We're looking for a graphic designer...

Request for Proposals: Graphic Designer for “School Integration Milestones, Anniversaries, and Significant People” Communications Campaign (Deadline: December 14, 2021)

The National Coalition on School Diversity (NCSD) seeks a consultant experienced in graphic design, especially in the context of racial/social justice, to create communications pieces about significant milestones, anniversaries, people, etc., related to school integration. The pieces will be primarily used on social media platforms. We expect them to ultimately be engaging, informative, and consistent with themes and styles outlined in NCSD’s style guide and other key materials. Candidates should possess the expertise and willingness to engage meaningfully with the substance and offer ideas about copy and presentation.

View the RFP: https://www.school-diversity.org/designRFP

Video: School Discipline + (De)segregation (10/20/21)

On 10/20, we hosted Kristin Henning, Matt Kautz, and Jason Nance for a cross-movement conversation about school discipline and (de)segregation, moderated by Olatunde C. Johnson.

About the panelists:

Kristin Henning is the Blume Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative at Georgetown Law, where she and her law students represent youth accused of delinquency in Washington, DC. Kris was previously the Lead Attorney for the Juvenile Unit of the D.C. Public Defender Service and is currently the Director of the Mid-Atlantic Juvenile Defender Center. Kris has trained state actors across the country on the impact of racial bias and trauma in the juvenile and criminal legal systems. Her workshops help stakeholders recognize their own biases and develop strategies to counter them. Kris also worked closely with the McArthur Foundation’s Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network to develop a 41-volume Juvenile Training Immersion Program (JTIP), a national training curriculum for juvenile defenders. She now co-hosts, with the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC), an annual week-long JTIP summer academy for trial lawyers and a series of “Train the Trainer” programs for experienced defenders. In 2019, Kris partnered with NJDC to launch a Racial Justice Toolkit for youth advocates, and again in 2020, to launch the Ambassadors for Racial Justice program, a year-long program for juvenile defenders committed to challenging racial injustice in the juvenile legal system through litigation and systemic reform. Kris writes extensively about race, adolescence, and policing. Her new book, The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth, will be released by Penguin Random House in 2021.

Learn more: Cops at the schoolyard gate (Vox,

Matt Kautz is a PhD candidate in the History and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. His research studies changes in school discipline policy during the era of desegregation and its connections to concurrent changes in law enforcement. His work documents how school disciplinary policies. Prior to pursuing his doctorate, Matt was a high school teacher in Detroit, MI and Chicago, IL.

Learn more: Arrested Development: How Police Ended Up in Schools (Have You Heard podcast)

Jason P. Nance is the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Professor of Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. He teaches education law, remedies, torts, and introduction to the legal profession. He focuses his research and writing on racial inequalities in public education, cognitive biases and their effects on education systems, the intersection of criminal justice and public education, and the legal profession. Professor Nance also served as the reporter for the American Bar Association’s Joint Task Force on Reversing the School-to-Prison Pipeline, where he co-authored a report and proposed resolutions that the ABA adopted to help dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline nationwide. In addition to earning a J.D. at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Professor Nance has a Ph.D. in Education Administration from the Ohio State University, where he also focused on empirical methodology. Before attending graduate school and law school, Professor Nance was a public school math teacher in a large, metropolitan school district.

Learn more: Student Surveillance, Racial Inequalities, and Implicit Racial Bias

About the moderator:

Olatunde C. Johnson is the Jerome B. Sherman Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, where she teaches legislation and civil procedure and writes about modern civil rights legislation, congressional power, and innovations to address discrimination and inequality in the United States. Johnson clerked for David Tatel on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and for Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. From 2001 to 2003, Johnson served as constitutional and civil rights counsel to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Prior to that, Professor Johnson worked at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), where she conducted trial and appellate level litigation to promote racial and ethnic equity in employment, health, and higher education. Professor Johnson graduated in 1995 from Stanford Law School where she was Order of the Coif, and received her B.A. in Literature Cum Laude from Yale University in 1989. She serves as the board chair for the Poverty and Race Research Action Council (PRRAC), where NCSD is housed.

New NCSD Report

Just in time for the anniversary of Brown, our new brief, Which Districts Might Benefit from the Strength in Diversity Act: A Look into the Most Diverse, But Segregated, Large School Districts in the United States, provides an analysis of fourth-grade student data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to demonstrate the need and tremendous potential for the Strength in Diversity Act to help advance integration and educational equity in districts across the country. Specifically, we examined diversity and segregation in public school districts with more than 5,000 students, allowing us to identify school districts that underperform on integration in their schools, despite having a diverse district-wide student population.

The #50State Conversation is HERE!

Our 50 State Conversation about segregation and educational inequality is here! Join us on May 17 (the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education) at 8pm ET. Hosted by NCSD, in collaboration with Epic Theatre Ensemble and Dodd Human Rights Impact (UCONN). If you haven’t had a chance to see Nothing About Us, we’ll be screening that at 7:15pm ET on May 17th. NOTHING ABOUT US is a rigorous, passionate and hilarious exploration of educational segregation written and performed by those most affected and least consulted: NYC Public High School students. What does separate but equal mean to us today? Running time: 30 minutes.

