Community Education Defense
Community Education Defense is a practice that invites every member of the community to directly intervene in school push-out, by equipping folks with accessible tools to stand up for students’ and parents’ human rights.
We structure community education defense workshops to take place in cohorts, where participants attend recurring learning exchanges that cover topics such as expulsions, suspensions, school transfers, or special education. These workshops weave together story-telling, role playing, visuals, movement and dialogue. At the culmination of each workshop series, participants are empowered to serve as education defenders in their network, and committed to an each-one-teach-one ripple out model of information sharing.
Each cohort of education defenders reflects the organizing infrastructure and local conditions of the region in which it takes place and is co-created with our local organizing partners. So far, we have facilitated community education defense cohorts with organizers in the following regions:
Central Coast (with Building Healthy Communities Monterey County)
Central Valley (with the Central Valley Movement Building Organizing Institute)
Inland Empire (with Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement)
Los Angeles (with the support of Arts for Healing and Justice Network)
At the core of this practice is a fundamental understanding that together we can use the law to shift power and defend education access. The vision is to create networks where ALL families can find the support and confidence they need to advocate for their kids, families in the community, and to expand that community solidarity power beyond initial cohort graduates