Out of our film project, grew a beautiful opportunity to continue the work with a cross-district group of students from DPS in a youth participatory action research (YPAR) project. We present to you D.I.R.T.: Doing Intersectional Research Together. Our hope over the next few years is to develop this youth programming arm of AQE. As former educators, the film project reminded us how much we miss working with young people in the classroom and community and we're so honored to continue meeting with students this fall.
Over the course of the semester, this group of students committed to eight sessions where they engaged in community building, critical consciousness-raising, and the development of strategies for the implementation of HB19-1192, The Inclusion of American Minorities in Teaching Civil Government. Rooted in the experiences and wisdom of queer and trans students, DIRT seeks to unearth and foster the conditions and processes that support sustainable student-based, justice-focused programming in schools. We share the understanding that, “No one is more invested in education than those who have to live with the repercussions of it.”
In this project, we are honored to build upon legacies of intergenerational youth organizing in Colorado, and to produce recommendations for an LGBTQ+ curriculum resolution to be presented to the DPS school board. This year’s pilot program consisted of all DPS students; in the future, our plan is to bring students together from across Colorado to learn together in community. This project is in partnership with RootED.