Greetings DSC Members and Allies!

Last month we held a powerful Annual Membership Meeting in Chicago where we came together to strategize, build skills, discuss important campaign decisions and make connections. Next month members will be making their way to Washington D.C. for our next Days at the Capitol to advocate for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to hold states and districts accountable for creating positive school climates and improving educational outcomes for all students. If you have local campaign updates, events, or resources you would like to share through our e-newsletter email [email protected]!

NATIONAL UPDATES

On April 24-26 over 170 DSC members from around the country convened in Chicago for our 5th Annual Membership Meeting. Members engaged in discussions to help inform our strategic planning process which included revising our mission, creating a vision statement, and developing our goals as a campaign. Over the course of three days members also created shared timelines of DSC�s history, participated in member-led workshops, prioritized themes for our upcoming 2015 National Week of Action Against School Pushout, and hosted a panel discussion on implicit bias featuring members from Racial Justice Now!, Girls for Gender Equity, Activists with a Purpose and NAACP LDF. Check out the powerful pictures from our convening here.

MEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

On May 4 DSC member Power U Center for Social Change made their way to Boca Raton, FL to take action against GEO Corporation, the second largest private prison corporation in the country. Power U and other organizations from around the country organized a march and rally during the GEO Corp�s shareholder meeting that called for an end to lobbying practices that criminalize immigrants and people of color. Power U youth are working to dismantle the School to Prison Pipeline and companies such as GEO Corp. are making profits off the backs of young black and brown students. Power U is fighting for Restorative Justice in Miami Dade Public Schools and deems it necessary to be part of the struggle to end mass incarceration. You can see pictures from the action here.

Over the last two weeks the Louisiana legislature discussed bills SB54 and HB116 aimed at eliminating suspensions of students in K-3rd grade. DSC member Families and Friends of Louisiana�s Incarcerated Children (FFLIC) launched their Let Kids Be Kids Campaign last month in support of SB54. If passed, the bill would reduce the number of children suspended from school and mandate teachers and administrators to use alternatives to suspension such as Positive Behavior Intervention Supports. Due to FFLIC�s strong advocacy, on April 30, SB54 received enough support and passed out of the Louisiana Senate Education Committee. You can read more here.

Earlier this year DSC member Black Organizing Project of Oakland, CA launched Storybuilders, a multimedia storytelling internship with two high school students. Students immersed themselves in learning critical concepts about dominant narratives pertaining to Black youth. Youth learned different forms of media, including photography, film, poetry, creative writing and more to reconstruct their stories of what it means to be a Black student in Oakland. Students explored the over-reliance on discipline and punishment, and the under-investment in programs that impact students the most, like music and arts. You can watch their stories here.

Throughout the month of April, DSC members participated in the #Suspended4What Campaign at DoSomething.org, posting stories of suspensions, sharing videos and taking action to raise awareness of the harmful impacts of suspensions and the solutions that work in schools, like restorative justice. You can watch a #Suspended4What video here uploaded by one of our members, DRUM South Asian Organizing Center.

STAFF UPDATES

On May 7-8 our National Field Organizer, Fernando Martinez joined DSC member Minnesota Education Equity Partnership in Minneapolis for their Solutions Not Suspensions state-wide convening. Participants re-affirmed their commitment to the work, discussed goals and a new collective focus for the Solutions Not Suspensions Campaign. DSC members Zakiya Sankara-Jabar of Racial Justice Now! in Ohio and Rebecca Fernandez of Parent Education Organizing Council in New Jersey were also there.

IN THE NEWS

Report: Racial inequalities in Denver Public Schools have grown
Yesenia Robles, The Denver Post, May 11, 2015

Devaluation of black lives starts in classrooms
Michelle Chen, Al Jazeera America, May 8, 2015

New Columbia, MO, school discipline guidelines aimed at school-to-prison pipeline
Allie Gross, Education Dive, May 7, 2015

Three Colorado Springs D-11 school to add restorative justice programs
Debbie Kelley, The Gazette, May 7, 2015

These Kids Are Fighting Back After Being Suspended For The Most Ridiculous Reasons
Julie Zeilinger, Mic, April 29, 2015

Virginia tops nation in sending students to cops, courts: Where does your state rank?
Susan Ferriss, Center for Public Integrity, April 10, 2015