Close the Camps Campaign- Oct 12

antiracismdsa: Close the Camps Campaign: Here is the campaign. http://closethecampsoct.org Stop the War on Immigrants -- A Call to Action on October 12 From the day h...

SCUSD Ends 2018-19 With Unrestricted General Fund Surplus

SCUSD Ends 2018-19 With Unrestricted General Fund Surplus: In 2018-19, the Sacramento City Unified School District submitted five budgets. In each of the budgets, the District projected massive deficit spending from $20 to $34 million, while District administrators and the School Board repeatedly told the public that the District was on the verge of being taken over by the State. Last night (Labor …

How We Can Beat Trump's Racism in 2020

A road map to neutralizing the role of racism as a divide-and-conquer political weapon Ian Haney López believes that Trump wants 2020 voters debating whether he is a "racist" — it's his strategy for winning. In 2014, he published Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class. In the book, he named and explained how politicians used coded racial appeals as part of a strategy of racial divide-and-conquer to help the 1% get even more powerful. His new book, Merge Left: Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America, explains how the political exploitation of coded racism has evolved under Trump — and suggests an evidence-based approach on how to beat it. The evidence comes from the two-year race-class narrative research project involving focus groups and national polling. The takeaway is that naming racism as a weapon of the rich and calling for coming together across racial lines proved to be the most effective way to defang the Right’s racial fear narratives and to build broad cross-racial support for racial justice as well as for economic populism. Download Chapter 10: 20/20 Vision: Comparing the Left’s Possible Responses to Anti-Immigrant Dog Whistling here. Recommended

California Ethnic Studies Curriculum Conflict

Dozens of teachers, activists, former officials and community members from all over California packed the California Department of Education on Friday to give their input on how the state should move forward with the ethnic studies curriculum. 

The curriculum, which was shelved because of its controversy, was put back on the table this week after State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced Monday he supported a plan to revise the curriculum. The State Board of Education will vote on it in 2020.

The curriculum, which is being created through a bill signed in 2016, is currently meant to serve as a guideline for schools, and an ethnic studies course would be a requirement for high school graduation. Currently, one out of five California high schools offer a course in ethnic studies.

On Friday, the education department’s Instructional Quality Commission, which advises the state board on curriculum issues, met and listened to hours of public comment both for and against the curriculum. 

Many of the original 18-member committee who created the curriculum spoke in support of keeping the draft, and revising it. More than 8,000 people signed a petition to save the curriculum.

The proposed 550-page curriculum was designed by ethnic studies leaders from various school districts and universities, appointed by the State Board of Education. It received support from 22 California State University Ethnic Studies departments, educational leaders throughout the state, and both the San Francisco Unified and San Diego Unified School Districts.

But the curriculum was also met with criticism from various groups, namely the Jewish Caucus and Jewish and pro-Israel community organizations. The Jewish legislative caucus criticized the draft curriculum, stating in a letter written to the Instructional Quality Commission that the curriculum omits discussions of anti-Semitism and delves into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “with strong bias and little nuance.” The caucus also stated that the curriculum is too critical of Israel.

How Obama ( and the Democrats) Failed Us

“He chose an economic recovery plan that benefited educated, well-off people much more than the middle class,” writes Reed Hundt, a Democrat who is a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, in his recent history of Obama’s first two years, “A Crisis Wasted.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/opinion/obama-2008-financial-crisis.html?

Sandy Hook Promise school shooting PSA

And the Right Wing spends it time criticizing teachers.

Causes of Migration- Honduras

Ismael Moreno Coto, SJ “Padre Melo”  will discuss the root causes of mass  migration from Central America, focusing on the ongoing human rights crisis in Honduras.
Sponsored by Sacramento Solidarity with Honduras Coalition St. Francis of Assisi Pathways for Justice St. Ignatius Parish Unitarian Universalist SS Sacramento Area Congregations  Together Racine Dominican Sisters	Date and Time: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 at 7:00 PM Location: Trinity Episcopal Cathedral 2620 Capitol Ave, Sacramento, CA  Enter on 27th Street for Free Parking  Cultural Presentation TBA Reception to follow International Human Rights Award Winner Director of Radio Progreso and ERIC-SJ  (center for reflection, research, and communications) in Honduras Free Will Offering

"Exactly What I've Hoped For": 100+ Education Leaders Voice Support for Sanders K-12 Plan

"Exactly What I've Hoped For": 100+ Education Leaders Voice Support for Sanders K-12 Plan

Sac City Opens Schools Without Enough Teachers

Volume 40, No. 1| August 30, 2019

The Staffing Crisis School Board Member Transparency and Accountability Scorecard

