China major focus of Colony Ridge charter schools

A group of charter schools serving Colony Ridge as well as other parts of Texas apparently places a heavy emphasis on Chinese language and culture, raising more eyebrows about an area already overloaded with ramshackle housing, high crime, dilapidated roads, and fetid water.

On March 27, International Leadership of Texas, better known as ILTexas, broke ground on ILTexas Liberty High School in the Santa Fe subsection of Colony Ridge. Once it opens sometime in the summer of 2026, the high school will be the third ILTexas school in the Colony Ridge area, joining ILTexas BG Ramírez K-8 and ILTexas MSG Ramírez K-8.

During the groundbreaking ceremony marking the occasion, ILTexas students paraded about with a Chinese dragon while traditional Chinese music played in the background. That presentation featured heavily in Colony Ridge's YouTube video promoting the event.

'China is now the second-largest economy, so more than ever, it is critical that future generations are prepared for today’s internationally connected world.'

Chinese also features prominently in the curricula at ILTexas schools. ILTexas schools claim to teach from a "global perspective," and all students are expected to "master" the languages of English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese, its websites says.

The website spends little time discussing either English or Spanish. In fact, the default language setting on the website is British English, not American English. American English is not listed among the seven language options offered.

Spokesperson Caitlin Madison told Blaze News that ILTexas would work to get its website "back to American English as soon as possible."

However, the website makes repeated reference to the importance of China and Chinese languages, especially Mandarin. In fact, ILTexas opened a school in China in 2016 with the promise of opening at least two others, though whether any of those schools remain open currently is unclear.

"China is now the second-largest economy, so more than ever, it is critical that future generations are prepared for today’s internationally connected world," the website explains.

ILTexas also dedicated an entire month to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. "Activities at campus celebrations include the Dragon Dance, Loop the Dragon, Beijing Opera Mask Painting, Chinese Calligraphy, Handmade Chinese Paper Lanterns, Dumpling-Making, and much more!" said a February 2024 press release.

A search of the word "Christmas" on the ILTexas website yielded just two results, and only one of those was about the holiday itself. However, even that news release was about a Toys for Tots campaign that mainly referred to the "winter holiday" or the "holiday season." The only time the word "Christmas" was mentioned in the news release was in a quotation taken from the Marine Corps Toys for Tots nonprofit.

ILTexas founder and Superintendent Eddie Conger, a former teacher and retired Marine Corps officer, likewise places a heavy emphasis on Chinese-related education. In his bio for the Texas Charter School Association, Conger brags that he once "started a Chinese language and student exchange program" at a public high school in Dallas that eventually grew to include over 600 students.

At the groundbreaking ceremony in March, Conger indicated that the Chinese education students receive at ILTexas would open up opportunities in "national intelligence" for them. He described Chinese as a "national security language" and boasted about taking the top ILTexas students to the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C.

ILTexas spokesperson Caitlin Madison told Blaze News: "Mandarin Chinese is defined by the Department of Defense as a national security language, and programs like the National Security Language for Youth (NSLI-Y) receive federal funding to ensure we have individuals in the United States able to speak the language and support the security of the country against strategic competitors, like China."

Madison also said that because of his military experience, "Mr. Conger fully understands the critical importance for the security of our country that our students master the Chinese language and culture so that we can fully understand them and can fully communicate with them so that we as Americans are in the strongest possible position to communicate clearly, effectively, and with the most impact to resolve/deconflict issues before sending America's youth into battle while being in the strongest prepared position when called to go into battle."

Colony Ridge has also touted the partnership with ILTexas. "ILTexas has a program that gives kids an opportunity like no other school on the planet," co-owner John Harris said in March.

"We believe that the trilingual curriculum and focus on critical thinking and problem-solving will help our students thrive in any field they choose to pursue," Harris said about the opening of another Colony Ridge ILTexas school in 2023.

"We are aware of local and federal law enforcement efforts in the community, and we fully support and fully cooperate with all legal enforcement actions," Madison said.

One of the many complaints about Colony Ridge has been the fact that the sudden explosion in population in the area has led to overcrowded public schools. To learn more about this and other problems associated with the controversial development, check out the Blaze Originals documentary about it below:

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include statements from ILTexas spokesperson Caitlin Madison.

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