How Educators Can Eradicate Disparities in School Discipline: A Briefing Paper on School-Based Interventions

The number of students issued suspensions in U.S. schools continues to be extremely high, resulting in thousands of students missing school every day. Simultaneously,disparities in school suspension continue to worsen, indicating that students in some groups are missing school far more often and disproportionately(particularly, boys, African American students, students with disabilities, and in some regions, Latino and American Indian students). These disparities are also true of referrals to law enforcement and school-based arrests nationwide. According to recent data collected by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, students of color made up 75% of referrals to law enforcement and 79% of schoolbased arrests, even while students of color comprise 39% of the nation's public school population.Punitive school discipline matters tremendously to the educational opportunity of young people: New knowledge on school discipline shows that even a single suspension or a single referral to the juvenile court system increases the odds of low achievement and dropping out of school altogether. Moreover, research shows that schools and educators -- not just students themselves -- make a difference in how discipline is meted out

Afterschool in Action: Innovative Afterschool Programs Supporting Middle School Youth

This report, released by Afterschool Alliance in partnership with MetLife Foundation, highlights the work of quality afterschool programs that support children, families and communities across the nation.This compendium is a compilation of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: arts enrichment, parent engagement, school improvement and digital learning. The compendium also includes in-depth profiles of the 2012 Afterschool Innovator Award winners, as well as highlights from 2008-2011 award winners.The 2012 MetLife Foundation Afterschool Award winners are:The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, CALatino Arts Strings & Mariachi Juvenil, Milwaukee, WIKid Power Inc., The VeggieTime Project, Washington, D.C.Parma Learning Center, Parma, IDGreen Energy Technologies in the City, Lansing, M

Demographic Transformation and the Future of Museums

In 2009 the Center for the Future of Museums commissioned Betty Farrell to produce a report to explore in more detail the demographic trends in American society and their implications for museums. The report identifies, synthesizes, and interprets existing research on demographics, cultural consumer attitudes, museum diversity practices, and related topics. It is meant to help the museum field explore the future of museums in a "majority minority" society. Topics of inquiry include national demographic projections for the next 25 years with a focus on the shifting racial and ethnic composition of the United States; current patterns of museum attendance (and cultural participation more generally) by race, ethnicity, cultural origin and other relevant factors; culturally/ethnically specific attitudes towards museums, including perceptual and behavioral barriers to museum attendance; ways that museums currently reach out to diverse audiences; specific models and best practices; and larger trends in societal attitudes towards racial and other classifications

Strengthening the Relationship between Law Enforcement and Communities of Color: Developing an Agenda

Strengthening the Relationship between Law Enforcement and Communities of Color: Developing an Agenda is a summary of a forum the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) hosted with law enforcement officials, civil right activists, academic experts, community leaders, and policy makers at the Ford Foundation in New York City. This meeting focused on identifying what can be done to break the cycle of mistrust and cynicism that for too long has fractured the relationships between the law enforcement and communities of color and subverted their ability to work together to build safer communities. This publication captures the dialogue of this dynamic meeting led by Associate Attorney General Tony West, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, COPS Office Director Ronald Davis, and Reverend Al Sharpton and describes the insights learned from professionals from across the country in a concrete "agenda for action." The forum was one in a series. The National Network for Safe Communities hosted earlier forums that addressed racial reconciliation, truth telling, and police legitimacy.

Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing and Civic Engagement in North Carolina

Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing and Civic Engagement in North Carolina by Lisa Ranghelli and Julia Craig looks at 2003-2007 data from 13 North Carolina nonprofits, which shows high return on investments and non-monetary gains on a range of issues including poverty, worker rights, education, health care, housing, environment and civil rights

Mobilizing Communities to Support the Literacy Development of Urban Youth: A Conceptual Framework and Strategic Planning Model

Offers a strategic planning model for community mobilization around adolescent literacy development. Explores spheres of influence; strategies for schools, community groups, and families; outcomes; and lessons learned from other community change efforts

Organized Communities, Stronger Schools: A Preview of Research Findings

Assesses the impact of community organizing for school reform on student outcomes such as attendance and test scores, school-community relationships, parent engagement, teacher morale, and policy and resource distribution at the system level

#BlackWorkersMatter

Asserting that Black lives matter also means that the quality of those lives matters, and economic opportunity is inextricably linked to quality of life. Decades after the Civil Rights Movement and the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, structural barriers still hold back African Americans in the workplace.The authors of this report provide some broader context on the black jobs crisis, including its origins and effects; the particular impact of the crisis on African American women; the declining state of black workers and their organizations, particularly within the labor movement; and the implications of the twin crises of joblessness and poverty-level wages for organizing. This report also features examples of how black worker organizations are combining strategic research, services, policy advocacy, and organizing to help black workers weather the economic storms and improve the quality of jobs that are open to African Americans over the long term

Blurred Borders: Trans-Boundary Impacts & Solutions in the San Diego-Tijuana Border Region

Over the years, the border has divided the people of San Diego County and Tijuana over language, culture, national security, public safety and a host of other cross-border issues ranging from human migration to the environment. For some, the 'us' versus 'them' mentality has become more pervasive following the tragedy of September 11, 2001, with a growing number of San Diegans focusing greater attention on terrorism and homeland security, as well as the need to re-think immigration policy in the United States as a means of fortifying the international border. This is validated by a recent KPBS/Competitive Edge research poll that found 46% of English-speaking San Diegans desiring that the U.S. impose tighter restrictions on the border. Yet the question remains: if San Diegans and Tijuana are so different, why is our shared port of entry the most busily crossed international border in the world with over 56 million crossings a year? The answer is simple. Opposites attract. The contrasts and complementarities between San Diego and Tijuana are so powerful that residents, as well as visiting tourists and business people, endure post-9/11 traffic and pedestrian delays to cross the border for work, school, cultural enrichment, maintaining family ties or sheer economic necessity

Being Black Is Not a Risk Factor: A Strengths-Based Look at the State of the Black Child

Including nine essays from experts and five "points of proof" organization case studies, this publication challenges the prevailing discourse about black children and intends to facilitate a conversation around strengths, assets, and resilience. It addresses the needs of policymakers, advocates, principals, teachers, parents, and others