Sac City has a staffing crisis. Our conservative estimate is that at least 100 certificated position are unfilled, meaning that between 3,000 to 4,000 Sac City students are without a credentialed educator--or nearly 10% of the entire student population. As of today (August 30), Human Resources has been unable to provide the list of current vacancies, or the number of unstaffed classroom positions. At CK McClatchy, for example, it was reported that classes began with 19 substitute teachers, nearly 20% of the staff. Many vacancies remain unposted. At Rosa Parks, the numbers reported were 10 of the 40 staff were substitutes, with several vacancies that were known for months only being posted Wednesday night. Sadly, last March and April, the Sac City school board voted unanimously to lay off more than 400 educators, including the elimination of 175 certificated positions. Predictably, many of those teachers are no longer available after taking jobs at other districts after being laid off. Additionally, the District only posted the new, vastly improved salary schedules on August 13--three months after the arbitrator's decision--missing another opportunity to attract staff to take positions with the District. Recently disclosed communications between FCMAT and Superintendent Aguilar and Board President Ryan from March, and additional communication between SCOE Superintendent Dave Gordon and Mr. Aguilar--as reported in the Sacramento Bee--indicate that the decision to layoff was based on faulty numbers and a huge enrollment error that was not disclosed to board members before those layoff decisions were finalized. Chief Human Resource Officer Cancy McArn confirmed to us that she was not informed about the letter from Dave Gordon and Mr. Aguilar's confirmation of the mistake before the school board made the decision to lay off. She testified under oath at the layoff hearings in late April 2019, based on the inaccurate numbers. To understand how something like this occurred and to try to prevent it from happening in the future, we asked each board member the following questions: 1) Can you please confirm unambiguously that you did not receive the March 7, 2019 exchange of emails between Mike Fine of FCMAT and Superintendent Jorge Aguilar and Board President Jessie Ryan prior to the District providing them to SCTA via a CPRA request on or about July 15, 2019? If you did receive them prior to that date, can you please provide the approximate date they were provided to you and the manner in which you received them? 2) Can you also confirm unambiguously that you did not receive copies of Dave Gordon’s March 19, 2019 letter to Mr. Aguilar regarding questions of enrollment and Mr. Aguilar’s April 1, 2019 email response to Mr. Gordon prior to the release of the Third Interim Budget on or about May 16, 2019? If you did receive them prior to that date, can you please provide the approximate date they were provided to you and the manner in which you received them? Here are the responses:

To view the original letter to Lisa Murawski, the chairperson of the Sac City School Board's Fiscal Transparency and Accountability Committee, click here. To view, Ms. Murawski's response and our follow-up, click here. To view, the letter from Superintendent Aguilar written on Ms. Murawski's behalf, click here. It is notable that Mr. Minnick, Ms. Murawski and Mr. Aguilar directly avoid answer the questions. According to Mr. Aguilar: he "strives" to keep board members informed but won't give a straight answer to these questions. We're interested in your thoughts on this.

Should board members confirm whether they received this vital information? Yes Select No Select

The Reality Check: IN MEXICO, A NEW DAWN FOR INDEPENDENT UNIONS?

The Reality Check: IN MEXICO, A NEW DAWN FOR INDEPENDENT UNIONS?: IN MEXICO, A NEW DAWN FOR INDEPENDENT UNIONS? By David Bacon NACLA Report on the Americas, 7/2019 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10...

Teachers are Funding Education From Their Own Pockets

As the summer winds down, students and teachers are getting ready to head back to classrooms throughout the country. But for America’s teachers, that comes at a price: an average of $459 to be exact. Because of a shortfall in spending on school budgets, teachers are forced to reach into their own wallets to prepare for their students, further eroding their take home pay. According to an EPI report, teachers on average spent nearly $500 to get classrooms ready: $327 in North Dakota on the low end of the spectrum, and $664 in California on the high end. Teachers are plugging the gaps of insufficient school spending to help ensure students have materials they need for a positive learning environment. “An overwhelming majority of them—more than nine out of 10—will not be reimbursed for part of what they spend on supplies over the school year, according to survey data from the National Center for Education Statistics,” EPI found. EPI’s report also shows teachers in high-poverty schools “are spending more of their own money on school supplies than are teachers in low-poverty schools. This gap may reflect greater needs among students in high-poverty schools and more deficient funding systems for those schools.” Check out the graphic below to see how much, on average, teachers spend out-of-pocket in each state. Then click here to share it on Facebook. Our teachers should not have to spend their own money on our classrooms. We need to prioritize spending on education to help ensure our students and our teachers have the resources they need.

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The Fires in Brazil !

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: The Fires in Brazil !

California Sues Trump Over Indefinite Detention of...

antiracismdsa: California Sues Trump Over Indefinite Detention of...: California is leading a nearly 20-state lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s abandonment of a long-standing rule governing how...

Ethnic Studies Proposal Held Over

California proposal requiring ethnic studies for diploma delayed

José Medina will bring it back next year, after changes to curriculum.

https://edsource.org/2019/california-proposal-requiring-ethnic-studies-to-graduate-high-school-delayed/616676

Stand With CFA 2018

Union Opposes Mississippi Raids

antiracismdsa: Union Opposes Mississippi Raids: August, 2019 LOS ANGELES, CA – The United Latinos of The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union released t...

Kids at Border Camps Left to Die of Flu

Kids At Border Camps Left To Die Of Flu

Kids in border camps are 9 times likelier to die of flu. Trump’s team won’t vaccinate them. ThinkProgress: “More than two dozen immigrants, including children, have died in U.S. government custody since President Donald Trump took office. The judicial branch has had to force Trump’s administration to provide basic hygiene tools like toothpaste to detained migrant children. Now, his immigration officials are saying they will not act to prevent influenza from spreading in their cramped, overcrowded immigration jails at the U.S.-Mexico border. Flu played a role in at least three of the roughly 30 known migrant deaths in custody confirmed since January 2017. Vaccines are cheap and the highly controlled nature of incarcerated populations makes it relatively easy to reach the high innoculation rates that can radically reduce the reach of the illness in any given flu season.Still, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said it will not bother issuing the shots ‘due to the short-term nature of CBP holding and the complexities of operating vaccination programs.'”

Join use in preparing for a national demonstration on Oct. 12.  all out, Close the Camps. 

Indefinite Detention is Fascism

antiracismdsa: Indefinite Detention is Fascism: Trump Wants To Detain Migrant Families Indefinitely Migrant families would face indefinite detention under new Trump rule. NYT:  “The ...

The Persistence of School Segregation

The Persistence of School Segregation: Students are still isolated in their own schools because almost no one looks like them, or they are concentrated in schools in which almost everyone does.

Meet Tom Gallagher, the Democratic Socialist Challenging Nancy Pelosi in 2020

Meet Tom Gallagher, the Democratic Socialist Challenging Nancy Pelosi in 2020