Agenda (8pm ET):
-Roll Call and video of student work from Boston, MA; Boise, ID; Tukwila, WA; Cincinnati, OH
-Panel discussion with Epic Theatre students (Hailey Petrus, Luan Taveras, Lizette Padua)
-Presentations from Washington, DC and Montana
-Remarks from Donna Harris-Aikens (Senior Advisor for Policy and Planning, U.S. Dep’t of Education)
-Action steps and wrap-up

Register and more info: https://www.epictheatreensemble.org/fifty

Press Release: Education and Civil Rights Groups Urge Congress to Use the Federal Budget to Increase Access to Integrated and Inclusive Schools

Public Schools are Resegregating at Alarming Rates, Leaving Behind the Tremendous Benefits That Come with Diversity

April 26, 2021

Congress must use the fiscal year 2022 budget to support communities in their efforts to develop and implement strategies that promote racial and socioeconomic integration in their public schools, and direct the Department of Education to issue guidance that federal funding can be used for integration, a letter sent to several congressional leaders today says. As our nation becomes increasingly diverse, it is imperative that our school districts keep pace by promoting school integration and its tremendous benefits. The U.S. Department of Education should issue guidance that federal funding can be used for integration.

“Over the past few years, locally-led integration movements have emerged across the country,” said Gina Chirichigno, director of the National Coalition on School Diversity (NCSD). “As they develop, stakeholders need adequate resourcing and support to do this challenging work well. We urge Congress to take another step toward providing communities with the assistance they need, for the benefit of our students and our society.”

 

The letter, signed by 40 organizations, specifically asks Congress to:
    • Increase funding for the Magnet Schools Assistance Program to at least $500 million, a five-fold increase from the FY 2021 budget;
    • Allocate $120 million for a grant program that would support locally-led efforts to develop comprehensive strategies that promote racial and socioeconomic school integration;
    • Build upon its action in December to strike the last standing prohibition on the use of federal funds for transportation to support school integration, by directing the U.S. Department of Education to release guidance that would make states, districts, and communities aware of this change that unlocks long-standing federal programs and funding sources that can be used to support integrated and inclusive school environments through school transportation; and
    • Remind states and districts that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act school improvement funds can be used to support school integration.

 

“We are at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history, and integrated and inclusive schools that will reduce tokenism, break-down stereotypes, and produce cross-cultural understanding and friendships are vital to furthering racial equity,” said David Hinojosa, director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “It has been proven that equal educational opportunity is key to ending structural racism and systemic inequality. Congress must use the federal budget to promote the strength of our diversity and help deconstruct systemic barriers to opportunity.”

 

Today, many of our nation’s schools are resegregating at alarming rates, and many students are missing out on the numerous advantages that come with an inclusive and integrated classroom environment. Research shows that higher educational achievement, increased civic participation, and more advanced social and historical thinking are all achieved with an integrated environment. School segregation reinforces inequities, and disproportionately deprives students of color of the critical resources and supports that are needed.

 

 

Constant Contact version is here.

“Nothing About Us” – April 17th Screening

Our next screening of Epic Theatre Ensemble’s virtual play, Nothing About Us, will take place on April 17, 2021 at 3pm ET.

Learn more and register here. You can also contact Jim Wallert at jim@epictheatreensemble.org.
Our monthly screenings lead up to our 50 State Conversation about segregation and educational inequality on May 17 (the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education). Hosted by NCSD, in collaboration with Epic Theatre Ensemble and Dodd Human Rights Impact (UCONN).

About the play: NOTHING ABOUT US is a rigorous, passionate and hilarious exploration of educational segregation written and performed by those most affected and least consulted: NYC Public High School students. What does separate but equal mean to us today? Running time: 30 minutes.

50 State Conversation on May 17, 2021

On May 17, the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, take part in a conversation about segregation with participants from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC. Hosted by NCSD, in collaboration with Epic Theatre Ensemble and Dodd Human Rights Impact (UCONN).

Our dialogue will center around Epic Theatre Ensemble’s film NOTHING ABOUT US.

NOTHING ABOUT US is a rigorous, passionate and hilarious exploration of educational segregation written and performed by those most affected and least consulted: NYC Public High School students. What does separate but equal mean to us today? Running time: 30 minutes.

Watch the trailer here:

How you can help:
  • We’re seeking audience members, promoters, co-hosts, and creators (described here) across the country.
  • Connect us with with drama teachers, community theaters, and arts organizations in your state.
  • Share this information with your network.
Learn more and register here. You can also contact Jim Wallert at jim@epictheatreensemble.org.

School Integration Priorities for a Biden/Harris Admin

We asked NCSD members to weigh in on school integration priorities for the Biden/Harris administration.

Building on our First 100 Days agenda, here’s our more complete School Integration Priorities for a Biden/Harris Administration.

10 Ways the Biden/Harris Administration Can Prioritize School Integration in its First 100 Days

We asked NCSD members to weigh in on school integration priorities for the Biden/Harris administration.

Here’s what we came up with for the first 100 days:

10 Ways the Biden/Harris Administration Can Prioritize School Integration in its First 100 Days

We’ll be sharing more ideas soon…stay tuned!

Virtual Performance of "Nothing About Us" (11/9/2020)

Our next installment of #NCSD2020 will be a virtual performance of “Nothing About Us,” an original play about segregation by NY-based EPIC Theatre Ensemble. Co-hosted by: Integrated Schools, Public School Forum of North Carolina, and Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, Inc. (METCO).

Find out more about this event (and register) at http://nothingaboutus.eventbrite.com. Happening November 9th at 8pm ET.