aren’t real. And there is nothing inherently wrong with having an organized playbook and coordination across communities. It's smart. It's strategic. It's so smart and strategic that it shows a high level of political sophistication and experience.
And it was undoubtedly effective. Keeping Kids in School PAC and partner group PIPE4KIDS implemented a political strategy that garnered media attention and successful fundraising efforts. They have received largely positive press coverage in national media from The New York Times, Fox News, NPR/WHYY, CBS Philadelphia, and other mainstream outlets. Between a $13,000+ GoFundMe led by PIPE4KIDS member John Mark Niehls and the $18,000+ in political donations received by the KKIS PAC under leadership of chairperson Clarice Schillinger and treasurer Misty Law Flurry, they have raised over $30,000 to date.
In both press coverage and fundraising campaigns, they have portrayed themselves as a grassroots, bi-partisan children’s advocacy group focused on the specific issue of in-person learning. They have forcefully denied suggestions of any partisan motivation. Per a Delaware Valley Journal article that documents the ties between PIPE4KIDS and KKIS PAC: "Noting that some people are looking for a partisan motivation behind the effort, [PAC Chair Clarice] Schillinger said it is most definitely not for her or for the PAC."
Questions Arise
As schools were able to migrate back to in-person learning throughout fall 2020 and early 2021, and as vaccination stemmed the spread of COVID in most communities, it seemed that the PAC's mission had been fulfilled: children were back in school, with no reason to believe they wouldn't stay there. After all, district administrators in nearly every community had made it clear that remote learning was a difficult necessity, and that their desire and goal was - and has always been - for students to be in school. For this reason, it raised eyebrows when local activist groups, instead of celebrating the end of a challenging time, began to move the goal posts. After schools transitioned back to in-person learning, the groups took up an anti-mask agenda. In some communities, parents bombarded school board meetings with anti-mask rhetoric, including at least one claim by a parent that masks are "abusive" and "satanic". Despite scientific evidence to the contrary, the groups pushed claims that masks are not effective against the spread of respiratory illness, and that they infringed on students' "right to breathe".
Now that the mask mandate has been lifted, the groups have pivoted completely and have taken up the right-wing movement against what they believe is "indoctrination" of students through school equity and social/emotional learning programs, under the banner of the nationwide right-wing "anti-CRT" movement.
KKIS PAC candidate Stacey Whomsley in West Chester revealed on her blog that the PAC provided a position statement on race and diversity to which all KKIS candidates have committed. This move raises questions about KKIS PAC's claims of non-partisanship. Along with those questions, growing concern over the PAC's numerous candidates who have been linked to QAnon and to racist, bigoted online content -- and the PAC's continued failure to investigate or denounce these problematic candidates and their views -- has raised red flags. In a Philadelphia Inquirer article, PAC Chair Clarice Schillinger went on record acknowledging she had seen problematic content from WCASD candidate Ada Nestor and committed to investigate, but as documented by Concerned WCASD Constituents, she has taken no action and is knowingly continuing to endorse not only Ms. Nestor, but a number of candidates linked to QAnon and other harmful, racist, and bigoted content.
A political playbook enacted by cloistered local activist groups.
Well-organized fundraising efforts and sophisticated media strategies.
Failure to address problematic and potentially harmful candidates.
These developments are not in line with Keeping Kids in School PAC's claims to be a bi-partisan children's advocacy group focused on keeping kids in school.
A "Silver Lining to the Pandemic": Pushing a Right-Wing Agenda
The targeting and villainization of school district administrators and teachers during COVID closures is not just anecdotal. A February 2021 Washington Examiner article highlighted the work of local "brick and mortar" activist groups and their umbrella organizations PIPE4KIDS and KKIS PAC, indicating that Keeping Kids in School PAC "places blame for school closures on the [teachers] union," and that PIPE4KIDS outreach was connected to the "school choice movement in Pennsylvania". The article is one of many indications that the Keeping Kids in School PAC movement had ties to right-wing, anti-union groups from the outset. Quoting Marc LeBlond, a senior policy analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation, the article refers to what LeBlond termed "a silver lining to the pandemic," and how the unprecedented disaster of COVID provided an "opening for parents to advance school choice initiatives."
