Billionaire Heiress Funds Effort to Introduce “Woke Math” into Schools

A wealthy philanthropist is backing a nationwide movement to incorporate “woke math” into public education, a strategy critics say aims to transform students into advocates of socialist ideals. Liz Simons, daughter of the late hedge-fund legend Jim Simons, manages a foundation with an endowment nearing a billion dollars that promotes leftist social justice principles within math education.

The initiative challenges traditional, race-neutral math curricula, replacing them with lessons that emphasize racial and LGBTQ themes. For example, a lesson on graphing could be used to highlight income disparities between different racial groups. Such approaches, embraced in states like California, are rejected in others such as Florida.

Simons recently contributed $250,000 to a super PAC supporting socialist NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, indicating her support for his campaign. Mamdani’s platform includes ending charter schools, expanding pre-K programs, and removing selective admissions to desegregate schools, though the specific focus on woke math has not yet become a campaign topic.

Critics express concern that Simons’ influence may sway Mamdan’s educational policies, potentially reversing progress in math proficiency among students. It has been argued that woke lessons focus more on political activism than genuine math skills, which some parents find troubling, especially given recent poor performance metrics in cities like Chicago and Alexandria, where math scores lag behind pre-pandemic levels.

Despite the controversy, donors like Simons and the Gates Foundation have poured millions into promoting these educational reforms, with little research evidence to suggest they improve academic performance. Critics worry that these initiatives may do more harm than good, emphasizing ideological teachings over foundational math skills.