My husband and I quit our teaching jobs to start our own school - we're ... trends now
A Christian married couple quit their teaching jobs in California and started an 'anti-woke' school in Florida as a 'counterbalance' to progressive teaching which they claim has infiltrated the public education system.
Kali Fontanilla, 41, and her husband Joshua, 42, started the Exodus Institute, an online school, after becoming disillusioned by 'overly politicized' public schooling.
Kali and Joshua now teach classes designed around 'traditional American values' – and try to counter what they believe are skewed teachings about topics like gender, race and slavery in traditional schools.
The Fontanillas' school has grown from a single student in their first class, in May 2022, to nearly 200 who are enrolled across their K-12 program and a separate 'Young Patriots Academy'.
Their institute was founded amid growing discontent among conservatives nationwide about the perceived politicization of school curriculums. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has supported several state bills aimed at curbing the trend, including the Stop WOKE act.
Kali Fontanilla, 41, and her husband Joshua, 42, started the Exodus Institute, an online school, after becoming disillusioned by 'overly politicized' public schooling
'I'd say that in general, being a conservative or just somebody who believes in traditional American values is something that makes you kind of endangered or marked in the public school system,' Joshua told DailyMail.com.
'It's gotten to the point in public schools where you can't just mind your own business and keep your politics to yourself, because they push it on everyone that you have to participate in liberal politics.'
Kali started as a public school teacher aged 22 and taught English in the Salinas school district, around 100 miles south of San Francisco. Joshua also worked in Salinas, a city in the Democrat county of Monterey.
The couple both have mixed ethnic backgrounds. Kali is half black and half white, while her husband is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent.
Describing the beginning of her teaching career, Kali said: 'There are a lot of things teachers didn't have to face at that time.
'There wasn't pressure to put pronouns in your bio, or in your email [signature]... there wasn't pressure to ask your students about their pronouns. There weren't co-workers claiming their white privilege.'
For Kari, the politics issues she saw creeping in public