The Commonwealth Foundation is a right-wing, libertarian "think tank" based in Harrisburg. An affiliate of the State Policy Network, they are a member of a sprawling network of organizations funded by right-wing billionaire sponsors, including the Koch Brothers, the DeVos Family, the Bradley Foundation, and the Scaife Foundation. The Commonwealth Foundation has been the subject of controversy, with accusations of attempts to undermine public schools after their legal arm "The Fairness Center" has sued teachers in multiple PA communities and has promoted "School Choice" initiatives that would drain funding from public schools. The Commonwealth Foundation, which has been profiled by watchdog groups Pennsylvania Spotlight and the Center for Media and Democracy's Sourcewatch.org, has been called out for promoting climate change denial and for shared funding ties to white supremacist and anti-LGBTQ groups.
There is evidence that ties between the Commonwealth Foundation and KKIS PAC/PIPE4KIDS may run deep. The PIPE4KIDS website -- a precursor to the Keeping Kids in School PAC site and social media presence -- links to the Commonwealth Foundation with a point of contact with whom parents can work to "share their story" and "get the help they need". Members of the Commonwealth Foundation have been prominent in articles featuring KKIS PAC and its candidates, including articles authored by Commonwealth Foundation staff and an editorial by KKIS candidate Ada Nestor that shows Commonwealth Foundation's Director of Media Michael Torres as the "author" in webpage metadata, an indication that he may have been involved in drafting, publishing, or promoting the article.
Misleading Claims about Teachers and the Teachers Union
Not only did KKIS PAC/PIPE4KIDS actively recruit candidates for School Boards across their network, they did so while simultaneously targeting and villainizing teachers unions, as documented by local journalism website Bucks County Rising.
One of KKIS PAC's breakout media moments came from chairperson Clarice Schillinger's claim that she had "exposed" the teachers union president in her district of "strong-arming" schools into staying closed. In what was hyped as a dramatic exposé of union interference, Ms. Schillinger appeared on right-wing pundit Glenn Beck's show, where she explained that she filed Right To Know public records requests to unearth emails from Hatboro-Horsham union president Bryan Moore. The "strong-arming" claim by Ms. Schillinger boils down to a single statement she cited from one of Moore's emails to the district superintendent in which Moore says, "We are not a childcare center. I fear babysitting drove parents to demand an amount of in-person instruction." Ms. Schillinger goes on to reveal what she claims is the "icing on the cake": Mr. Moore's daughter attends Catholic school. Leaving aside the inappropriateness of Ms. Schillinger's targeting of a child -- or a parent's personal decision regarding their child's education -- Ms. Schillinger's characterization of Mr. Moore's email as "strong-arming" is beyond overblown; it is simply inaccurate.
The overall message and full context of Mr. Moore's full email, which is available below, is that the district should follow the health guidelines and closure thresholds set by state and local departments of health. Mr. Moore points out that the district's COVID positivity rate is above the closure rate at which remote learning is indicated by state and local guidance.
Mr. Moore's point with regard to "babysitting" is one that was made broadly in national discourse at the time: COVID-related school closures shed light on our country's lack of resources for working families, which has forced public schools to become a de facto social safety net, a situation exacerbated by federal and state governments' failure to provide adequate pandemic support to families with school-age children and businesses forced to close in order to protect public safety. Furthermore, there is simply no basis for Ms. Schillinger's conclusion that her district's decision to temporarily implement remote learning was the results of Mr. Moore's email. In reality, Central Bucks School District Superintendent John Kopicki made plain that the district would rely on guidance from public health officials. And PSEA spokesperson Chris Lillienthal was quoted as saying, "It is a local decision," whether schools open or close, indicating that the teachers union does not determine or guide district opening strategies.
