EXCLUSIVE: Civil rights groups call on pro-charter school organization to end ad campaign on public school violence
“They offer no solutions and are simply politicizing a real issue in order to push their agenda of harsh discipline practices,” Billy Easton said.
More than a dozen progressive education and civil rights groups signed onto a letter calling for a pro-charter school organization to end its ad campaign on public school violence, the Daily News has learned.
The groups, including the union-backed Alliance for Quality Education, accuse Families for Excellent Schools’ “Safe Schools Now” TV and digital media campaign of fear-mongering at the expense of students. The letter also accuses the hedge fund-backed group of promoting disciplinary policies that disproportionately affect black and Hispanic students.
“Your organization’s mission is steeped in the language of civil rights and equality, but your campaign is steeped in messaging and rhetoric that feels intended to undermine a struggle for racial justice,” says the letter sent Monday.
Families for Excellent Schools representatives say they rolled out the splashy campaign to highlight legitimate problems and press the city to take action. CEO Jeremiah Kittredge said victims of violent incidents in city schools are mostly black and Hispanic kids — and the group won’t back down.
“As long as the city deprives these students of their right to safe schools, we will continue to fight alongside parents and children,” Kittredge said.
Families for Excellent Schools also organized a class-action suit in March with families who allege violent conditions in city schools deprived them of their right to a sound basic education.
But Alliance for Quality Education Executive Director Billy Easton said all Kittredge’s group is doing is preying on people’s fear to make the public schools look bad.
“They offer no solutions and are simply politicizing a real issue in order to push their agenda of harsh discipline practices,” Easton said.
Families for Excellent Schools has published several reports showing violent and disruptive incidents have worsened in public schools in recent years, but other stats show schools are actually getting safer.
