Students of color across the country are coming together to reimagine education and break away from one-size-fits-all thinking. They identified five demands for public schools, and it's time for politicians to commit to a pro-student, pro-equity agenda. Add your name to Tell Joe Biden that he should adopt these five demands to ensure educational opportunity, and the economic future students deserve.
1. Fully and Equitably Fund All Public Schools
Systematic racism has its toxic roots in all aspects of our government, nowhere is it more transparent than in the shameful underfunding of our Black, Brown, and Indigenous Schools.
3. Ground Our Schools in Anti-Racism and Facts
We are on the precipice of a new Dark-ages, where facts are misconstrued, erased and denied. Not until we know and understand our full history will we have a society of critical thinkers who will carry the Country beyond its current limitations.
2. Dismantle the School to Prison Pipeline
We need to make schools an incubator for cognitive and socio-emotional development, not breeding grounds for prisons.
4. Every Child Deserves Economic Dignity
Economic dignity comes in the form of direct access to the middle class. The destructive cycle of poverty can be broken with a college degree or a union job. Schools must prepare every child, regardless of ESL status or disability, to thrive and complete college and/or trade school.
5. Support the Whole Child
Creating a more equitable world begins with recognizing that young people need to be cared for holistically. Young people will achieve their full potential when they are supported emotionally, physically and cognitively.