Ms. Schillinger again mischaracterized union officials in a Broad and Liberty article in which she explains her motivation for forming a PAC to lobby state legislators. The article, published on March 4, reports that "Schillinger said she was struck by the idea after attending an education committee meeting at the state capitol last week." The article quotes Schillinger as saying, “In that five-hour meeting, I saw that the union over and over repeatedly asking for more money... There was not one mention of a child. There was not one mention of a parent. There was not one mention of a taxpayer, but what there was mentioning of was the union.” Taking the article's the timeline at face value, the education committee meeting to which Ms. Schillinger appears to be referring was a February 23 PA House Education Committee hearing on the impact of COVID-19 on school institutions and students. Transcripts of the hearing reveal American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Arthur Steinberg said this: "The COVID-19 pandemic has cast into stark relief the inadequacies in our public education system. Wealthier school districts... have been nimble to pivot to whatever kind of learning they need. While in poorer districts... students and educators struggle. These conditions have been especially prevalent and egregious in communities of color." Mr. Steinberg advocated for investments to help "create and deliver robust social services, including mental health, trauma counseling programs for students, staff, and families alike," highlighting the particular need for these services among people of color, who have "born a disproportionately high price of the pandemic with higher rates of illness, death, and economic insecurity." Per Mr. Steinberg, "We must invest in these services where they are needed most."
In the same hearing, Hillary Linardopoulos, legislative representative for the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, advocated for a safe reopening of school buildings via a multi-layered mitigation and vaccination effort. Ms. Linardopoulos spoke of the "hurculean effots" of "educators, parents, and students alike," and highlighted the disproportionate impact of COVID on students with special needs, English language learners, minority students, and those experiencing poverty. She advocated for a path to a safe reopening of school buildings as well as investments in failing school building infrastructure that has long plagued Philadelphia schools. In regard to COVID closures, she stated "This union has not and will never stand in the way of a safe reopening of Philadelphia's school buildings, but we will not allow our members lives and the lives of the students they serve to be jeopardized by a return to buildings without proper data or mitigation efforts in place."
Despite Ms. Schillinger's characterization as reported by Broad and Liberty, the transcripts show that union officials expressed significant concern for -- and strenuously advocated for -- students and parents (and teachers) during the February 23 Education Committee hearing.
Ms. Schillinger's attacks on teachers unions are not based in fact, but rather appear to be linked to a political agenda shared by the Commonwealth Foundation and their focus on pushing a DeVos-style school privatization agenda. The particular focus on anti-union rhetoric and villainization of teachers is perhaps not surprising given the KKIS/PIPE4KIDS link to another right-wing group: Americans for Fair Treatment (AFFT) and their "Free to Teach" project. AFFT and Free to Teach are anti-union organizations that actively encourage teachers to leave their unions and to stop paying union dues. AFFT is based in Oklahoma, but has targeted and unsuccessfully sued the Philadelphia teachers union. AFFT is part of the Koch-funded State Policy Network, of which the Commonwealth Foundation is also a member. The PIPE4KIDS website actively promotes AFFT and Free to Teach, encouraging parents to connect with the group and providing a point of contact.
Funding from Wealthy Right-Wing Donors and Politicians
The promotion of anti-teachers union and anti-equity platforms is not the only clue to Keeping Kids in School PAC's right-wing agenda. As exposed by watchdog group PA Spotlight, right-wing venture capitalist Paul Martino has donated $10,000 to the PAC, with former Republican Congressman Ryan Costello coming in second place with a $2,500 donation. Martino is also notable as the chair of national conservative political action committee River Horse PAC. Together, these donations comprise nearly 70% of the PAC's current fundraising total.
