Schott Invests Game-changing Gift to Launch EndowNow Campaign
Campaign seeks to secure $30 Million Racial Justice in Education Endowment
For Immediate Release
March 24, 2022
Contact: Melissa Daar Carvajal
mdc@schottfoundation.org
415-623-6235
A Court Case that Could Transform Public Schools in Pennsylvania
Last week, closing arguments concluded for one of the most consequential education lawsuits in Pennsylvania’s history. The question: is the commonwealth’s school funding formula so inequitable that it runs afoul of the Pennsylvania Constitution? The stakes: billions of dollars for public schools and the futures of more than a million students.
Four Things Philanthropy Should Know About Education Funding Lawsuits
School funding lawsuits can move billions of dollars and help millions of students and the communities they live in. So how can education funders leverage these efforts? Get started by learning four things philanthropy should know about school funding lawsuits.
MEJA: Making History by Breaking Down Silos
The Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance (MEJA) is an unprecedented coalition of community groups, activist organizations and labor unions joining forces to defend and strengthen public schools across the commonwealth. Drawing from many of same the organizational and political insights behind the national Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, Schott was proud to support many of MEJA’s founding partners in 2015. In a state where advocacy is too often fractured by issue and geography, MEJA members committed to working through the difficult organizational and relational conversations to build a coalition strong enough to meet the demands of the present.
Girls for Gender Equity: Twenty Years Building Power at the Intersections
For the last twenty years, Girls for Gender Equity has grown in just about every way imaginable. What began as a two-person operation became an organization with dozens of paid staff. What started as a focus on equity in sports became a dynamic, multi-issue group organizing across public education, health care, and criminal justice. GGE has helped build popular movements, nurture and train generations of youth organizers, and pass transformative legislation.
Grassroots Arkansas: Winning Democracy and Equity in the Home of the Little Rock Nine
From demanding local control of Little Rock School District to hosting an equity bus tour to Little Rock middle schools to shine a light on the educational and economic disparities that exist in the district, for years Schott grantee partner Grassroots Arkansas (GA) has been a champion of public education across the state. Like so many Schott grantee partners, the Grassroots Arkansas community has seen long existing inequities in education, food security, and housing reinforced and magnified through school closures and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hungry for Justice: Parents, Students, and Educators Fight Against Oakland School Closures
Thursday marks the 17th day of a hunger strike in Oakland, CA. Two public school teachers, Andre San-Chez and Moses Omolade, began it as one part of a much larger campaign to resist the unprecedented closure and consolidation of eleven Oakland schools. The closure and consolidation plan will disproportionately affect low-income students of color. As Oaklandside reports : “Half of the schools at risk of closure have the highest percentage of Black student enrollment in the district.”
Advocates Won Billions for Public Education. But Where Will It Go?
Last spring, the people of New York State won a historic victory for their public schools: the state legislature finally began fulfilling a more equitable school funding formula, known as Foundation Aid. This win is near and dear to our hearts at Schott, as we were one of the first grantmakers to support this bold campaign at its start in 1993 and have supported the efforts ever since. New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced her proposed budget, which serves as a reminder that even after winning, advocates must keep up the pressure on policymakers to follow through.
Despite a Cloud of Backlash, Black Lives Matter at School Shines Bright
This year marks the fifth Black Lives Matter at School National Week of Action. This year’s week of action, which took place January 31 through February 4, comes amid a growing right-wing campaign against “critical race theory,” an umbrella term that in practice means keeping uncomfortable truths firmly outside of public school curricula.
Black History and the Search for a Loving City
The cause of racial justice extends across borders, issues, cultures, and economic sectors. This Black History Month, we encourage our partners and allies to renew our commitment to this insight and commit to funding, advocacy, and organizing strategies that encompass more than just single-issue causes.