Fighting for equity and justice for all Columbus students and families.

“What we cannot imagine, cannot come into being.” - bell hooks

The Columbus Education Justice Coalition is a group of community partners, parents, students, educators, and labor union members who believe that a fair and just, well-rounded, holistic public education for ALL students, staff, and families in Columbus City Schools is a civil and human right. 

We believe in and are dedicated to ensuring equitable and quality public education for ALL.

authentic RELATIONSHIPS

During the “Our City. Our Schools.” listening campaign in 2023, participants expressed their intolerance for lackluster communication that continued to negatively impact the relationship between the Columbus City School district and our community, families, students and education professionals.

WE ARE READY TO FIGHT FOR...

Community Campus Schools

  • Funding to develop the necessary organization structures to open and expand Community Learning Centers - schools with resources for expanded family/community/youth engagement, a broadened curriculum, shared decision making, and wrap-around services.

  • Increase and strengthen educator, student, and family voices in school decision making.

A Safe School Climate

  • An end to the over-policing and criminalization of students in schools.

  • Sustained professional development for all educators and school staff on trauma-informed care, restorative justice practices, and "de-escalation" techniques.

  • Creation of transparent and efficient communication modes for school families, educators and the community, especially regarding emergencies and crises.

Targeted Support for Students, Families, and Our School Communities

  • Support development of full-service community school pillars and mechanisms in all schools.

  • Development of strategic recruitment and retention of BIPOC educators and Columbus residents for all Columbus City Schools teaching and staff positions.

  • Targeted investment in programs that provide healthy extracurricular options for at-risk students.

substantial REINVESTMENT

Through “Our City. Our Schools.” we learned that families and students want schools that are comfortable. This was defined as not only having adequate heating and cooling, but schools that are aesthetically pleasing. Our community is asking for schools that are clean, bright and well lit, have positive energy and are filled with laughter. Parents would like to see our schools as the hub of the community.

WE ARE READY TO FIGHT FOR...

Equitable and Fair School Funding

  • Create a transparent system of equitable school funding in CCS that supports schools, neighborhoods, and stability and that strengthens the new community learning center(s) and similar community-centered initiatives.

  • Building a system of accountability for the ways funds are equitably distributed to buildings and programming in Columbus City Schools with student, parent, and educator input.

Equitable Access to Opportunities for All Students

  • Community-connected/project-based/advocacy-based curriculum with financial literacy, vocational, culinary, nutrition and racial justice infused teaching across all subject areas.

  • Expand access to CCS early childhood programming for all pre-k eligible students.

  • Invest in programs that allow educators to foster relationships with parents and families, creating a secure and inclusive environment that promotes community and student belonging.

21st Century Schools

  • CCS to provide (where possible) and publicly advocate for free WiFi for all students and families.

  • Provide updated technology for all students and staff.

  • Provide support for school/community gardens to feed students and families,

  • Provided shaded, ability-inclusive, and appropriate play areas for all students

“We need more services that come along with school like there were during covid.
Schools should be natural hubs of their communities.”
— CCS Parent, 2023 "Our City. Our Schools." Listening Session

transformative RECONSTRUCTION

Reconstruction, as illustrated by the conversations in “Our City. Our Schools.” includes acknowledgement from the city and the school district of the disinvestment from neighborhood schools do to decades of redlining and gerrymandering. Parents want to see a school board and a superintendent that is committed to the community, inside and beyond schools walls. They want a school district who comes to its school community seeking solutions and input prior to making big decisions.

WE ARE READY TO FIGHT FOR...

Increases Educator, Student, and Parent Voices in Decision Making

  • Educator, student, and parent voices as contributors to system-level practices, board and district policy changes that support racial and social justice.

    Create structures for communities to participate in budgeting, ensuring that families, educators, and students have a voice in school budgets.

Strategic Recruiting and Retention of Diverse, High-Quality Teachers and Education Professionals

  • Greater limits on the displacement or shuffling of teachers and staff.

  • Increased hiring of BIPOC certificated teachers and education professionals who are Columbus residents.

  • Replace school resource officers with trauma-informed counselors and fully funded peer support programs.

Support for Anti-Poverty and Affordable Housing in Columbus

  • Board support of anti-poverty programs in Columbus.

  • End selling and leasing of CCS buildings to charter schools, convert vacant CCS properties into housing for low-income families or neighborhood/community resource centers.

Contact

Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Email
colsedjustice@gmail.com

Media Inquiries:

Izetta Thomas, Lead Organizer

thomasi@ceaohio.org 614-596-7352