24 Mar

SURE-ly a good approach

Posted by in Affordable Housing, Minority Rights, Public Education Improvement, SURE

March 24, 2018. Herald-Tribune.

SURE’s annual Nehemiah Action Assembly is a model for advancing community justice

Though my heritage on my father’s side is Jewish, and on my mother’s Episcopalian, I wasn’t raised in either faith. In fact, the extent of my early religious training was attending Sunday school at the only church that existed in our rural village while my parents returned home for a gratefully quiet morning without children.

Over the years, I’ve studied many spiritual traditions and absorbed aspects of a few. But it wasn’t until I walked into the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium last week for the Nehemiah Action Assembly of SURE (Sarasota United for Responsibility and Equity) that I felt ready to convert.

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23 Mar

Congregations join Charleston County Schools to address behavior with ‘restorative practices’

Posted by in CAJM, Minority Rights, Public Education Improvement

March 23, 2018. The Post and Courier.

When LuAnn Rosenzweig’s son got in a fight 14 years ago at Wando High, the administration punished him with a three-day suspension.

What bothered Rosenzweig is that the school didn’t address the underlying conflict: Her son and the other students returned to school three days later and were expected to act as if nothing had happened.

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19 Mar

Two Pinellas School Board members split on FAST questions

Posted by in FAST, Minority Rights, Public Education Improvement

March 19, 2018. TBO.com

ST. PETERSBURG — A crowd of 3,000 peered down Monday evening on two Pinellas County School Board members faced with two questions regarding discipline and school data.

Will they advocate for a specific restorative practice program, different from the one the school district contracts now? And will they advocate for publishing quarterly reports detailing suspensions, arrests and reading scores broken down by school and race?

After two roundabout answers, a hand-drawn tally reflected the results: Two “yes” answers for Joanne Lentino; two “no” answers for Linda Lerner.

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16 Feb

CAJM Moving Past Its Successes Onto Affordable Housing In 2018

Posted by in Affordable Housing, CAJM, Criminal Justice Reform, Economic Opportunity, Jobs and Unemployment, Minority Rights, Public Education Improvement

February 16, 2018. The Charleston Chronicle. 

Charleston Area Justice Ministry President Rev. Charles Heyward thinks the network of faith-based congregations ended 2017 on a high note, though there were some disappointments. Currently some 28 congregations are members of the organization formed in 2011 to address social justice issues. Its first initiative in 2012 was to address Schools/Education and Crime/Violence.  Each year since CAJM successfully has challenged issues that include wage inequity and police bias. Last November members voted to address affordable housing and gentrification in 2018.

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14 Dec

Bullying, restorative justice, equity work among issues discussed at school district’s Community Conversation

Posted by in Justice Matters, Minority Rights, Public Education Improvement

December 14, 2017. Lawrence Journal-World.

Around 50 people filled the Lawrence Public Library’s auditorium Thursday night for a public discussion on challenges facing the Lawrence school system.

The Community Conversation took place nearly a year after the district hosted its first event, which came after a tumultuous semester dominated by talk of racial equity and drew hundreds to Lawrence High School’s cafeteria. Race and other overarching equity issues were once again the focus Thursday night, along with concerns ranging from bullying and mental health services to curriculum and limited classroom resources.

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