Who's Who in KKIS and PIPE4KIDS
In addition to partisan funding, the KKIS/PIPE4KIDS leadership team reveals ties to a right-wing agenda. PAC Chair Clarice Schillinger was previously a full time staffer to State Representative Todd Stephens (R-Montgomery), who has voted in favor of pro-privatization "school choice" legislation such as PA HB800, which would have drained funding from public schools if passed.
PAC Treasurer and PIPE4KIDS member resource Misty Law Flurry has been employed by consulting giant Pricewaterhouse Coopers and bills herself as a politics and history junkie on internet forum Quora, where she has posted answers to questions about Donald Trump and Hitler.
The organizer of a $13,000+ GoFundMe to raise money for a PIPE4KIDS "Lawsuit Against Lockdowns" is John Mark Niehls. A key figure in the PIPE4KIDS network, Mr. Niehls is is the head of Coventry Christian School. His Facebook posts are frequently homophobic and anti-LGBTQ. One of these posts cites public schools as the source of "constant indoctrination of our children starting from Kindergarten" and claiming that "calling oneself LGBT has become a sort of a Cool Club for the disenfranchised".
PIPE4KIDS admin and leadership team member Kaitlin Derstine, per her interview with radio personality Dom Giordano, has advocated against the 1619 Project, Critical Race Theory, and Comprehensive Sex Education in schools. With her husband, she has led Christian Zionist "Watchman on the Wall" seminars as part of the Eagles' Wings group, whose founder Robert Stearns organizes mission trips to Israel and has been accused of seeking to convert Jews to Christianity. In addition to founding Eagles' Wings Ministry, Stearns was a Regional Director at Christians United for Israel (CUFI), an organization that has been called out by hate group watchdog Southern Poverty Law Center for hosting noted anti-Muslim activist Brigitte Gabriel, who said in her speech to CUFI: "The difference, my friends, between Israel and the Arabic world is quite simply the difference between civilization and barbarism. It's the difference between good and evil and this is what we're witnessing in the Arab and Islamic world. I am angry. They have no soul! They are dead set on killing and destruction."
KKIS PAC has characterized themselves as a single issue children's advocacy group and an underdog grassroots organization running on a "shoestring budget," saying of their success: "Never underestimate the power of a determined group of moms." However, the KKIS/PIPE4KIDS leadership team has a high level of political experience and connections combined with extreme right-wing beliefs and activism.
Leveraging Pandemic Struggles to Push a Political Agenda
Keeping Kids in School PAC's movement is not -- perhaps never was -- about keeping kids in school. The PAC and it's partner group PIPE4KIDS published a political playbook and launched a sophisticated media and influence campaign that attracted struggling families, whose stories they used to garner attention, coverage, and funding for what they promoted as a bi-partisan children's advocacy group. But the PAC's decision to knowingly endorse candidates linked to QAnon and harmful, racist, and bigoted views presents a risk to the very children for whom the PAC says they are fighting, and is anything but child advocacy. The PAC network's quick pivot to an overt right-wing agenda when their in-person schooling and anti-mask agendas were no longer relevant, in combination with the PAC's partisan funding and ties to right-wing groups like the Commonwealth Foundation and Americans for Fair Treatment, as well as their history of targeting and mischaracterizing teachers unions, all paint a clear picture. KKIS PAC saw the "silver lining to the pandemic" and has used it -- and struggling families -- as an opportunity to promote a political agenda. While some in local groups may have believed it was all about in-person learning and masks from the outset, it appears they may have been pawns in a political game. With pandemic urgency no longer at the forefront and the primary election behind them, KKIS PAC's pretenses seem to be falling away. The KKIS network is now openly pushing a right-wing agenda that threatens to undermine public school funding and marginalized students, and they are doing so by mobilizing cloistered local activist groups and extreme candidates linked to dangerous conspiracy theories and problematic, bigoted views.
Remaining to be seen is whether Pennsylvania communities will come together in bi-partisan unity to stand against this radical group and their decision to take advantage of pandemic suffering as a means to a political end. Will we unite and stand against extremism to protect our schools and our students?