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Project Description
Imagine high school students who have been failed out of schools educating teachers and state policy makers about educational inequality. Imagine students who have been incarcerated, live amidst poverty, violence, and have dozens of friends who have been killed; imagine these excluded students teaching state legislators about how state education policy frames their lives. These diverse students know about the failures of the public education system because they live these failures, and they are increasingly voicing their concerns about violence, but also about schools focusing on the wrong things. A select group of students at Berkeley Technology Academy, under the guidance of Dr. Christopher Knaus, are on a mission to make their educational experiences relevant to those who structure public education in California. Through a service-learning focused creative writing class, Knaus and a team of undergraduate leaders, accompanies these continuation high school students on a journey using words, feelings, and ideas as tools of change. Despite how schooling has not worked for them, these students have come to see education as a weapon for battling the poverty and violence in their communities. They also know that the flawed educational system has crippled their chances of overcoming their harsh realities – most cannot graduate high school and will be required to work fulltime immediately upon high school completion. For these inspired youths, their voices have become a vehicle for progress, and as they sharpen their voices, increasing numbers of community members, educators, and policy makers are starting to listen. While this course is already underway, additional funding is needed to catalyze their efforts and provide forums for critical voice around educational policy. With additional funding, students will identify and initiate contact with state policy makers (including continuing conversations with already-engaged city and county legislators) and conduct a half-day workshop. This legislative workshop will center on statewide policies including the California High School Exit Exam and access to college preparatory curriculum. Additional funding will provide two digital cameras, editing software, and transportation to the Sacramento-based workshops. This is not only an investment in a class of student, but an investment in their future, and the future of student-initiated policy-level conversations. By funding this project, Do Something will be providing further space for students to inspire us all to see through their eyes. But perhaps more directly, this project will allow traditionally excluded students opportunities to demonstrate their public voice by shaping educational policy that impacts all of California’s youth. The course is being facilitated by InnerWorks – a nonprofit organization dedicated to local educational improvement in South and West Berkeley.
Vital Stats
| Started On: | September 2007 | Ended On: | |
| People Involved: | 20 | People Impacted: | |
| Money Raised: |
