Author: Visceral Dev Admin

A few weeks ago, I was honored to speak on a panel and workshop at the 70th Annual Education Writers Association National Seminar in Washington, DC, on social media and storytelling.

With me were Virginia Tech biologist Anne Hilborn, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation’s Patrick Riccards (better known as EduFlack), and NPR Ed Team reporter Cory Turner. We were moderated by Virginia Tech’s Cathy Grimes and the Learning Policy Institute’s Barbara McKenna.

Public education policy has a reputation for being both contentious and wonky, which is why finding new ways to connect researchers, journalists, policymakers, advocates, and community members is key to moving from debate to action. We were lucky enough to secure a two-session block, so we were able to answer many questions from the more than fifty audience members in attendance and really dive deep into storytelling, social media strategy, and case studies of these ideas operating in the education space.

A lot was covered, so I’ll focus on a few key takeaways discussed:

Since their founding, local public schools and their educators have produced America’s most brilliant artists, scientists, doctors, musicians, lawyers, presidents, and more — people from all walks of life, contributing to society in a myriad of ways. The neighborhood public school is often the center of a civic and cultural life, recognized as the key to each community’s future. The fate of public schools affect the fate of everyone: it’s why they were one of the first institutions built by freed slaves during Reconstruction, and why they were so central to desegregating our towns and cities a century later.

And while the struggle continues to make our public schools more equitable and just for every child, we must also celebrate and protect those aspects that are now under threat by privatization, disinvestment, and resegregation. That’s why the Schott Foundation is proud to lift up some of the countless success stories that our public schools produce every year from coast to coast.

Hair is an integral part of black cultural expression, but it has little to do with educational development, says John H. Jackson, president and CEO of the Schott Foundation. His response, highlighted in recent media reports, was a sharp dressing-down of a charter school in Malden, Mass., that disciplined African American girls who wore braided hair extensions to school. The case brought heightened attention to the boundaries of policing identity, and it activated our advocacy partners at the local ACLU, NAACP, and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice to get the school to reconsider its ban on hair extensions, which overwhelmingly affected students of color. It also got the attention of the state attorney general, who is now investigating.

From their establishment more than a century ago, local public schools and their educators have produced America’s most brilliant artists, scientists, doctors, musicians, lawyers, presidents, and more.

At our 25th Anniversary Awards Gala, the Schott Foundation showcased several talented student artists from New York City public schools to highlight the importance of the arts and music in all our public schools, regardless of neighborhood or ZIP code.

Rev. Dr. William Barber was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Schott Foundation 25th Anniversary Awards Gala, and his acceptance speech brought the crowd to their feet and quickly went viral.

On May 11th, education advocates, organizers, and funders from across the country joined us in New York City to honor the tireless work of the evening’s awardees and celebrate our 25th anniversary!

The Schott Foundation’s 25th Anniversary Forum was a half-day event that brought together a packed room full of advocates, organizers, and funders from across the field of education justice. The Forum was built around two panels: one with foundation presidents, the other with advocacy, policy and public sector leaders, followed by an interactive dialogue.