Ohio

Democracy Now! recently looked at the criminalization of Black and brown students that has led to what is known as the school-to-prison pipeline. They spoke with a roundtable of community activists — including members of Schott grantee partners Journey for Justice Alliance and the Dignity in Schools Campaign — engaged in the fight to save schools and push for alternatives to punishment and privatization.

This year, The U.S. Department of Education’s office for civil rights released data collected from public schools in the 2013-2014 school year, which aimed to highlight equity and opportunity gaps in our nation’s public schools. One statistic further set in stone what too many parents and students already know through experience: black public preschool children are suspended at higher rates than whites. Specifically, “Black preschool children are 3.6 times as likely to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions as white preschool children.”

As part of the Schott Foundation’s Grassroots Education Series, we moderated a webinar on July 7, featuring our grantee partner Dignity in Schools Campaign, a national network that challenges the systemic problem of pushout in our nation's schools and works to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. 

During the webinar, “Beyond the First Look: Turning Local Data Into Action”, approximately 200 participants joined a discussion of the results of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights 2013-2014 “A First Look” data, which surveyed all public schools and school districts in the United States. Webinar participants included Citizens for a Better Greenville (MS) Director Joyce Parker, Racial Justice NOW! (OH) Co-founder and Director Zakiya Sankara-Jabar, and Gwinnett SToPP (GA) Founder Marlyn Tillman. The briefing allowed time to explore the data and to discuss how the advocates involved in the webinar can use this data to drive organizing work grounded in racial justice.

Since 2010, the Education Law Center has published national report cards on how states are (or aren't) investing in their schools and students. "Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card" released Wednesday, paints a worrying picture. In most states, ELC has found that public funding for schools is both unfair and inequitable: that is, not only are schools not receiving the funds they need, the schools that need funding the most are the ones with the most dramatic shortfalls.

At the Community Schools National Forum in Cincinnati last week, top educators from the US and abroad learned about a powerful new model for supporting all students and improving our nation's schools. Check out pictures and video from the event!

Every revolution needs a declaration. Against a backdrop of surging grassroots discontent with how the nation's K-12 public schools are currently governed, a diverse coalition of leaders from across the country have joined in support of "An Education Declaration to Rebuild America."