Arne Duncan's American Education

Julian High School, Kelly High School, Priestley High School, Robeson High School   

Join student activists as we 1) demonstrate the impact of educational reform policies on Chicago and New Orleans classrooms through interactive simulation, 2) share our own organizing experiences at the front lines in fighting these reforms, and 3) lead discussion on what the future may hold for American education. We hope that our workshop will be a catalyst spurring a national student social justice movement.    

Faith-rooted Organizing/Young Religious Leaders' Project   

Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice of California (CLUE-CA)

This workshop will introduce participants to our original organizing model which builds off of the civil rights movement, Gandhi and liberation theologies to enable people of faith to offer their unique contribution to larger movements for social justice. CLUE-CA staff and a leader from the Young Religious Leaders’ project will share concepts and exercises from the model.

No-L.E.D.G.E. of Self: How S.E.X. and heART are Used to Unveil Life’s Mysteries and Stimulate the Economy 

Asar Imhotep, Houston Ministry of Culture

In this workshop we will reveal how having No-L.E.D.G.E. of Self enables humans to fight foolishness and stimulate their economies. By mining various African wisdom traditions, we have discovered that S.E.X. and the heART’s are the strategies sages utilize to reach perfection and meet the one thousand and one challenges of life. “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” —Einstein 

Putting the Responsibility Where It Belongs: Why the Achievement Gap Framework Won’t Reduce Racial Inequity and How We Can Use It to Organize Our Communities!    

Chela Delgado and MK Nguyen

This workshop is focused on how the language of “achievement gap” has created policies that hurt students of color and hide some of the underlying causes of educational inequity.  We will explore the work that Coleman's youth and parent groups, Youth Making A Change (YMAC) and Parents Making a Change (PMAC), are doing to expand the concept of the achievement gap and use a racial justice framework to organize around all issues that impact students of color in urban schools.   

The Pipeline Project: Go to Class and Learn How to Raise Hell!   

Community Learning Project

Creating pathways from high schools into college into social justice careers, the Community Learning Partnership is designing degree programs in a new field of study called Community Change. Take away a "toolkit" for bringing these college degree programs to your high school or university, and help build a leadership pipeline for justice. Particularly of interest to teachers, professors, young people and organizers! 

We Shall Prevail: Chicano/a student activism in the Press

Venceremos

In this workshop, participants will learn about the Chicano/a activist newspaper Venceremos, which is produced at the University of Utah. Specifically, we will discuss the ways we use the paper as a space to share our stories, inform our communities and promote activism. The workshop will include a panel discussion and interactive activities to exemplify how we use the newspaper to create a dialogue that pivots the experiences/epistemologies of underrepresented groups to the center of our educational journeys.