Youth and Allies to Testify in DC to Stop School Closings
by Dana Bennis in Blog
On January 29, youth, educators, and community members from grassroots organizations around the United States will testify in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Department of Education to speak out against the closing of public schools and raise awareness about the damaging impacts of closings on the lives of young people -- most especially youth from low-income and working class communities, communities of color, students with disabilities, and English language learners.
Under the name Journey for Justice 2, the representatives traveling to DC to testify at the US DOE come from youth-led, parent, and community-based organizations in 18 different cities, including organizations such as the Baltimore Algebra Project, thePhiladephia Student Union, Make The Road NY, Alliance for Education Justice, Project South, and many others. This follows the National Journey for Justice of September 2012 during which hundreds of youth, educators, and activists first traveled to DC to speak with members of the DOE and arrange this ground-breaking hearing.
From a press release by the groups announcing the hearing:
Cities across the country are experiencing the results of neglectful actions by the closing of schools serving predominantly low-income students of color including displacement and destabilization of children, increased violence and threats of physical harm as a result of re-assignment, and destabilization at schools receiving the displaced students. . .
The U.S. Department of Education has for far too long supported the closing of schools without a deep examination of the multitude of factors involved in such an action - from the impact on the students' lives, to the role of the school in the community, to the impact the phased out school has on students and teachers who continue there amidst the typically increased percentages of high-needs students (as the research shows).