Educate a Child, Disrupting the Pipeline to Prison. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

1. ::
Educate a ChildEducate a Child
Disrupting the Pipeline toDisrupting the Pipeline to
PrisonPrison

2. Simulation: School to PrisonSimulation: School to Prison
PipelinePipeline

3. DebriefDebrief

4. Educate a Child, Transform theEducate a Child, Transform the
WorldWorld
• National – pcusa.org/child
• Direct Service – in your community
• Advocacy – local, state, national
• Pentecost Offering – 40% stays with congregation
for local action
• Global – pcusa.org/globalpoverty
• Money to Support mission co-workers and education
projects abroad

5. ““If any of you put a stumbling block beforeIf any of you put a stumbling block before
one of these little onesone of these little ones…it…it would be betterwould be better
for you to have a millstone hung about yourfor you to have a millstone hung about your
neckneck……and drowned in the heart of theand drowned in the heart of the
sea.” -Jesussea.” -Jesus
Matthew 18:6Matthew 18:6

6. Disrupting the Pipeline on theDisrupting the Pipeline on the
GroundGround

7. “He who opens a school door, closes a prison.”
Victor Hugo
“The streets were not my only problem. If the
streets shackled my right leg, the schools shackled
my left. Fail to comprehend the streets and you
gave up your body now. But fail to comprehend the
schools and you gave up your body later. I suffered
at the hands of both, but I resent the schools
more.”
Ta-Nehisi Coates

8. What is the School to PrisonWhat is the School to Prison
Pipeline?Pipeline?
• Operating directly and indirectly, the School-to-Prison Pipeline
(also known as “Cradle-to-Prison,” or “push out”) is a
nationwide system of local, state and federal education and
public safety policies that pushes students out of school and into
the criminal justice system. This system disproportionately
targets youth of color and youth with disabilities.
• With its roots in deep economic and social inequalities the
school-to-prison pipeline is operative in areas such as school
discipline, policing practices, high-stakes testing and the
continuous rise of the prison industry contributes to it.
http://www.nyclu.org/issues/youth-and-student-rights/school-prison-pipeline

9. Policies/ExclusionaryPolicies/Exclusionary
PunishmentPunishment
• Involves the police in minor incidents and often lead to arrests, juvenile
detention referrals, and even criminal charges and incarceration.
• Schools are suspending and expelling students at a rate more than double
that of 1974. In 2006, more than 3.3 million students were suspended out-
of-school at least once and 102,000 were expelled.
• Some school districts use police officers or “school resource officers” not
trained for educational environments to patrol school campuses and
discipline students.
• Between 2002 and 2006, out of school suspensions increased by 250,000
and expulsions by 15 percent.
From Dignity in Schools’ Fact Sheet on School Pushout

10. Race, Poverty, and the PipelineRace, Poverty, and the Pipeline
• Students of color face harsher discipline in school and are more likely to
be pushed out of school than whites
• 40% of students expelled each year from U.S. schools are African
American.
• 70% of students involved in “in school” arrests or referred to law
enforcement are Black and Latino.
• Black students are 3.5 times more likely to be suspended than their white
counterparts, and Black and Latino students are twice as likely to not
graduate from school as whites.
• A child who has been suspended is more likely to fall behind in school, be
retained a grade, drop out of high school, commit a crime, and become
incarcerated as an adult.
• By virtue of their zip codes, children start school on uneven footing even
as early as kindergarten, which makes catching up difficult.
All figures from the Community Coalition

11. New York CityNew York City
Student Safety Act Reporting on Arrests and SummonsesStudent Safety Act Reporting on Arrests and Summonses
July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015
GENERAL DATAGENERAL DATA
There were 775 arrests and summonses – almost 4 per day – during the four
quarters of the 2014 – 2015 school year. Including summer school, there were
210 high school days and 206 middle school days during this 12-month period.
• Male - 52%
• Black – 29%
• Latino – 40%
• White –14%
• Asian – 16%
• Am. Indian 1%
• Brooklyn – 29%
• Queens - 28%
• Bronx - 21%
• Manhattan - 15%
• Staten Island - 6%

12. Disrupting the Pipeline in theDisrupting the Pipeline in the
Halls of PowerHalls of Power

13. Local AdvocacyLocal Advocacy
Tactics:
•Provide testimony at city council and school board
meetings
•Write letters to the editor
•Circulate petitions
•Build alliances with like minded groups

14. Dignity in Schools NYDignity in Schools NY
• Develops policy recommendations and organizes testimony before the Department of
Education to change New York City's school discipline policies, and holds workshops and
teach-ins to engage students, parents and educators in our work.
• Pushed for the inclusion of $2.4M in the FY2016 City Budget for the implementation of
restorative justice practices in schools

15. State AdvocacyState Advocacy
Tactics:
•Provide testimony at state legislative hearings
•Write letters to the editor
•Circulate petitions
•Build alliances with like minded groups
•Hold protests and sit-ins to raise profile of their work

16. Padres y Jovenes UnidosPadres y Jovenes Unidos
In 2012, Padres & Jóvenes Unidos, allied stakeholders and policy
makers worked to pass SB 46 (HB 1345), dubbed the Smart School
Discipline Law (SSDL).
•Requires schools to implement prevention strategies, restorative
justice, peer mediation, counseling, and other approaches to
minimize student exposure to juvenile and criminal justice
systems.
•Substantial improvement in data collection around school-based
arrests, tickets, and court referrals.
•Prioritizes appropriate training of school-based police officers on
appropriate discipline with students of color, LGBT students and
students with disabilities.
•Since implementation, out of school suspension rate down 17%,
expulsion rate down 36%, referral to law enforcement down 23%.

17. Federal AdvocacyFederal Advocacy
• The Every Student Succeeds Act didn’t just replace the No
Child Left Behind law, it encourages school districts to take a
closer look at their discipline practices.
• Requires school districts to show how they are taking steps to
curb discipline practices that remove students from the
classroom.
• Mandates that a district’s discipline policy should be part of a
“long-term goal of prison reduction through opportunities,
mentoring, intervention, support and other education
services”

18. The Childhood NutritionThe Childhood Nutrition
Reauthorization Act (CNR)Reauthorization Act (CNR)
Congress needs to reauthorize the child nutrition bill that
provides free and reduced school lunches, snacks, and which
funds the Farm to School program
What YOU can do:
1.Send an Action Alert to your representatives in Congress [go to
capwiz.com/pcusa]
2.Have your congregation sign onto organizational sign-on letter
to Congress for the Farm to School Act. [go to bit.ly/org-sign]
3.You as an Individual can add your name to the citizen sign-on
letter. [go to bit.ly/pcusa-cnr]

19. Alphabet BrainstormingAlphabet Brainstorming
ExerciseExercise

20. The Educate A Child ToolkitThe Educate A Child Toolkit
Available online and for free downloadAvailable online and for free download
at:at:
http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministriehttp://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministrie

21. Third Presbyterian Rochester –Third Presbyterian Rochester –
Great Schools for AllGreat Schools for All