2019 Education Justice Victories that Give Us Courage for 2020

Changing policies to achieve greater equity for children of color takes time, months, even years of dynamic mobilizing and building collaboration among parents, students, community members and educators. That’s why Schott builds and sustains long-term partnerships—they’re in it for the long haul and so are we. Grassroots organizing by our grantees and allies was the key to some key policy wins in 2019, all of which provide momentum for the important work ahead.
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Five Years of State Control of the Little Rock School District

Little Rock School District supporters are wearing black today to mark the fifth anniversary of the Arkansas State Board of Education’s vote to remove the democratically elected Little Rock School Board and take control of the LRSD. There’s no credible case to be made that the state has improved the district. But it’s easy to point to the harm the state has done.
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Schott partner Grassroots Arkansas has been fighting against school privatization and the state takeover of LRSD. Learn more >

The Anti-Black Intellectual Hierarchy Built by Standardized Testing Needs to Come Down

Educator Rann Miller links standardized tests, school discipline, and racial outcome disparities with a common thread of systemic racism and white supremacy:

"Black students don’t need correcting. What needs correcting are the conditions with which Black children are educated, and that shouldn’t depend on test results. The way we instruct, discipline and assess Black students needs a complete overhaul. Whether or not that happens depends on whether or not our schools continue to be anti-Black."
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Virginia Teachers Rally for More Public Education Funding

Richmond City Schools were forced to close for the day after about a third of the district’s teachers expressed interest in attending. They’re asking the state to increase its investment in public education in part to support more resources for low-income school systems and higher teacher pay. Advocates are asking for smaller class sizes and more support staff, such as nurses and counselors.
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I Work at a Philly School Closed by Asbestos. We’re Fed Up.

Teacher leadership coach Andrew Knips raises the alarm on the dire and direct impacts that insufficient and inequitable school funding has on low-income students of color, in a district facing billions in unfunded repairs:

"We cannot have equitable education for our children without equitable spaces. Everyone is responsible for demanding that all schools are safe, welcoming environments so that our children only worry about what’s most important: learning."
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