Death by a Thousand Cuts: Racism, School Closures, and Public School Sabotage | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity

Death by a Thousand Cuts: Racism, School Closures, and Public School Sabotage | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity:

Death by a Thousand Cuts: Racism, School Closures, and Public School Sabotage

Posted on: Wednesday May 21st, 2014

Earlier this month at a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court honoring the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the Journey for Justice Alliance released a report documenting how Brown's promise of equal opportunity is under attack in our nation's public schools.

"Death by a Thousand Cuts: Racism, School Closures, and Public School Sabotage" details how pervasive underfunding of public schools and policies like mass school closures and charter expansion are harming students in low-income and minority communities.

The report draws on the testimony of parents, students and community members at listening sessions held across the country. The result is an vivid look at the impact of an unequal education system that leaves students of color and students from low-income families without access to high quality educational opportunities and resources:

 What can be done to stop the cycle of under-funding and closure? One option is to transform struggling public schools into full-service Community Schools that provide the wraparound academic, social and health supports to fully meet the needs of all their students. These schools of course need the necessary funding to sustain them, but the model is already working in districts across the country like Hartford, CT, and Cincinnati, OH. Check out the OTL Campaign's infographic, Alternatives to School Closures, to learn more. 

Read the full report from Journey for Justice here.