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James Baldwin: How Much Time Do You Want For Your "Progress?"
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How Much Time Do You Want for Progress?
Sixty-five years after Brown v. Board (1955)- a major landmark federal decision to desegregate schools- and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965)- a federal policy created to address inequities in schools- we are still having the same conversations about equity for marginalized students and their families. How we talk about public schools and what to do with them as they become Blacker, browner and poorer has changed while the fundamental aspects that create disparities between white affluent children and everybody else have remained in tact: a property tax-funded education system, housing segregation, educational institutions mired in racism, sexism and classism and a legal system that provides a path towards equity in one decision but adds roadblocks to it in another (see Milken v. Bradley (1974)).
Meanwhile education advocacy has grown new branches to respond to what happens when we fail to tackle the root causes of injustice and inequity.
If you don't want to wait another 65 years for justice and equity in our schools, join OPEN in this work.
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OPSB Meeting Schedule
Don't let policy changes come as a surprise! Stay up to date with decisions and events in Orleans Parish Schools at Orleans Parish School Board meetings.
- March 2020: Committee Meeting, March 17 /Board Business, March 19
- April 2020: Committee Meeting, April 21 /Board Business, April 23
Did you know? The full 2020 Meeting Schedule, guidelines for public comment, and agendas are available online!
Can't make it to the meeting? Tune in via livestream!
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Audit: New Beginnings may have enrolled students outside of New Orleans, jeopardizing funding
A New Orleans charter school network that has been the subject of recent controversy over its management of one of its schools — John F. Kennedy High School — may have enrolled students who didn’t live in Orleans Parish last school year, according to the group’s annual audit, released on Monday. Read the full article here.
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Orleans school district wants more funding for trauma, mental health programs for students
As the Legislature prepares to convene next month, Orleans Parish school officials want lawmakers to focus on students in need of mental health services because of exposure to trauma. Read the full article here.
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Parents question selective school’s gifted program
A popular school for gifted students in New Orleans is not offering by-the-book gifted services. But the state and NOLA Public Schools district say that’s just fine.
That’s because the Louisiana Department of Education says charter schools, like Lake Forest Elementary Charter School, are exempt from a state law requiring gifted education. Read the full article here.
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Should There Be a Federal Right to Education?
We still have a long, close relationship with Jim Crow that is impacting our society today. And that is one thing that our nation has never recognized. The United States invested heavily in Jim Crow, at the federal, state and local level. However, the dismantling of Jim Crow received much more of a cursory effort, was much more limited in scope, was much shorter, and we invested less. Read the full article here.
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The Radical Self-Reliance of Black Homeschooling
For Black homeschoolers, seizing control of their children’s schooling is an act of affirmation—a means of liberating themselves from the systemic racism embedded in so many of today’s schools and continuing the campaign for educational independence launched by their ancestors more than a century ago. Read the full article here.
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For Black Children, Attending School Is an Act of Racial Justice
Unfortunately, attempts to exclude Black children from educational opportunities are not new. America has a rich history of locking Black children out of the classroom. This list includes anti-literacy laws, past and current resistance to school desegregation, lack of access to well-resourced schools, school based arrests, poor course access, enormous higher education costs, and unjust exclusionary policies. Read the full article here.
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White Teachers Need Anti-Racist Therapy
The shift to anti-racism does not happen overnight or after one professional development session: It happens through a process of self-discovery, healing, and learning to reject and call out racist ideas, people, and structures. Anti-racist teaching is not a teaching approach or method, it is a way of life. Read the full article here.
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Maryland school advocates push for equity for black and Hispanic students
With the Maryland suburbs becoming increasingly diverse, advocates for black and Hispanic students have joined forces to call attention to inequity in the state’s largest school system and to push for changes. Read the full article here.
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White Parents Say They Value Integrated Schools. Their Actions Speak Differently
Overall, white, advantaged parents appear to be measuring school quality by how many other white, advantaged parents send their children to a given school, said the Harvard report. Integrated schools are seen as educationally inferior, even as, paradoxically, parents recognize their value in the abstract, said Richard Weissbourd, a senior lecturer at the Harvard graduate education school and a study co-author. Read the full article here.
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Recommendations for reducing racial bias in the juvenile justice system
A new Child Trends brief discusses the role of risk and needs assessments in the juvenile justice system, how racial bias may affect the accuracy of these assessments, and what steps stakeholders can take to address these shortcomings. Risk and needs assessments are used in the juvenile justice system to make decisions related to pretrial detention of youth, re-entry planning, and more. Read the full article here.
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New Orleans Youth Open Mic
NOYOM is back and ready for you to hit the stage on February 12th, March 18, and April 15! So dust off those notebooks and get ready to share those pieces that have been keeping you up at night! For more information, please e-mail noyouthopenmic@gmail.com.
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FFLIC Community Meeting
Join FFLIC to discuss New Orleans' Youth Crisis this Thursday, February 13. Youth and parents are welcome. To RSVP or for more information, please contact Shedrick at (504) 352-5288.
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Why does the 2020 Census Matter?
If our state and communities aren’t accurately counted
we lose power, money, and resources. An accurate 2020 Census count is necessary for ensuring that Louisiana receives the federal resources we need to expand critical federal programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and funding for our schools.
Watch HERE for a video about how representation affects the Census! To learn more information about the Census contact Janea Jamison at
(504) 612-1513 or jjamison@powercoalition.org
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