Toyasha Vaughn, 2014 Parent Leadership Institute graduate has been hard at work in Gwinnett County establishing an empowerment program for girls called S.E.L.F. (Self-Determination, Empowerment, Love Freedom). Ivy Preparatory Academy at Kirkwood, a gender-focused charter school, partnered with Toyasha to implement Professional Development Wednesday. She provided age-appropriate workshops with the entire student body focused on…
Today Gwinnett SToPP sent a letter to Gwinnett School Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks urging him to change the bell schedule to accommodate students wanting to engage in national protests around gun violence. The National School Walkout, takes place March 14th and specifically commemorates the 17 students killed last month in Parkland, Florida (the month 3…
Dignity in Schools Campaign members, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Partners for Each and Every Child launched the ESSA Engage for Equity campaign and pre-released its accompanying jointly developed Toolkit. The campaign is designed to empower students, parents and other stakeholders to hold conversations in their local school that can only positively impact education. This…
Four years ago, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division jointly issued guidance documents, reminding school districts of the law and giving them a road map to identify, avoid and remedy discriminatory disciplinary policies. We are very concerned the U.S. Dept. of Education, under the direction of…
On Friday, December 8, 2017, the Dignity in Schools Campaign (DSC) and NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) attended the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) briefing entitled, The School-to-Prison Pipeline: The Intersections of Students of Color with Disabilities. It is an independent, bipartisan, fact-finding federal agency charged with enhancing the development and enforcement of national…
In the face of increasing threats to student civil rights throughout the nation, Gwinnett SToPP has joined with more than two dozen leading education and civil rights groups to launch the Education Civil Rights Alliance (ECR Alliance). Schools should serve, educate, empower and be safe for all students, yet all across America today, far too…
This year, Gwinnett SToPP partnered with the ACLU of Georgia, Georgia Legal Services Program, and Interfaith Children’s Movement to conduct a day-long education civil rights workshop as part of the Dignity in Schools Campaign’s National Week of Action. Participants met at Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Lilburn, Georgia on October 21, 2017 to learn their…
In response to the discovery of a school resource officer (SRO) incident with a student at South Gwinnett High School, Gwinnett SToPP members and partners rallied at the GCPS Instructional Support Center before the scheduled school board meeting on Thursday, April 20th. The rally coincided with the national Dignity in Schools Campaign annual membership meeting…
Greetings Friends of Gwinnett SToPP. For those passionate about public education, it is true that the stakes have never been higher. On national, state and local levels the quality of education and safety of our children in public schools is uncertain. School police forces are emboldened to treat our children like adult criminals at the…
Gwinnett SToPP’s Co-founder had the opportunity to participate in the podcast SchoolHouse: Equity in Education, alongside of three other dynamic parent organizers. No coincidence that all are members of the Dignity in Schools Campaign. #SchoolHouse is a production of Communities for Just Schools Fund (CJSF). CJSF supports grassroots organizing initiatives that work to eliminate harsh…