They Came for the Schools

One Town's Fight over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms

By: Mike Hixenbaugh

Narrated by: Mike Hixenbaugh

The urgent, revelatory story of how a school board win for the conservative right in one Texas suburb inspired a Christian nationalist campaign now threatening to undermine public education in America—from an NBC investigative reporter and co-creator of the Peabody Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize finalist Southlake podcast.

Award-winning journalist Mike Hixenbaugh delivers the immersive and eye-opening story of Southlake, Texas, a district that seemed to offer everything parents would want for their children—small classes, dedicated teachers, financial resources, a track record of academic success, and school spirit in abundance. All this, until a series of racist incidents became public, a plan to promote inclusiveness was proposed in response—and a coordinated, well-funded conservative backlash erupted, lighting the fire of a national movement on the verge of changing the face of public schools across the country.

They Came for the Schools pulls back the curtain on the powerful forces driving this crusade to ban books, rewrite curricula, limit rights for minority and LGBTQ students—and, most importantly, to win what Hixenbaugh’s deeply informed reporting convinces is the holy grail among those seeking to impose biblical values on American society: school privatization, one school board and one legal battle at a time.

They Came for the Schools delivers an essential take on Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, as they demean public schools and teachers and boost the Christian right’s vision. Hixenbaugh brings to light fascinating connections between this political and cultural moment and past fundamentalist campaigns to censor classroom lessons. Finally, They Came for the Schools traces the rise of a new resistance movement led by a diverse coalition of student activists, fed-up educators, and parents who are beginning to win select battles of their own: a blueprint, they hope, for gaining inclusive and civil schools for all.

©2024 Michael Hixenbaugh (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Christian Nationalism is Toxic

Very well written book that captured my interest from the first chapter. There is something very wrong with a company funding a PAC to run bigoted candidates for non-paying School Board seats. The unbelievable persecution of students and teachers who dare to be different and dedicated to education made me want to cry.

I worry for my grandchildren should this trend continue. I urge parents to pay attention to your local public schools and who is running your State Department of Education. The deliberate dumbing down of education by these so called “conservatives”is part of a plan that will destroy the U.S.A.

The treatment of students by the teachers and administration.

It should be read by everybody who plans to become a teacher. My advice is stay away from Texas and Florida. It is very well written and the Audible version was excellent

Great Write

I loved the story. I am happy it is brought out about how racism has never really gone away but, proud people are strong and stood strong.

Loved it

A concisely told bird’s eye view of the recent right-wing attacks on public schools.

It’s a warning.

The details and the organization regarding Christian Nationalism and the threat to democracy are frightening. Everyone who has common sense should read this book and take heed.

Informative,..scary as hell…a wake up call for ALL Americans

When my son first told me he and his young wife and my grandson were moving to Texas to pursue teaching jobs for better pay I was afraid…and that was twenty years ago! Each year they are down there I get a little more scared. My son is a math teacher & coach and his wife is a librarian. I worry about them daily and look anxiously forward until the day they are able to leave there forever. I don’t understand how a man so morally bankrupt has become the guiding star for so many folks on the right. They are not able able to see and acknowledge their own hypocrisy. I want to ask these folks just one question. Would any of you be supporting Barack Obama the way you are supporting the former president if he were the one on trial in New York? I’m thinking no. The divisiveness of how that “man” has turned neighbor against neighbor, family members against family members is an Adolf Hitler move! The existential threat to our country and our lives is present everywhere but none so apparent as in our schools. Another Hitler tactic. Just ask Steve Bannon who prophesied that school board elections would be a path to “save the nation”. Seriously??? These two immoral, racist, misogynist infidels are who you want as your guiding lights in our schools? Hear this… WE WON’T LET YOU! I believe in our democracy and the separation of church and state. It may not feel like it right now but…THERE ARE MORE OF US THAN YOU!!

A MUST LISTEN for parents of public school student

Outstanding expository writing by Hixenbaugh. He lays out the ugly truth about the Southlake Carroll ISD and its board of trustees' attack on diversity inclusion and accessability in Southlake, Texas public schools in stark detail. An attack that resulted in four Dept of Education civil rights violations against ther district the same week of the book's publishing – validating the author's multi-year effort. Even though Southlake, TX is home to taxpaying households that are Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Atheist, led by men and women or same-sex couples and with members that may have physical or mental disabilities...Southlake Carroll ISD demonstrated an unwavering allegiance to Christian Nationalists located outside of the district.

Read or listen to this book and then join others who are working for diversion, equity and inclusion in your local schools.

Amazing context for a complex story

I listened well past midnight - a compelling exposé of the relentless determination of well-funded Christian nationalists to thwart the tigress our country has made to date. Particularly chilling to read as a Texan bracing for the next legislative session, determined to do more to oppose the governor’s plan to strip the public schools and sell them for parts.

Good read, author has room to grow

Overall, I felt this book was a worthwhile and timely read. It presents some good insights into what is going on in America's classrooms and school districts, but I wish the author had maintained a single cohesive timeline throughout, as it feels as if it would have made for an even more compelling story. Being a journalist, he also presented a set of unadorned facts, without a distinct call to action or sense of hope at the end of the book. The book may have benefited from an afterword written by someone who is more activist in nature, or perhaps even by one or more of the individuals mentioned in the book, to center their stories as well.

Love your podcasts and now your book!

As a Texas native, former student of the largest district in the state, daughter of a public school teacher, and teacher myself, I have witnessed first hand what he talks about in this book. I am one of those fighting for the SEPARATION of church and state. Mike, you did good!