Resources

Curriculum case study: The Center for Popular Democracy’s Education Justice Campaign (An SNF Agora Case Study)

Can a national network, with leaders and members based in low-income communities of color, build a coalition that bridges the interests of young people, parents, and teachers’ unions? Can a coalition hold together when its goal becomes politically risky? This case study explores dilemmas that arise for a network aiming to build a multigenerational movement for education justice through the story of the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) and the evolution of its Education Justice Campaigns program.

Policy Memo: Community Research Collaboratives

Community Research Collaboratives (CRCs) are partnerships among community members and researchers who work together to advance equity and justice. In this report, the authors describe CRCs and the four defining core features: a commitment to systemic transformation; the prioritization of community goals; research as a developmental process, and effective collaboration. The authors' analysis is intended to highlight the unique attributes of CRCs, to boost their visibility in education, and to encourage funding support for this growing field. You can read the policy memo here.

Toolkit: Equal Education Facilitator Toolkit

Equal Education is a movement of learners, parents, teachers and community members working for quality and equality in South African Education, through analysis and activism. The Equal Education Facilitator Toolkit provides an overview of techniques and strategies for youth group facilitation in the context of Equal Education’s work in the movement. The toolkit offers (1) an overview of the facilitator’s role (2) focus on skills that are crucial for this role and (3) four cases of social movements to show how through facilitating political education, facilitators have been key to the success of key social movements.

Report: Center for Popular Democracy: Arrested Learning

The Arrested Learning Report was written by the Center for Popular Democracy in collaboration with Latinos Unidos Siempre (LUS), Make the Road Nevada (MRNV), Make the Road New Jersey (MRNJ) the Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC) and the Research Hub for Youth Organizing. The report contains critical information about students’ experiences, interactions, and feelings about police and security at school. Four community-based organizations across the country fielded in-depth surveys of their youth membership and the results are covered in this report from the national survey of 630 young people and clearly reinforce what young people have already made known: police and security at school do not make them safe. The survey also explores young people’s vision for supportive and well-resourced schools.

Policy Memo: Recasting Families and Communities as Co-Designers of Education

This policy memo, Recasting Families and Communities as Co-Designers of Education in Tumultuous Times, jointly released by the National Education Policy Center and the Family Leadership Design Collaborative, explores how justice-based approaches to family engagement can enable parents and families, particularly from communities of color, to contribute as fellow leaders in transforming schools and educational systems to better serve all children, families, and communities. The Family Leadership Design Collaborative (FLDC), is a national network of scholars, educators, and family and community leaders working to center racial equity in family engagement by reimagining how families and communities can create more equitable schools and educational systems.  

Toolkit: Padres y Jóvenes Youth Participatory Action Research Teacher’s Toolkit

Padres & Jóvenes Unidos is a multi-issue organization led by people of color who work for educational equity, racial justice, immigrant rights and advocating for equal access to achieve a better quality of life. The Padres y Jóvenes Unidos (PJU) Youth Participatory Action Research Teacher’s Toolkit was jointly produced by PJU and the Research Hub for Youth Organizing and is written for teachers to support classroom youth in identifying problems and solutions that young people would like to tackle in their local communities. It includes terms, definitions, and planning templates for engaging in Youth Participatory Action Research.