Pictures, Videos from the 2013 OTL Organizing Summit
Posted on: Sunday October 20th, 2013
In early October, the Opportunity to Learn Campaign hosted its 2013 Organizing Summit in Los Angeles in conjunction with the American Federation of Teachers' Civil, Human and Women's Rights Conference. Over 200 parents, students, organizers and OTL allies from across the country joined 300 teachers from the AFT and National Education Association for an exciting weekend of trainings and strategy sessions aimed at building a collaborative movement to defend public education.
Thursday 10/3 – OTL Education Town Hall
The OTL-led portion of the weekend began with an Education Town Hall moderated by former MSNBC and BET journalist and social commentator Jeff Johnson.Kicking off the Town Hall discussion, panelist John H. Jackson, President and CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, said that current education reforms like standardized testing and mass school closures haven't created a sustainable "education ecosystem" that provides every student with the supports to succeed in the classroom. Rather than focusing solely on setting standards and holding teachers and school accountable, our nation should focus on building a system of resources and opportunities that helps every student achieve.
The lively discussion that followed focused on what is needed to create sustainable education ecosystems. Panelist Eugene Chasin (Say Yes to Education) said that community ownership is key to changing and improving public institutions. Maisie Chin (CADRE) highlighted how empowering parents helps them use their experiences with structural racism to break down similar barriers for their children. Youth leaders Minkah Smith (Community Rights Campaign) and Carlos "Elmo" Gomez (Sons, Brothers, Selves) both spoke about the necessity of ending harsh school discipline policies that alienate students and push them down the school-to-prison pipeline. Charles Fields (California Endowment) highlighted the link
