Grounded in our commitment to peace, unity and justice, the mission of Youth Together is to address the root causes of educational inequities by developing multiracial youth leaders and engaging school community allies to promote positive school change.
POLITICAL EDUCATION
We do research, as well as create and provide political education to our students across sites. We believe that youth are integral to creating lasting change in our communities, and make sure that we equip our students with the tools they need to think critically.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
Our students learn the value of community first hand through the outreach work that we do. We strive to give our students the opportunity to lead their community, but first make sure that they are grounded in the skills.
EDUCATIONAL CHANGE
While we teach our students that the community is the first place to organize, we also make sure to arm our students with the advocacy skills they need to make broad and institutionalized changes to better the experiences of their peers.
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Although there are many interesting and necessary critiques in this piece, it's important to note that there aren't any accounts from students present. When asked about the strike, many students felt that the contract didn't do enough to address their needs, as evidenced by the hundreds of students who showed out the next week to fight for essential student resources and services, which were eventually cut in the name of teacher raises.
The Oakland Teachers’ Strike Revealed California’s Education Crisis
thenation.com
The struggle for fair funding goes way beyond the district. So now the teachers are taking their fight to Sacramento.A great piece from The Hill this morning about the importance of engaging and including students in the policy-making process, and how it can lead to extremely positive results.
"Perhaps more than any other group, policymakers should be talking directly to students about how they experience school. I know this from my work in helping to re-evaluate my own school’s discipline plan.
I led a committee of all stakeholders within our building. Together, we adopted an evidence-based behavioral intervention plan that prioritized enhanced academic and social behavior outcomes over punishment, and clarified processes and responsibilities.
We implemented the new plan two years ago and it led to a 74 percent decrease in suspensions in the first year. The key to this success is the collaboration in the creation and implementation of the plan, putting students at its center, and opening the conversation to include student voice as it develops and changes each year."
We should place students at the center of teaching and education policymaking
thehill.com
Student-centered teaching is essential to any educator’s success in the classroom.Shoutout to one of our teacher partners, Ms. WoodsChan!
"You could see a huge shift in the way that not only the Mam-speaking students regarded the importance of learning Mam and having it visible, but also in the way that the other students received it," WoodsChan said.
WoodsChan saw the difference in her students. She said they grew more confident after seeing their own languages on the whiteboard and hearing it in the video clips. They started making friends with each other — across cultural lines. Other students who were not in that class would come in and see something written in Mam on the board and exclaim, "Hey, that's Mam! I speak Mam!"
Why these students are teaching in the classroom
theweek.com
Teaching and learning each other's languages has helped immigrant students feel acceptedIn the wake of a teacher strike, OUSD has decided that the cuts will be shifted to library workers and other necessary student services. How can this district continue to disenfranchise our students and families so blatantly?
Folks, remember: the School Board members are ELECTED OFFICIALS, meaning that YOU can hold them accountable! DO IT!
Layoff notices will go to hundreds of Oakland school workers to trim budget
sfchronicle.com
<p>Hundreds of Oakland school clerks, counselors, library workers and other staff will receive layoff notices in coming weeks as the school district grapples with the effects of the contract concessions that settled the seven-day teachers strike this month.</p>It is SO IMPORTANT for our elected officials to be able to understand the impact of their actions on the areas that they represent. Hopefully this task force will be able to help guide a fair, open, and supportive process on the road to reconciling charter and public schools.
California governor’s new task force on charter schools convenes
edsource.org
The task force will examine the financial impact of charter schools and report back to Gov. Gavin Newsom.