Copy
View this email in your browser
For past newsletters, click here.
EdEquity Corner
 

The next EdEquity Corner is this Wednesday, April 14th, 2021, 7-8:30 pm!  







RECAP: In March, EdEquity Corner hosted Jennifer Bacon, VP of the Denver Board of Education and House Representative for District 7 at the Colorado State Capitol.  She discussed DPS’ Black Excellence Resolution, and shared her perspective on legislative initiatives to watch for this session.

COMING UP: Don’t miss this month’s EdEquity Corner on Wednesday, April 14th, 2021 from 7-8:30 pm.  We will be offering something a little different from our usual conversations by showcasing the impactful artistry and work of the Epic Theatre Ensemble.  We’ll host a sneak preview of the film NOTHING ABOUT US – a rigorous, passionate and hilarious exploration of educational segregation written and performed by those most affected and least consulted: NYC Public High School students.  The film will be the centerpiece of The Fifty State Conversation - a nationwide conversation about segregation on May 17, 2021 -the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. 

Check out the film's trailer here
 
This is a free virtual event and requires no ongoing obligation. Register today!
April Ed Equity Article 

In this month's article, PHNEE member and school psychologist Erin Pier explores the consequences that the past year of isolation has had on our community's well being. A lack of social connection leads to a sharp increase in both physical and mental health impairments, and our schools must make space for students and teachers to socially  reconnect and process the impact of the pandemic. 
Take Action, Park Hill
 
  • Have you attended an EdEquity Corner to learn about education issues that are important to you?
  • Have one of PHNEE’s GPHN articles or 5 Minutes with PHNEE posts resonated with you?
  • Do you need to honor a personal commitment to work harder for justice, equity, and inclusion? 
 
If you’ve answered yes, the time is ripe for you to get more involved.  PHNEE needs your help to advance equity for all students in Greater Park Hill.  Make your voice heard and be a part of the change you wish to see by joining one or more of PHNEE’s Working Groups. Each group focuses on a different aspect of our mission and offers a meaningful opportunity to get involved.  Check out the group descriptions below and click here if you are interested and want to join us.  
 
COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING. This group raises awareness about the inequities in our schools and encourages the community to engage in making change. Activities include maintaining our website and social media outlets, producing EdEquity Corner zoom meetings and 5 Minutes with PHNEE videos, disseminating our monthly newsletter, writing and editing a monthly article for the Greater Park Hill News, and marketing all of our events and publications. As the pandemic fades, this group looks forward to re-engaging with the community in-person. 

POLICY. This group aims to develop recommendations to increase equity in the Greater Park Hill schools. Proposals will be presented to decision-makers at the school, community, and district levels, as appropriate. The team was ready to launch a community feedback process on several policy recommendations related to enrollment when schools closed due to COVID and has been on hiatus since. Now it is time to re-engage in the work by building on previous proposals and/or developing something new. Activities include research on relevant topics, policy development, soliciting and incorporating community feedback, and, when appropriate, sharing recommendations with decision-makers.

ONE PARK HILL FUND. The OPHF, a new initiative, will address the disparate resource needs among our schools, while working to build community. Informed by a research study that identified high priority needs in our schools, this group will raise funds and allocate them to schools equitably and will also initiate and sponsor activities to bring school communities together across the neighborhood. Activities include planning community-building events such as the One Park Hill Day for 3rd graders, soliciting donations and sponsorships from neighborhood businesses, churches, nonprofit organizations, and individuals, and making decisions about how to allocate funds to meet high priority needs. The Shared Resources team which designed community building activities in the past is now part of the OPHF.
We hope you will join us

What We're Reading

Jamilah Lemieux reflects on the schooling experiences she and her daughter have had as Black girls. She advocates for the power of majority Black spaces to ensure that Black kids feel "happy, healthy, and whole within their walls". 
Courtney Martin reminds parents that the "outer work" of anti-racism, making necessary choices to create less segregated lives, is essential to being an anti-racist family. School choice is one area where white families can have an impact by rejecting the pressures of "opportunity hoarding" and instead learning how to show up in a multiracial community. 

Black Segregation Matters: School Resegregation
and Black Educational Opportunity 

 
A report by Gary Orfield and Danielle Jarvie of the Civil Rights Project at the UCLA details the national student population and examines patterns of enrollment, segregation and integration in the United States.  Among its many findings are that the lack of any significant policy or legal effort to integrate schools has led to increasing isolation of Black students in all sectors of American education.   Other interesting trends include the increase of the share of Latino students, and the decrease of the share of White students.  Changing racial proportions make widespread desegregation harder, but there may be policy shifts on the horizon that could drive change. 
Copyright © 2021 Park Hill Neighbors for Equity in Education, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp