Education Campaign Launches National Week of Action to Call Attention to High Suspension Rates in U.S. Schools
Education Campaign Launches National Week of Action to Call Attention to High Suspension Rates in U.S. Schools
Nationwide Coordinated Events Sep 29 – Oct 6: National Week of Action on School Pushout
New York, NY – During the week of September 29 to October 6, the Dignity in Schools Campaign (DSC), a national coalition of more than 50 youth, parent, educator and advocacy organizations, is holding its 3rd Annual National Week of Action on School Pushout to raise awareness about the more than 3 million students suspended out-of-school each year and call on states and school districts to implement positive discipline policies that improve the learning environment and keep students in school. Members of the DSC will hold marches, rallies, teach-ins and trainings in over 20 cities throughout the week.
This year's Week of Action follows the recent launch of the "Solutions Not Suspensions" initiative (http://www.stopsuspensions.org), a joint effort between the Dignity in Schools Campaign and Opportunity to Learn Campaign that calls for a nationwide moratorium on out-of-school suspensions, and the publication of the DSC's Model Code on Education and Dignity which lays out detailed policies, practices and implementation guidelines for transforming school climate and discipline models.
WHAT: Members of the DSC will hold marches, rallies, teach-ins and trainings in over 20 cities for the 3rd Annual National Week of Action on School Pushout.
WHEN: September 29 – October 6, 2012
WHERE: Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland, CA; Denver, CO; Miami, FL; Gwinnett County and Valdosta, GA; Chicago, IL; New Orleans, LA; Boston, MA; Detroit, MI; Duck Hill, Eupora, Greenville, Kilmichael, Tupelo, and Winona, MS; Raleigh, NC; Jersey City and Paterson, NJ; New York, NY; Portland, OR; and Philadelphia, PA.
WHO: Parents, youth, educators and education advocates with the following organizations: Access Living, ACLU of Michigan, ACLU of Pennsylvania, Action Communication and Education Reform Inc., Activists With A Purpose, Black Organizing Project, Blocks Together, Boston Student Advisory Council/Youth on Board, Center for Community Alternatives, Citizen for Educational Awareness, Citizens For A Better Greenville, COFI/POWER-PAC, Dignity in Schools-New York, Dignity in Schools-Los Angeles, Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), Fannie Lou Hamer Center for Change, Gwinnett SToPP, Nollie Jenkins Family Center, New York Civil Liberties Union, Padres & Jovenes Unidos, Paterson Education Fund, Portland Parent Union, Power U Center for Social Change, Statewide Education Organizing Committee, The Woman of God's Design Ministry, University of Florida, Youth Innovation Movement Solutions (YIMS), and Youth Organizing Institute..September 28, 2012
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*** LOCAL ORGANIZERS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS***
Resources:
National Week of Action on School Pushout Page (includes video trailer, events calendar, and additional information) and the Solutions Not Suspensions Initiative and check out the Dignity in Schools
The Dignity in Schools Campaign is a coalition of youth, parents, educators, civil rights organizations, and social justice advocates working to ensure the human right of every child to a quality education and to be treated with dignity. The DSC challenges the systemic problem of pushout and promotes local and national alternatives to a culture of zero-tolerance, punishment and removal in our nation's schools.