Youth Together and the Campaign for Quality Education have launched the Kids Count! campaign because every child in the state deserves an opportunity at a future no matter the color of their skin, their socio-economic background, the neighborhood they live in, or the crime rate in their community.

Education funding in California is in a state of crisis. For students, parents, teachers and local school officials, this means having to figure out what else to cut in schools where: there are no ethnic studies classes, students don’t have access to A-G courses, libraries have been shut for almost a decade, there are no support services for students, teachers have to buy their own class material, there are no college counselors, and the list continues. Funding issues are not new for communities of color and as education funding worsens in California, communities of color suffer the most. For students of color, more cuts gut our already substandard education.  Further cuts won’t fix our education system.

Kids Count! is working to transform our education system by bringing equity  transparency and community accountability to the way we fund our schools. Not only do we need additional funding, but we need a funding formula that is equitable and easy to understand. Also, everyone; students, parents, teachers and community members have a voice in funding decisions. Schools play a vital role in the health of our communities. As we improve our schools we will transform our communities. We believe that a quality education creates space to dismantle systems of oppression and to inspire social justice in our communities. By changing schools into spaces where our students are thinking critically, they learn to challenge injustice, challenge economic oppression  and create institutions in the image of justice and equity. Education is fundamental and the quality of education that our students receive will determine whether or not we will decrease violence, the prison rate and the poverty that our communities face.

We want to make sure that as the years pass, we can improve education
for the future generations, close the opportunity gap and ensure every
child in California’s right to a quality education.