How Has the School to Prison Pipeline Affected You?

So this past weekend, we got to travel to Houston to attend a LEE Conference. So, what is LEE? LEE is an acronym that means Leadership for Educational Equity. They are a nonpartisan, nonprofit leadership development organization working to end the injustice of educational inequity by inspiring and supporting a diverse set of leaders with classroom experience to engage civically and politically. The NOW Conference or the National Organizing Workshop, was all about making change from the ground up, and how to galvanize others to make a stand around issues that matter. 

For me the most powerful piece was learning first hand how to do the same type of community organizing work Martin Luther King Jr. did to unite the masses, and push for change. We got to hear from several Community Organizers who have advocated for such powerful change in their own communities and today I just want to highlight some of their work, because I was so taken aback by the power of the people. One example was the work of Angela Cobian. As a community organizer with Together Colorado she coached parent teams in Denver Public Schools and parishioners in churches. Together, they lead the change they wanted to see in their city. Through this they achieved better transportation options for students, improved police and immigrant community relationships, and even fought for the right to get driver’s licenses and for strong academic standards at the state Capitol. 

Angela Cobian is now the District 2 representative on the Denver Public Schools school board in Colorado. From this seat, she continues to advocate for all students. Cobian won a first term in the by-district general election on November 7, 2017. From this powerful example, I see what is possible not only for Denver & Angela, but for us & Atlanta. We too want to advocate for lasting change. What’s our issue? Dismantling the school to prison pipeline. What is the SPP exactly? The school-to-prison pipeline is the disproportionate tendency of minors and young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly black and brown students, to become incarcerated, because of increasingly harsh school policies. Where do we start? Well, we listen to the people of course. Please tell us your experience with the school-to-prison pipeline below, because without your voices no true progress can be made. So leave a comment to let us know if you or someone you know has been affected by this issue and how, because this is just the beginning of our very own fight.