Led by parents, the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice is organizing a movement to end the inequities in the city’s public school system. We are a collaborative of community-based organizations and unions whose members include culturally diverse parents, community members, students and educators. We are motivated by the urgent need to obtain a quality and well-rounded education for all students. We will mobilize the power of parents and the community to affect policy change and create a more equitable educational system.
Our Mission
Our Platform
All New York City Children Deserve Culturally Response Education!
As parents, we want our children to graduate from high school prepared for college and careers and lives of learning and leadership. While NYC schools are some of the most culturally and linguistically diverse in the nation, with 180 languages spoken, enormous achievement gaps remain. Many destructive forces contribute to these unacceptable outcomes, including the ways that systemic racism, overt and implicit bias play out inside schools. In order to help students achieve their goals, improve outcomes for all students and create oases from racism, sexism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, homophobia and other biases, the NYC school system needs Culturally Responsive Education.
Culturally Responsive Education (CRE) is a method of rigorous, student-centered education. CEJ calls on the NYC Department of Education to implement CRE in the following ways:
- 1. Work to ensure school and district staff represent the diversity of the NYC Schools population; promote district-wide skills in culturally responsive education and anti-discriminatory practices
- Provide classes, curricula, projects and resources designed to celebrate the rich diversity of NYC Schools students
- Cultivate a positive, culturally responsive culture in schools that respects and honors all youth regardless of race, culture, and abilities
- Champion increased parent engagement efforts that are culturally responsive and promote collaborative efforts to help students grow
What's New
CEJ’s Virtual Mayoral Candidate Forum; Racial Justice in Public Schools
On Thursday, February 18th, over 1,000 students, parents, educators, community members, and activists alike, joined CEJ to hear the mayoral candidates’ visions for racial justice in public schools, and, how they plan to implement Culturally Responsive Sustaining Education (CRSE).
This is our city, our schools, and our children. We need a mayor who is committed to allocating money, time and passion to fight for racial justice in schools.
Click HERE to watch CEJ’s Mayoral Candidate Forum online. You can also watch the live video on CEJ’s Facebook page, facebook.com/NYCCEJ, or Click here for the written transcript.
Check Out These Highlights!
Students deserve a quality public education that honors their cultures, backgrounds, and communities. CEJ is committed to working collaboratively to mobilize the power of parents and the community to affect policy change and make Culturally Responsive Sustaining Education a reality.