In the News

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February 23rd, 2021

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!

From Top Left to Bottom Right: CEJ Director Natasha Capers, Make the Road NY (MRNY) Community Engagement Specialist Tamarah Tucker, CEJ Parent Leader and MRNY member Lucia Dias, ASL interpreter Gloshanda Lawyer, Mayoral Candidate Quanda Francis, Mayoral Candidate Maya Wiley, Mayoral Candidate Shaun Donovan, Mayoral Candidate Carlos Menchaca, Mayoral Candidate Eric Adams, Mayoral Candidate Kathryn Garcia, CEJ Parent Leader and MASA member Veronica Morales, Integrate NYC Student Leader Maurice Blackmon, Mayoral Candidate Paperboy Prince and Mayoral Candidate Dianna Morales
The Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC) and MRNY’s Keith Fuller asking the candidates if they would commit to, “fully disbanding the NYPD school safety division and metal detectors and reinvesting those resources into hiring more social workers, guidance counselors, restorative justice coordinators and focusing investments in schools where Black students have faced criminalization?”
The talented Nathaniel Swanson from Urban Word closing out our forum with his tear-jerking, inspiring and heartfelt spoken word.

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.

October 20th, 2020

Liberation School Kick-Off!

Welcome to Liberation School!

Inspired by the tradition of Black Freedom Schools in the 1960s, Liberation School is a FREE, virtual online school that will offer academic support courses, social-emotional support, healing centered practices, and political education courses to NYC public school families throughout the 2020-21 school year. 

Thank you to those that were able to attend our amazing Kick-Off Event. From energizing djembe playing to informative presentations on the history of Freedom Schools, the Liberation School ZOOM room was filled with passion, wisdom and solidarity. Click HERE to view the live recording!

Click here to register for classes now

Liberation School dancing to the empowering Resistance Liberation Singers

The Liberation School Calendar allows you to sort by class content; Academic Support, Wellness, Political Education, or Ethnic Studies, as well as by class audience; Student, Caregiver, Community Member or all of the above. Classes are offered on a weekly, biweekly and monthly basis. Don’t miss out on classes that are offered ONLY ONCE and keep reading!

CEJ is creating sessions accessible to the public in multiple languages through multilingual instructors, and live streaming on social media. simultaneous interpretations of English workshops. All courses will be culturally responsive in content and pedagogy.

Click HERE to learn more about the origins of Liberation School; the Mobilization of Back and Brown Parents, Healers and Educators.

Click HERE to Read more about the History of Black Freedom Schools.

July 15th, 2020

Parent Town Hall: NYC DOE’s COVID-19 Response

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=242294267139388&external_log_id=3bea4e0992d4fe6798e8fa2b125a1d23

Responding to the NYC Department of Education’s COVID-19 response, the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice held a virtual town hall (date) to hear from and discuss with parents across NYC how the shutdown of schools has affected them and their children. CEJ centered parent voices and concerns as we not only asked about children’s access to technology and resources that would help them succeed in online learning, but also questions of whether or not parents were communicated with effectively and clearly in their primary spoken languages about online learning. CEJ uplifts Black and brown parents impacted during the pandemic and encourages all parents of NYC schoolchildren to demand their voices be heard during this crisis!

June 27th, 2019

CEJ, Educators, and Allies Rally In Support of Culturally Responsive Education and Anti-Bias Trainings

 

On June 4th, CEJ was joined by students, advocacy groups, educators, and families to call on the NYCDOE to continue the anti-bias trainings currently underway at the NYC Department of Education and revamp curriculum to be more culturally responsive. Chancellor Richard Carranza spoke and reaffirmed that culturally responsive education is the cornerstone of educational justice. The rally reinforced the need for authors and characters in elementary school curriculum that represent the diversity of NYC students. CEJ will continue to fight to support culturally responsive education and a more inclusive and diverse curriculum for all students.

Click on the links below to read more on the media coverage of the CRE rally!

Richard Carranza joins anti-bias rally amid controversy over trainings

Advocates call for expanding anti-bias training amid attacks on Carranza

February 20th, 2019

CEJ Releases Report Highlighting Lack of Diversity in NYC Elementary School Curricula

On February 20th, CEJ released a comprehensive report on the lack of representation of students of color in NYC’s elementary school curricula, and called on the NYC Department of Education (DOE) to create Culturally Responsive Curriculum in New York City schools. The city has committed publicly to increasing diversity and integration in public schools, but has not addressed the absence of authors and characters of color in the curriculum. CEJ’s new report reveals the depth of the lack of representation, diversity and inclusivity, through the evaluation of more than 700 books across three commonly-used book lists and seven K-5th grade English Language Arts (ELA) curricula.

Read the whole report here.

Read the Executive Summary here.

Click here to read CEJ’s press release.

Click on the links below for additional media coverage of February 20th’s rally announcing the release of the report.

“Black and Hispanic Authors and Characters Missing from NYC Schoolbooks: Report,” New York Daily News.

“Advocate Groups Protest Cultural Disparities Taught in Grade School Literature,” New York 1.

“Educational Justice Advocates Push for a More Culturally Responsive School Curriculum,” Amsterdam News

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