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Journey for Justice! Advocates Travel to Washington D.C. to Protest School Closures!
  Solutions Not Suspensions is calling for a moratorium on out-of-school suspensions and the implementation of positive discipline alternatives in schools across the country. Add you voice!
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HIGHLIGHTS |
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Schott
Foundation Report: The Urgency of Now The Schott Foundation for Public Education released The Urgency of Now: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males. The report finds that almost half of Black and Latino male students do not graduate high school in four years. The report cites the "pushout" and "lockout" crises facing Black and Latino male students – which are the result of "an unconscionable level of willful neglect, unequal resource allocation by federal, state and local entities and the indifference of too many elected and community leaders." The Schott Foundation supports the Solutions Not Suspensions moratorium and suggests that without a policy framework that creates opportunity for all students, strengthens supports for the teaching profession and strikes the right balance between supports-based reforms and standards-based reforms, the U.S. will become increasingly unequal and less competitive in the global economy. Where does your state rank? Read more> |
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TODAY!
Journey for Justice Rally in Nation's Capital to End
School Closures Students, parents,
teachers and education advocates across the nation are
taking their protest of school closure policies to
Washington, D.C! As Andre Dunbar, a student activist
from the Philadelphia Student Union explains, "Journey
for Justice," which will take place today, Thursday
Sept. 20th, is about stopping the harmful practice of
school closure and instead investing in our public
schools. Advocates will be taking buses from Atlanta,
Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Europa,
Hartford, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Newark,
New York City, Oakland, Philadelphia, and Wichita to
make their voices heard in the nation's capital. Read
more>
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Why
OTL Advocates Walk the Line in Chicago Jitu Brown, a public school parent, a community organizer and a proud Chicago resident, demonstrated alongside the striking Chicago Teachers Union. In a powerful blog post, he lays out the reason he and other OTL advocates supported the strike. Namely, the CTU teachers were fighting to ensure that all students receive a fair and substantive opportunity to learn, so it's only right that we walk the line with them. Read more> |
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Education
Nation Wants to Hear from YOU! As part of NBC's annual Education Nation event in New York City, Melissa Harris-Perry is hosting the Student Town Hall on Sunday, September 23rd. And she wants to hear from students and youth organizers across the country about how they would improve their schools! Upload a short YouTube video talking about how you would fix America's schools to ensure that all students have a fair and substantive opportunity to learn. Submit your video today, we can't wait to watch it! Read more> |
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Boston
Parents Train New Youth Organizers For the second year in a row, the Boston Parent Organizing Network (BPON) held their Youth Summer Initiative, training a new group of students to be advocates for education in their local communities. BPON, an OTL ally, works to organize parents and families who are marginalized (whether by race, class, language, disability or immigration status) to ensure quality educational opportunities for all students. During the Youth Summer Initiative, students and youth organizers, ages 13-18, received training on issues like the Boston Public Schools Code of Conduct, peer leadership and grassroots organizers. Read more> |
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From
LA, Another Victory for School Discipline Reform! Grassroots advocates working to reform school discipline are on a roll! The latest victory comes from the Recovery School Districts in New Orleans, which will no longer suspend students for minor misbehaviors (like uniform violations) thanks to the organizing efforts of groups like Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), a member of the Dignity in Schools Campaign, and other allies. Read more> |
| RESOURCES |
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Savings
Now, Savings Later: Early Ed Talking Points "Savings Now, Savings Later" is an incredibly useful two-page brief from ReadyNation that outlines both the short-term and long-term benefits of early childhood education programs in easy-to-understand, statistics-filled talking points. From parent mentoring programs to basic health care services to quality pre-k programs, the evidence is clear: Access to these programs and services creates healthier and stronger children, families and communities. Read more> |
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