Grassroots organizing
On-the-ground community organizing drives critical consciousness and passion for change. Students, parents, teachers and concerned citizens should mobilize through petitions, school walkouts, protests, and direct meetings with education leaders to voice concerns and demand reforms. Sustained grassroots pressure forces issues onto the agenda for local, national and international action.
Public advocacy
For systemic change to take hold, policy and regulatory shifts are needed at the regional, national and international levels. Activists must directly engage with political leaders and policymakers to advocate for specific reforms. Groups should partner with sympathetic lawmakers to draft bills addressing funding inequities, discipline reform, curriculum updates, teacher training and more.
Coalition building
Linking education justice efforts with other social movements magnifies impact. Potential allies include racial justice groups, youth activist networks, teacher unions, civil rights organizations, immigrant support groups and more. Coalitions can coordinate days of action, mobilize across constituencies, and develop shared policy agendas. Further efforts could include citizen oversight bodies or conduct equity audits of district practices.
Youth leadership
Young people have been catalysts for many historical social movements and their voices are indispensable here too. Students should be supported in forming activist groups, organizing direct actions like walkouts, and speaking at earnings, rallies and in the media. Curriculums can nurture youth activism through assignments involving writing to lawmakers, volunteering with nonprofits, and researching social issues impacting their communities.
