2011 is just around the corner, and the Education for Liberation Network is gearing up for a fantastic year. We need your help to make it a success.

We had an amazing year in 2010--the Social Justice Expo for high school students in New York, the call for proposals for the Free Minds, Free People conference, a new partnership with Rethinking Schools that helped put a record number of social justice lesson plan books into the hands of teachers, the launch of the How Did They Do That? series of online profiles of innovative social justice work (look for that later this month!), and the teaching materials added to our database. And we are looking forward to an even stronger 2011. It takes investment from the people most committed to liberatory education to make these things happen.

Please wish the network a Happy New Year by making a financial contribution. Our donations campaign last year raised $3,000. Our goal this year is to raise $3,500 by Monday, December 20. Can you help us reach that goal?

…or visit http://www.nycharities.org/donate/c_donate.asp?CharityCode=2048 or see below for information about how to contribute by check. We have some great thank you gifts to express our appreciation for your support. See below for more information.

A contribution to the network goes a long way. As a large network with lean staff and little overhead, we accomplish a lot on a very small budget. We achieve this through strategic partnerships with allies and through the hard work of network volunteers. The effect of your contribution is multiplied because it impacts not only the network, but the many organizations and individuals across the country our work helps support.

Please invest in the future of liberatory education today by making as generous a contribution as you are able.

In Solidarity,

Tara

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Check out this great video of network members talking about why this work is so important:

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OUR PLANS FOR 2011

Here are just some of the things on the agenda:

* Free Minds, Free People 2011. We are expecting more than 700 educators and activists at our third national conference on education for liberation, which will take place in Providence, RI in July. Learn more about this powerful gathering here: http://www.edliberation.org/fmfp-2011. 

* Social Justice Expo--This third annual event in New York gives high school students the opportunity to display social justice projects they completed during the year. 

* National Student Bill of Rights--One of the wonderful outcomes of the Free Minds, Free People conference in 2009 was that it catalyzed a group of high school students around the country to develop a National Student Bill of Rights. The network is supporting these students. Look for a culminating summit at Free Minds, Free People. 

* Regional Gatherings--We are planning a series of gatherings in different parts of the country to help educators and activists better connect locally. Stay tuned for more information next year.  

* How Did They Do That?--This project documents the work of groups doing replicable, inexpensive, innovative social justice education projects. In 2010 we will add online profiles of work from youth organizing groups. 

* Planning to Change the World--The social justice lesson plan book for the 2011-2012 school year is already underway. Our fourth edition will be packed with new anniversaries, birthdays, resources and tips for teachers.

www.justiceplanbook.com

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6 WAYS TO SAY THANKS

We appreciate your support! For donations of $30 or more you can have one of these great thank you gifts:

* Brother, Sister, Leader: The Official Curriculum of The Brotherhood/Sister Sol edited by Susan Wilcox. Educational Strategies, Rites of Passage activities plus 50 workshops for helping middle and high school youth explore critical social issues and develop leadership skills from the award-winning youth programs at The Brotherhood/Sister Sol in Harlem. THIS GIFT HAS RUN OUT.

* Fire in the Heart: How White Activists Embrace Racial Justice by Mark Warren. This first study of its kind reports accounts of the development of racial awareness drawn from in-depth interviews with fifty white activists in the fields of community organizing, education, and criminal justice reform.

* Keeping the Promise? The Debate over Charter Schools by Leigh Dingerson, Barbara Miner, Bob Peterson and Stephanie Walters. Published by Rethinking Schools, Keeping the Promise? examines one of the most complex reforms in education: charter schools. This wide-ranging and thought-provoking collection of essays examines the charter school movement's founding visions, on-the-ground realities, and untapped potential.

* Planning to Change the World: A Lesson Plan Book for Social Justice Teachers 2010-2011 published by the Education for Liberation Network and NYCoRE. This is a plan book for teachers who believe their students can and will change the world. It has everything you would expect from a teacher's lesson plan book, plus dozens of resources and tips to help teachers integrate ideas of social justice into their classrooms. The plan book sold out early this year, but we kept a few copies for thank you gifts.

* Quality Education as a Constitutional Right by Theresa Perry, Robert P. Moses, Ernesto Cortes, Jr., Lisa Delpit and Joan T. Wynne. This book is rooted in a nationwide movement. With essays from a wide range of education activists and researchers, it calls for a new scale of organizing, legal initiatives, and public definitions of what a quality education is.

* Teaching Toward Democracy: Educators as Agents of Change by William Ayers, Kevin Kumashiro, Erica Meiners, Therese Quinn and David Stovall. This book examines the contested space of schooling and school reform with a focus on the unique challenges and opportunities that teaching in a democratic society provides.

We have limited quantities of each gift so please donate early. One of our thank you gifts has already run out.

A HUGE thank you to all our friends and allies who donated thank you gifts for this fundraising campaign: The Brotherhood/Sister Sol, Oxford University Press, Paradigm Publishers, Rethinking Schools, Mark Warren, and Joan Wynne.

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HOW TO CONTRIBUTE

To donate online please visit www.edliberation.org and click "Donate."

Please make checks payable to The Brotherhood/Sister Sol (the network's fiscal sponsor). Mail the check to: Tara Mack, Education for Liberation Network, 39 Hampton Place, Brooklyn, NY 11213.