Massachusetts Lawmakers Leave for August Break with Major Unfinished Business: Education Funding

“I think disappointed is not even as strong as we can get,” said Charlotte Kelly, executive director of the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance, a group that advocates for increased public school funding. “We’ve let an entire high school class of seniors graduate through underfunded schools, and we haven’t done a single thing.”
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The Role of Philanthropy In Shaping the Future

At this year's annual Social Impact Exchange conference Schott VP Edgar Villanueva spoke on a panel with other philanthropic leaders to discuss how funders can help address the systemic problems at the root of so many of the challenges we face, from education to health to economic mobility.
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The Whiter, Richer School District Right Next Door

As a recent report shows, roughly 36 percent of K–12 funding comes from local property taxes. That means inequality is often baked into district lines; wealthier communities will have more money to spend on their students. In 1974, in the Supreme Court case Milliken v. Bradley, the justices ruled that desegregation plans could not leapfrog school-district borders. That means the federal government could shuffle children between schools only in the same district.
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When Students Lead, We All Win

The Students Not Suspects (SNS) campaign is an inspiring student-led movement to advocate against random searches in Los Angeles public schools. The campaign adopted multiple strategies, including hosting public education drives on the harms associated with random searches, engaging school district leaders on school safety issues, and advocating for measures that provide positive supports for students. And this past June they won!
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Staying the Course: Predictable Challenges on the Path to Equity and Racial Justice

by Natalie McCabe Zwerger
For folx who are committed to disrupting and dismantling inequity and racial injustice, there is nothing unfamiliar about the ways the work can be undermined, de-legitimized, and sabotaged. In fact, books have and likely will continue to be written about these challenges. The truth is though: if we can predict it, we can prepare for it. This piece outlines 5 ways that folx resist confronting inequity and racial injustice.
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Care About Racial Equity in the Non-Profit Sector? Take this Survey

In 2016, the Building Movement Project conducted a national survey on race and leadership in nonprofits, leading to the popular Race to Lead report series. This summer, the Race to Lead survey is back! By participating, you will contribute to one of the largest data sets on race and leadership in the nonprofit sector and will help inform the next round of reports. The confidential survey is open to anyone working for pay in the sector.
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